In early 2020, I was in my first year as an Israeli emissary at a Conservative synagogue in Maryland. One of the last in-person events we held before COVID hit was a Tu Bishvat gathering with the men’s club and sisterhood.
While planning, I shared about how I used to be a tour guide in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, and that Tu Bishvat is sometimes described as the Knesset’s “birthday” too. I was excited to share more information about that connection.
But someone from the men’s club asked a different question: could I explain the Tu Bishvat seder, the ceremony some people do in Israel, and what common practice looks like?
The thing is, despite growing up Orthodox, I had never held a Tu Bishvat seder before. At the moment, I felt very embarrassed. Had I missed an important Jewish practice my whole life? How come I had never done it before?
Later, I realized the question wasn’t really about what I did or didn’t know. Tu Bishvat has had various developments throughout history, picking up new meanings and customs in different places and different eras. It’s important to understand Tu Bishvat’s winding history to get a full picture of why certain practices are common in some communities and practically unknown in others.
What is Tu Bishvat?
Tu Bishvat literally means the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat (also spelled Shevat). This year, it’ll be celebrated from sundown February 1 through sundown February 2, 2026. Today, Tu Bishvat is widely known as the “New Year of the Trees,” but its origins are much more technical.
In the Mishnah (a foundational text of the Oral Law compiled around 200 CE), the rabbis teach that Judaism has four “new years,” meaning four different calendar start points used for different kinds of counting and religious obligations (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1). Later rabbinic discussions in the Talmud (compiled over the next few centuries) expand on how each one works.
The four “new years” in Jewish tradition
1st of Tishrei
This is the New Year for counting years, including the sabbatical cycle and the jubilee cycle. It’s also the date we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
1st of Nissan
This is the New Year for kings and festivals. In rabbinic tradition, a Jewish king’s “regnal years” are counted from the 1st of Nissan. Nissan is also treated as the “first month” when counting months toward the festivals on the Hebrew calendar.
1st of Elul
This is the new year for animal tithes. During the time of the temple, farmers would designate 10% of their flock to the temple as a donation. This date was the cut-off point that determined how much of your flock to donate, as animals born before that date were counted in one tithe-year, and animals born after it were counted in the next.
15th of Shvat (Tu Bishvat)
Tu Bishvat is the New Year for trees: it’s a deadline that helps determine which fruits belong to which “year” for certain agricultural mitzvot.
So what did Tu Bishvat actually do?
In ancient Israel, several mitzvot depended on knowing a fruit tree’s “year,” including:
- Orlah: fruit from a tree’s first three years is not eaten.
- Neta revai: fruit from the fourth year has a special sanctity and (in Temple times) was eaten in Jerusalem.
- Tithes (ma’aser): requirement of donating 10% of fruits to the temple.
The 15th of Shvat was chosen because, in the Land of Israel, most of the rain for the year had fallen. By then, the trees were beginning to shift into a new growth cycle, and buds actually had begun to bloom, so one could determine by sight that the fruit was ready to be donated to the temple.
We learn from this that Tu Bishvat was solely a cut-off point for donations to the temple. It was simply a calendar tool to indicate the set time, not a holiday.
When did Tu Bishvat become something people celebrated?
After the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE and the Jewish people were exiled and living in the diaspora, Tu Bishvat’s original purpose became irrelevant. From the 3rd century, Tu Bishvat became an opportunity to connect to the land of Israel by eating the fruits that Israel is blessed with. These are the seven species mentioned in the Torah: wheat, barley, figs, dates, pomegranates, olives, and grapes.
Because many Jews were living far from the land, communities wanted to strengthen the connection and ensure that these fruits were actually from Israel. Dried fruit traveled better, lasted longer, and could be shipped across distances and seasons, creating a custom that has lasted centuries, with the particular fruit that Israel was blessed with.
Only in the 16th century did Tu Bishvat seders begin. The practice was created by mystics from Tzfat in northern Israel, who used fruits from the land of Israel, wine or grape juice, and various verses from the Zohar and Kabbalah, the central books of Jewish mysticism.
This ritual spread through various Jewish communities, but the roots are among communities who connect to Jewish mysticism, including many Hasidic groups. In the modern era, plenty of other communities have adopted a Tu Bishvat seder, often adapting them, sometimes emphasizing Israel, sometimes spirituality, and sometimes environmental themes.
That’s why I hadn’t come across a Tu Bishvat seder before. I didn’t grow up following Hasidic traditions, even within Orthodox communities, the seder is not done by everyone, and definitely not an obligation.
And you may have experienced Tu Bishvat in a completely different way, as the holiday continued to evolve, and there have been developments that took place with the growth of Zionism and the foundation of the State of Israel.
In the 20th century, Zionism helped reshape Tu Bishvat into a celebration of rebuilding Jewish life on the land through agriculture. The custom of planting a tree in Israel began and has become a common practice for Tu Bishvat, turning “the New Year of the Trees” into something literal and hands-on.
In addition, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, was established on Tu Bishvat in 1949. When I was a tour guide at the Israeli parliament, it was a celebratory day in the Knesset. We hosted groups from all over Israel to learn about how the Knesset works, participate in games, and mark Tu Bishvat in a unique way. We combined the celebration of agriculture and the growth of the land with the celebration of our sovereignty and democracy in the State of Israel.
Later, non-Orthodox movements added yet another perspective after Earth Day was established in 1970. By the 1980s, more communities began connecting Tu Bishvat with environmental responsibility and the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world), transforming Tu Bishvat into a Jewish Earth Day. Beyond just celebrating the fruit and growth of the land, Tu Bishvat is an opportunity to act, organizing environmental programs, community initiatives, cleanups, and educational projects that support, beautify, and repair our world.
As we no longer have the Temple, Tu Bishvat has become a day to celebrate the land of Israel and the fruits we have. Many eat dried fruit, especially from Israel, and communities might do a seder together. Schools and synagogues take the opportunity to teach about the environment and do projects that encourage stewardship of the earth.
And because Tu Bishvat no longer carries the Temple-era religious obligations it once helped organize, you can truly choose the way you most connect to, what helps you find meaning, and really celebrate the New Year of the Trees.
Tu Bishvat Sameach!
Originally Published Jan 28, 2026 12:00PM EST
