{"id":113927,"date":"2022-01-13T10:55:18","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T08:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/?p=113927"},"modified":"2022-01-16T10:12:11","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T08:12:11","slug":"tu-bshvat-shmita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/en\/tu-bshvat-shmita\/","title":{"rendered":"Cracking the Tu B&#8217;Shvat \u2013 Shmita Conundrum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The year 2022 marks a brand new beginning for the National Library of Israel as the new Library building and campus, nears completion. Over the past year, the structure, designed by noted architectural firm Herzog &amp; de Meuron, has emerged as a stunning addition to the Jerusalem cityscape.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Further to the magnificent building, the surrounding gardens and statuary will be an attraction in themselves. Specially selected plants and trees, native to this region, celebrate Israel&#8217;s rich, varied vegetation, while the landscaping and winding trails reflect the natural terracing characteristic of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet, oddly enough for a construction site, although the building is still being finished, the surrounding gardens, including the Idan and Batia Ofer Park, have already been planted. Landscaping is usually the final stage, but in the Land of Israel, <em>shmita<\/em>, the Jewish agricultural sabbatical, must be taken into account.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During s<em>hmita<\/em>, all agricultural activity is forbidden by Jewish law. Therefore, the landscape architects raced throughout the summer to prepare the gardens before the advent of the Jewish New Year. And so, passers-by are treated to the lovely if unusual sight of flourishing plants and budding trees encompassing a construction zone.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_113931\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113931\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-113931\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/IMG_5786-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113931\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Landscapers worked throughout the summer on the gardens, including the Idan and Batia Ofer Park, to &#8220;beat the clock&#8221; before the advent of the shmita year. Photo: Albatross.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Shmita<\/strong><strong> Workarounds<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Library found a solution to its specific planting challenge by beating the countdown to <em>shmita<\/em>. More generally, however, how does Israel honor Tu B&#8217;Shvat \u2013 the Jewish Arbor Day \u2013 in those years when planting is forbidden?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 2008, the Knesset passed a law concerning the Sabbatical year, according to which a National Shmita Commission would refer questions concerning the laws of <em>shmita<\/em> to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. The Chief Rabbinate then issued <em>shmita<\/em> guidelines for KKL-JNF, which carries out handling and management of forests on behalf of the government. During <em>shmita, <\/em>according to these guidelines, there is no ceremonial tree planting (other than special exceptions at sites where planting has been preapproved by the Chief Rabbinate), no public tree plantings with schoolchildren or tourists, and no distribution of saplings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These dismal directives are offset by positive and proactive actions to engage in continued preservation and upkeep of existent forests, including pest and disease control as well as the all-important business of fire prevention measures. In lieu of Tu B&#8217;Shvat tree-plantings, schoolchildren will be able to participate in activities ranging from forest clean-ups to preparing saplings that will be seeded, transplanted, and potted on special soil-free substrates, unconnected to Mother Earth, and therefore not planted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_113934\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113934\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/seder-tu-bshvat-venice-L-oman-R.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-113934\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/seder-tu-bshvat-venice-L-oman-R-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/seder-tu-bshvat-venice-L-oman-R-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/seder-tu-bshvat-venice-L-oman-R-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/seder-tu-bshvat-venice-L-oman-R.jpg 801w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113934\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tu B&#8217;Shvat seders were held everywhere from Italy and North Africa to Oman and Persia. (Left) Frontispiece of Seder Tu B&#8217;Shvat &#8220;Pri Etz Hadar&#8221;, Venice, 1762. NLI Collections. (Right) Page from &#8220;Seder Limud Tu B&#8217;Shvat \u2013 the New Year for the Trees&#8221;. \u1e62u\u1e25\u0101r (Oman), 1805. The National Library of Israel collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Celebrate with a Seder<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The modern-day tree-planting festival of a &#8220;Jewish Arbor Day&#8221;, notes Rabbi Dr. Zvi Leshem, Director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nli.org.il\/en\/at-your-service\/who-we-are\/collections\/scholem-collection\">Gershom Scholem Collection for Kabbalah and Hasidism<\/a> at the National Library of Israel, is a part of the Zionist enterprise. A Tu B&#8217;Shvat Seder was the more traditional \u2013and mystical &#8211; way of celebration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This tradition was started, perhaps sometime in the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century, by followers of the 16<sup>th<\/sup> century kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (also known as &#8220;Ha&#8217;ARI Hakadosh&#8221;). These disciples created a festive meal with prayers, readings, and eating the seven species of grains and fruits native to the Land of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, as well as drinking four cups of wine.