Tu BiShvat

Tu BiShvat, the "New Year of the Trees," is Jewish Arbor Day. Scholars believe that Tu BiShvat was originally an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.C.E., this holiday was a way for Jews to symbolically bind themselves to their former homeland by eating foods that could be found in Israel. At Shir Tikva, we mark Tu BiShvat in our religious school curriculum, and by special events and adult education classes that incorporate the themes of the holiday.