Learn Hebrew Online topic: Tu BiShvat (ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט)
(by Shira Choen-Regev - Hebrew online teacher)
Shalom,
On Tu BiShvat (ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט) we celebrate the New Year of thetrees and the fruits, by planting trees or eating dried fruits from theLand of Israel. It is also a good time to think about the specialrelationship between us, human beings, and the trees or nature ingeneral.
In the book of Deuteronomy (20:19) it is written that a man is the tree of the field:"כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה" (דְּבָרִים כ, יט)Theretruly is much resemblance between the life of a tree and the life of aperson, beginning as a fertilized seed and needing much care andsupport in their first days. As they grow, they develop roots andproduce their own fruits/babies. Eventually, man, just like the treedies.The Hebrew language expresses the similarity between man andthe tree by using the same terminology for both human beings and trees:צְמִיחָה (tsmixa, growth), הִתְפַּתְּחוּת (hitpatxut, development),פְּרִיחָה (prixa, bloom), קְמִילָה (kmila, withering).Rememberinghow similar we are, how dependent we are on each other, and howprecious our relationship is, gives this special holiday a deepermeaning.You may also celebrate Tu BiShvat in the modern Israeli tradition by planting a tree in Israel by clicking here.
Happy Tu Bi'Shvat!ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט שָׂמֵחַ!by Shira Choen-RegevThe HebrewOnline Team
עֵץTranscription: etsPart of speech: Noun, MasculineLiteral Meaning: tree
Transcription: shoreshPart of speech: Noun, MasculineLiteral Meaning: root, source
גֶּזַעTranscription: gezaPart of speech: Noun, masculineLiteral Meaning: trunk, stem, stump
עָנָףTranscription: anafPart of speech: Noun, masculineLiteral Meaning: branch
A Talmudic Story
An old man planted a tree. A young man passing by asked him:"What are you planting?" The old man answered that he was planting acarob (חָרוּב, xaruv) tree."Don't you know that it takes 70 years for a carob tree to produce fruit? You won't live to enjoy it!"The old man said: "Others planted for me and I plant for the generations to come."
Man and Tree in the Bible
The bible uses the traits of trees to describe human beings; forexample, a righteous person (צַדִּיק, tsadik) is as strong as a treeplanted on a source of water:
"וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל פַּלְגֵי מַיִם אֲשֶׁר פִּרְיוֹיִתֵּן בְּעִתּוֹ וְעָלֵהוּ לֹא יִבּוֹל וְכָל אֹשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה יַצְלִיחַ"(תְּהִלִּים א, ג).
And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,thatbringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither;and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper. (Psalms 1:3)
The righteous person is also compared to the stable palm and cedar trees:"צַדִּיק כְּתָמָר יִפְרַח כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְבָנוֹן יִשְׁגֶּה" (תְּהִלִּים צב, יג).The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. (Psalms 92:13)
Tu biShvat Song
שִׁירַת הָעֲשָׂבִים Song of the Weedsמִלִּים: נָעֳמִי שֶׁמֶר בְּהַשְׁרָאַת ר' נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלָבלַחַן: נָעֳמִי שֶׁמֶר
Reb Nachman of Bratslav saw nature as a source of spiritualinspiration. When walking through the countryside he once told hiscompanion that the weeds sing and praise G-d and their singing is sobeautiful and honest that it feels very good to worship G-d among them.He later elaborated on the fact that each weed and every creation onearth has its special "melody" and we should all be sensitive to themelodies of others.In 1976 Neomi Shemer wrote and composed the following song inspired by Reb Nachman's words.
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