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leshem says, &#8220;A common misconception is that the Seder Tu B&#8217;Shvat originated with a little booklet from 1762, <em>Pri Etz Hadar<\/em>, which took the custom from the book <em>Hemdat Yamim<\/em>, which was published in 1731. But <em>Hemdat Yamim<\/em> was thought to be Sabbatean [of the followers of the false messiah Sabbatai Zvi] and therefore suspect. However, in my research, I discovered an earlier source, <em>Birkat Eliyahu<\/em>, from 1728, which is pre-<em>Hemdat Yamim<\/em> and also mentions Ha&#8217;ARI, and so there&#8217;s an ante-Sabbatean version, too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ceremony spread throughout the Jewish world with Seders held everywhere from Italy and North Africa to Oman and Persia. Its popularity, however, was superseded in the 19<sup>th<\/sup> century with tree-planting in the Land of Israel, and \u2013 because you can&#8217;t keep a good mystic tradition down \u2013 it was revived in the latter 20<sup>th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leshem says, &#8220;I truly think I participated in the first Seder Tu B&#8217;Shvat that the vegetarian Jews in the upper west side of New York started in the mid-70s. Within a short time it spread like wildfire and became super-popular among all the denominations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Israel, the non-kabbalistic Seder Tu B&#8217;Shvat was revived by Israel Prize-winner Nogah Hareuveni, founder of the biblical nature reserve known as Neot Kedumim. Leshem notes that in recent years the Israeli versions &#8220;have become more elaborate, often including the <em>Pri Etz Hadar<\/em> list of 30 fruits with Zoharic readings.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_113938\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113938\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Tu-bshvat-puzzle-poster.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-113938\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Tu-bshvat-puzzle-poster-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Tu-bshvat-puzzle-poster-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Tu-bshvat-puzzle-poster-849x600.jpg 849w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Tu-bshvat-puzzle-poster-768x543.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Tu-bshvat-puzzle-poster.jpg 856w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113938\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The National Library of Israel website offers educational <a href=\"https:\/\/web.nli.org.il\/sites\/NLIS\/en\/Education\/Pages\/itemPage.aspx?ItemID=EDU_XML_ENGSP692&amp;_gl=1*1n8uzpm*_ga*MTc2NzcwODUyMy4xNjM4MjU4NzE2*_ga_8P5PPG5E6Z*MTY0MTgyMTg1MS44Ni4xLjE2NDE4MjM4MjQuNTY.&amp;_ga=2.79613591.268276059.1641733053-1767708523.1638258716\">resources<\/a>, from lesson plans and photos to puzzles to posters, to learn from and enjoy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Plant Educational Seeds<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Like the JNF-KKL, other organizations are also focusing their Tu B\u2019Shvat activities and educational efforts this year on ecology, sustainability, and community.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Library is no exception. NLI&#8217;s Education Department has a pack of <a href=\"https:\/\/web.nli.org.il\/sites\/NLIS\/en\/Education\/Pages\/itemPage.aspx?ItemID=EDU_XML_ENGSP692&amp;_gl=1*1n8uzpm*_ga*MTc2NzcwODUyMy4xNjM4MjU4NzE2*_ga_8P5PPG5E6Z*MTY0MTgyMTg1MS44Ni4xLjE2NDE4MjM4MjQuNTY.&amp;_ga=2.79613591.268276059.1641733053-1767708523.1638258716\">educational resources<\/a> to help expose students to different aspects of Tu B&#8217;Shvat, including lesson plans, posters, newspaper articles, photos, activities, puzzles \u2013 plus, the thing kids love most: a <a href=\"https:\/\/web.nli.org.il\/sites\/NLIS\/en\/Education\/Pages\/itemPage.aspx?ItemID=EDU_XML_ENGSP832\">Kahoot quiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">NLI&#8217;s website, too, has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nli.org.il\/en\/discover\/judaism\/holidays\/tu-bishvat\">special page dedicated to all things Tu B&#8217;Shvat<\/a>, from historic photographs to musical recordings <em>piyyutim<\/em> (liturgical hymns), Hebrew melodies, and ethnographic recordings of a Hasidic Tu B&#8217;Shvat <em>tish<\/em>, and of a Seder Tu B&#8217;Shvat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While circumstances of <em>shmita <\/em>may prevent tree-planting activities this year, they have conspired to create a happy accident whereby, by the time the Library opens in fall 2022, the trees, plants and flowers will be in full bloom. These will be fully accessible to Library visitors who will be able to enjoy the gardens, enter the building, view galleries, sit and study in the reading halls, listen to recordings and songs, examine original documents, participate in educational programs, and \u2013 after a year of lying fallow \u2013 celebrate new beginnings.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_113944\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113944\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AL21_10_10_6155.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-113944\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AL21_10_10_6155-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AL21_10_10_6155-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AL21_10_10_6155-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AL21_10_10_6155-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AL21_10_10_6155.jpg 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113944\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new National Library of Israel building and campus will open to the public this autumn. Photo: Albatross.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How does Israel honor Tu B&#8217;Shvat \u2013 the Jewish Arbor Day \u2013 in a year when planting is forbidden? Through celebration, education \u2013 and the occasional workaround. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":113928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[1708,310,224,1941],"tags2":[2707,2789,2665,2909],"class_list":["post-113927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-judaism","tag-jewish-holidays","tag-jewishmanuscripts","tag-judaism","tag-tu-bshvat"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cracking the Tu B&#039;Shvat \u2013 Shmita Conundrum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How does Israel honor Tu B&#039;Shvat \u2013 the Jewish Arbor Day \u2013 in a year when planting is forbidden? 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