Shevat is the eleventh of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.
Shevat comes at the same time as the secular months January/February. Days begin to grow longer, and the sun shines a bit brighter. In Israel spring begins in Shevat. Deep underground, the roots of trees slowly wind their way towards water. High above our heads, branches stretch toward the brightening sun.
In Israel almond trees begin to blossom in Shevat. Because they are the first to bloom each Shevat and the nut resembles an eye, an almond tree is called shaked (watcher). Almond trees are said to “keep watch” for spring.
In Shevat Jews take special care to fulfill our obligation to protect and preserve the environment.
How do you mark the end of winter and beginning of spring? Perhaps, you do spring cleaning. Maybe you change what kind of outdoor activities you do? Do you prepare garden beds for planting? Do you put winter clothes into storage? What are your rituals to acknowledge the change of seasons?
Have you been present in Israel during the month of Shevat? If yes, what was the experience like?
What does it add to our lives to mark the change of seasons? Why should we "keep watch" for the spring? What benefits are there in rituals that help us notice the earth is tilting back toward the sun?
It is taught that we are forbidden to cut down a fruit tree. “For from it you will eat and do not cut it down, for man is the tree of the field.” What does this verse mean? The Maharal explains that there is a magnificent connection between man and a tree. He writes that man is indeed like a tree. His body is like the tree trunk and his limbs are like the branches. But, he is an “upside down tree.” The tree has its roots in the ground while man has his roots in heaven.
At first the Maharal seems to be noting similarities between trees and humans. The shape of a body and the shape of a tree are similar. But then he notes an important difference. What does it mean to have roots? What function do they serve? What is the difference between having roots in ground and having roots in heaven?
The tree goes through cycles in its life. The heavy-laden tree of summer empties itself of fruit in the autumn, and then slowly loses its leaves, one by one. By winter time, the tree stands shorn of its previous glory. For all purposes, it appears to have died.
But then comes Tu B'Shevat! In the midst of the cold winter days, when all vegetation seems frozen or dead, the sap of the tree starts to flow beneath the surface bark. Rising slowly from roots buried in the hardened soil, the sap pushes its way up, pumping new life into outstretched branches that reach towards the heavens.
In life, we too often go through cycles of growth. Periods of renewal and growth may alternate with times of stagnation or dormancy. Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe cites that this cycle is part of man's nature. He adds that a person must not become disillusioned when spiritual growth seems halted; the "low" period will usually be followed by a "high" period that will yield new opportunities for growth.
That is the message of Tu B'Shevat: Even when we feel lethargic, in a rut, and seem to have lost the drive to achieve, we must not despair. Just as winter is an annual hiatus in the life cycle of trees, so bouts of lethargy and unproductivity are necessary phases in the human cycle. Just as with the coming of spring, life-giving sap moves imperceptibly through the trees to branches stretching to the sky, so we too will have renewed energy from deep within our spiritual reservoirs, so long as we set our goal heavenward.
Trees have sap that flow up the tree and start the process of renewal and new life. What's your equivalent of sap? What awakens you from lethargy? What helps you begin to grow again?
Trees shut down in winter. What is your equivalent of winter? What brings you periods of unproductivity? Do you perceive these periods as resting, being in a rut, both or neither?