Minor holiday one of most beloved celebrations

On the 15th day of the month of Shvat, the New Year of the Trees will be celebrated beginning on the evening of Jan. 29 and continuing until sunset Jan. 30. Tu BiSh’vat is one of the most beloved minor Jewish holidays as it celebrates the relationship of God with His people as expressed by the blessings that He bestowed on the land.

Tu BiSh'vat marked the time, determined by the sages, when the trees were nourished by the rains of the new year, as opposed to the rain of the previous year. Tradition teaches that on Tu BiSh'vat a heavenly court judges the trees and pronounces their fate — which trees will thrive and which will wither.

In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, taxes were collected on fruit trees. The age of the tree determined this tax, also called a tithe. Tu BiSh'vat was considered the birthday of the trees, and the age of the tree was calculated from this date. When the Temple was destroyed, Tu BiSh'vat lost its purpose, since the laws of tithing and planting did not apply outside the land of Israel.

It was the kabbalists, the Jewish mystics of Safed, who created a new observance for Tu BiSh'vat approximately 400 years ago. Isaac Luria, a rabbi at that time, established the 15th of Shevat as a day for eating fruits. His intent was to connect humankind to nature. They saw Tu BiSh'vat as a holiday that celebrated two ideas — the revival of nature after the long winter and the revival of the Jewish nation. A Tu seder was created, similar in structure to the Passover seder.

Borrowing from Passover's four cups of wine, the kabbalistic seder for Tu BiSh'vat is divided into four parts that correspond to four “worlds.” This notion of the importance of the number four repeats itself in multiple ways. The Kabbalists thought of the world as being made of four things — earth, water, air, fire — and the human being made up of four parts — our body, our heart and feelings, our mind and thoughts, and our spirit. By assigning a season and mystical attribute to each world, by drinking four cups of wine, and dividing the foods eaten during the seder into four categories that reflect human nature, seder participants are led to a level of contemplative thought, creativity and wonder.

It is also customary to read about nature, the earth, trees, the ingathering of the Jewish exiles and the covenant of the people of Israel with God at the seder. Either one person can lead the seder, reciting each reading and making the blessings, or everyone can take turns. The directions concerning which fruit to locate and the mix of the wines should be read aloud. As each piece of fruit and each cup of wine is being considered and blessed, the reader holds that object. After each blessing, the participants taste the fruit or sip the wine.

The First Cup of Wine

This cup of white wine or grape juice symbolizes the bareness of winter and the mystical dimension of atzilut, or emanation, at which God's energy infused the creation process with initial life.

The blessing which precedes the drinking of each cup of wine is Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam borei peri ha-gafen. Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

The First Fruit

This is the fruit that is hard on the outside and soft on the inside, such as walnuts, coconuts or almonds. The hard shell symbolizes the protection that the earth gives us and reminds us to nourish the strength and healing power of our own bodies. A prominent place is given to almonds in the seder since the almond trees were believed to be the first of all trees in Israel to blossom.

Before eating the fruits, the blessing is Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-etz. Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the tree.

The Second Cup of Wine

This cup of wine or grape juice is mostly white, with a little red mixed in, to symbolize the passing of the seasons and the mystical concept of formation and birth, often associated with water.

The Second Fruit

Soft with a pit in the center — olives or dates (or peaches, apricots, etc.) — the second fruit symbolizes the life-sustaining power that emanates from the earth. It reminds us of the spiritual and emotional strength that is within each of us.

The Third Cup of Wine

This cup of wine is mostly red with a little of white mixed in and symbolizes once again the change of seasons and the mystical concept of beriah, or creation.

The Third Fruit

The third fruit is soft throughout and is completely edible, such as figs, grapes and raisins and symbolizes God's omnipresence and our own inextricable ties with the earth.

The Fourth Cup of Wine

This cup is all red, symbolizing the mystical concept of fire and the idea that within all living things dwells a spark of God.

The Fourth Fruit

This has a tough skin on the outside, but sweet fruit within — mangos, bananas, avocados, or sabra, a desert pear — and symbolizes the mystery of the world and the study of Torah.

“Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.” — Psalms 96: 12-13

                                                                                                        Source — www.myjewishlearning.com.