The Calendar עִנְיְנֵי דְּיוֹמָא
The Gemara wonders why the Rosh Hashanah for trees is in Shevat. What’s happening in nature at this time of year?
אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר רַבִּי אוֹשַׁעְיָא: הוֹאִיל וְיָצְאוּ רוֹב גִּשְׁמֵי שָׁנָה, וַעֲדַיִין רוֹב תְּקוּפָה מִבַּחוּץ.
R. Elazar said that R. Oshaya said: This is when most of the rains have passed, even though most of the winter season is still ahead.
R. Oshaya says that Shevat is the right time for the Rosh Hashanah for trees because it’s more than halfway through the rainy season. But he admits this is not so obvious because it’s still the middle of winter!
Why does being halfway through the rainy season matter if winter isn’t over yet? Rashi explains that this is the time when “עָלָה הַשְּׂרָף בְּאִילָנוֹת - sap is rising inside the trees.” Fruit isn’t actually emerging on trees yet, but the roots and trunks are starting to pull water up to the branches, and that eventually will make fruit begin to appear.
- What’s important about sap rising inside of trees?
- Why is it significant to celebrate something that is happening internally, something that is impossible to see or measure from the outside?
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