Tu Bishvat, the 15th of the month of Shvat, marks the New Year of the trees. Why is this day significant in the life of a tree? Because by then, most of the rainy days of the season have passed. In Israel, rain does not fall throughout the year but only during the rainy season, from mid-autumn through winter. These rains cause sap to rise in the trees, and the new fruits of the tree are ready to emerge.
But wait! Didn't we say that the New Year of the trees is on the first of Tishrei? Yes, and yet there is no contradiction. The Tishrei New Year is to count the number of years in the life of a tree. For the first three years, the tree is "orlah," and its fruit cannot be used. In the fourth, its fruit is taken to Jerusalem and eaten there.
By contrast, Tu Bishvat is for separating tithes. In different years, there are different kinds of tithes. There is tithe for the poor and tithe to be eaten in Jerusalem. Tu Bishvat serves as a demarkation telling the year the fruit belongs and therefore the tithe that should be taken from it.
Art: The Large Tree by Paul Gauguin
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