Journal Mitzvah: Tu B'Shvat - the New Year of fruit

Tu B'Shvat

Dearest friends and comrades. Shalom. I hope this post finds everyone healthy, happy and holding on.

A few ideas about the personal significance of Tu B'Shvat - the New Year of fruit-bearing trees:

The Torah teaches us that from the time of planting a fruit-bearing tree, it is forbidden to eat of its fruits for the first 3 full years. These 3 years are called "Orlah". The 4th year fruits have a special holiness to them in that they can only be eaten in Yerushalayim when the Holy Temple was standing (today, since there is no Temple yet, these 4th year fruit are also forbidden to be eaten). These are called "Neta Reva-ii". After that, the fruits of the tree are totally permissible.

The yearly cycle of the fruit trees are counted starting from their new year which begins on the 15th day of Shvat - Tu B'Shvat. This means that if a tree was planted - say - in the month of Kislev (2 months before Shvat), then those 2 months are considered already as being the first year when reaching Tu B'Shvat.

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In Kabbalistic and Chassidic teachings the significance of these 3+1 years is as follows:

The creation is divided into 3 categories of status:

the totally impure
the in-between
the totally purê

These are expressed in Yechezkel's vision of the Divine Chariot (Ezekiel 1:4): "I looked and behold, from the north came forth a "Ruach Se'arah" - storm wind, "Anan Kaved" - a great cloud, and an "Esh Mitlakachat" - a burning fire, with a "Nogah" - brightness surrounding it; and from within the fire there was a "Chashmal" - glow."

The first 3 images - Ruach Se'arah, Anan Kaved and Esh Mitlakachat - signify the totally impure forces in this world. They correspond to the stages in getting a person to stumble and sin:

First a person is thrown off-path and off-guard in order to get him imbalanced and more susceptible and subdued to sin and leave the proper path. This is the storm wind - Ruach Se'arah.
Next a person's mind and proper consciousness is "clouded" with rationalizations and justifications to "permit" his improper and wrong actions. This is the great cloud - Anan Kaved.
Then, with all the barriers broken, one is left overwhelmed and over"heated" to simply commit the sinful and wrong act. This is the burning fire - Esh Mitlakachat.

The 4th image - Nogah - is a type of shell which surrounds the first 3. Although it is not an impure force, due to it's close proximity to the first 3, it has the characteristics and admixture of both good and bad. Thus it is a brightness that can shine and illuminate towards the 3 evil forces or to the opposite side of holiness.

The 5th image - Chashmal - is a holy and positive force which has within it the power to battle and "burn-out" the 3 evil forces.

Man - due to his ability to exercise free-will - is placed in the category of Nogah. It is up to him to sanctify himself by drawing himself towards the force of Chashmal, or to, Heaven forbid, the opposite direction. The main force and weapon of man to use in order to reach the level of Chashmal is his speech, i.e. to sanctify and purify his speech through words of holiness. In this vein our Sages teach that 'Cha'Sh'Mal is an acronym for "Chayot Esh Melalelot" - fire-speaking creatures. By speaking words of "holy fire", i.e. fiery words of holiness and purity, we can burn off and break the influences of the 3 impure forces.

(for more on this, see Likutey Moharan #19, along with the commentary Parparaot LeChokhmah)

Fruit-bearing trees - which are compared to man, as in the verse (Devarim 20:19): "... For man [is like] the [fruit-bearing] tree of the field..." - thus share a common characteristic.

Just as man must totally avoid the first 3 impure forces, so too the fruit-bearing tree has these 3 impurities attached to its fruit during the first 3 years. One must wait for Tu B'Shvat to activate the change of status to the next 4th level - Nogah. By Nogah, too, one is limited to eating the fruit only in Yerushalayim - an extreme level of holiness. If one cannot do so, one must wait until the next Tu B'Shvat New Year to pass on to the domain of holiness.

This is reflected in Adam's commandment of not eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and bad (which corresponds to Nogah). The Kabbalah teaches that if Adam were to have "waited" until the commencement of the Shabbat he would have then been allowed to eat of the tree's fruit.

This time-lapse of waiting for the upcoming new year, is also an example of the holy force of the Chashmal, since "waiting" and yearning for holiness is mainly expressed in speech (see Likutey Moharan, lesson 31).

May we merit this Tu B'Shvat - like the fruit-bearing trees of the field - to be renewed with fiery and strong energy to utilize our faculty of pure, sanctified speech, thus connecting us to the primary force of Creation - Hashem's speech/Lashon HaKodesh (the Holy Tongue). And through all this may we rectify the sin of Adam - to eat of the Tree of Knowledge in it's proper time, Amen.

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For those interested in the Mitzvah of helping support poor and needy large families living in the Holy Land during these tough financial times may do so by following this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=43L2R4XSC7GL4

As a token for your help and support please include your Hebrew name along with mother's Hebrew name (if applicable) so that we can daven for you - bli neder - for the next 40 consecutive days including sporadic prayers at the Holy Cites here (e.g. the Kotel, Kever Rachel, King David's grave etc.)

Shalom, be well and be strong

Sincerely