By Rabbi Haviva Horvitz, Temple Beth Sholom Middletown
The question is asked: Which month has 28 days? The answer is, of course, all of them. However, three years out of every four, February has only 28 days.

Have you ever considered how many holidays there are in such a short month? Groundhog Day is Monday, Feb. 2; President Lincoln’s birthday is Thursday, Feb. 12; President Washington’s birthday is Monday, Feb. 16, and Presidents Day is also celebrated on Feb. 16.

On the Jewish calendar, we celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the 15th day of the month of Shevat, which, this year begins on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 3 and lasts through Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Most holidays on the list above celebrate people on their birthdays; Groundhog Day, according to folklore, determines if spring will come early or if the winter weather will persist for six more weeks, depending on the rodent not seeing (or seeing) his shadow.

Which is most similar to Tu B’Shevat? If you answered the birthdays, you are right. Tu B’Shevat is the birthday or new year for the trees.

In addition, it has become a day to connect with and rejoice in the land, and especially the land of Israel.

Why do we need a new year for trees? Actually, it is a legal distinction. A similar example, which I learned when I married a man from Louisville, Ky., is the concept of a horse’s birthday. Although one may celebrate the specific date of birth for a pet horse, determination of eligibility for a race is based on the age of the horse on Jan. 1. Therefore, the first of January is the new year for the horse.

In other words, the 3-year-old horses on Derby Day can range from barely 3 to almost 4.

With regard to the trees, there are various tithes that Israelites took from produce grown in the ancient land of Israel. These tithes differ from year to year in a seven-year cycle.

Tu B’Shevat is the point at which a budding fruit is considered to belong to the next year of the tithing cycle.

So, for example, if you were a farmer in ancient Israel and you had an orchard, you gave a certain amount of fruit to the Kohanim (Temple priests), to the poor, or for those eating it in Jerusalem.

The cut-off date that divides between one year’s crop and the next is based on the day when most of the rainy season has passed, which is the 15th day of Shevat.

There are those who believe that it is on the 15th day of the month of Shevat when the tree, which was dormant all winter, wakes up and the sap begins to flow.

As you might suspect, after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, in 70 C.E., the holiday of Tu B’Shevat lost much of its relevance.

For that matter, why should we, who are not living in Israel, celebrate such a seemingly meaningless holiday?

In the Middle Ages, the holiday was rediscovered by Jewish mystics of Tzfat, who developed a ritual meal. Based on the Passover seder, this Tu B’Shevat meal included four cups of wine and seven foods representative of those found in the Holy Land.

In the late 19th century, Tu B’Shevat became a celebratory way for Zionists to link the Jews with their land.

The holiday became one of rededication to the ecology of the land and the planting of trees or donating money to plant trees in Israel.

In our day, as concern for the environment grows, Tu B’Shevat has taken on the additional meaning as a day on which Jews can express and act on their concern for the ecological well-being of the world in which we live.

The biblical book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 20, Verse 19, states: “When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you?”

It is from this verse that we learn respect for trees. This lesson can also be found in the book by Dr. Seuss called The Lorax.

Whether we observe the birthday of the trees or celebrate the importance they have in our world today or use Tu B’Shevat as a convenient opportunity to connect with Israel, may we take the time to appreciate the holiday and all it has to offer.

To read the complete February 2015 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.