Part I
This is the first of a three-part essay that explains
many important and deep concepts that underlie the "minor"
holiday of Tu BeShevat.
The Targum Sheini on Megillas
Esther relates how Shimshi the scribe cast lots for
Haman to enable him to decide in which month he would kill
the Jews. The lot would not fall on Shevat, writes the
Targum Sheini, since the Rosh Hashanah for Trees
occurs in it. The Tur Barekes (par. 572) writes
(notwithstanding the fact that the Targum Sheini
seems to be offering a different explanation), "Although the
Targum Sheini is explaining according to Beis Shamai
[whose opinion is that the Rosh Hashanah for Trees is on 1
Shevat], and not as we rule [that it is on 15 Shevat], we
learn that through the zechus of this rosh
hashanah the lot did not fall on Shevat. That month was
not chosen as the month to kill the Jews."
This needs to be explained. Chazal write that Haman's power
increased during Mordechai and Esther's period either
because the Jews enjoyed King Achashverosh's feast or
because of other reasons explicitly mentioned in the
gemora (Megilla 12). From the Targum Sheini we
understand that the zechus of Tu BeShevat, the Rosh
Hashanah for Trees, ultimately prevented Haman, the
descendent of Amolek, from destroying Am Yisroel.
What is the special significance of the Rosh Hashanah for
Trees? How could it frustrate Amolek's ascent to
authority?
The Chidushei HaRim zt'l (in the Sefer
HaZechus) writes, "One can discern which chidushei
Torah were said by someone before Tu BeShevat and which
afterwards. During Shevat, Heaven allots a Jew the
chidushei Torah that he will innovate during the
whole year. `In the eleventh month . . . beyond the Jordan,
in the land of Moav, Moshe began to explain this Torah,
saying . . .' (Devorim 1:3,5). Since the Torah
enumerated the eleventh month [the Torah counts Nisan as the
first month, therefore Shevat is the eleventh] as when Moshe
began explaining the Torah, even today the wellsprings of
Torah open during that month for every Jew." (See also the
Romosayim Tzofim on this subject).
In the same way, the gaon of Kozheglov zt'l
(in Shut Eretz HaTzvi II:344) comments in the name of
the Sochatchover Rebbe, the author of the Avnei
Nezer, "On every year after Tu BeShevat one feels a
change in his chidushei Torah, since the Rosh
Hashanah for trees mainly alludes to chidushei
Torah."
We will later give the Chidushei HaRim's interpretation in
full and try to explain it, with Hashem's help, to the best
of our capability, although that is admittedly
insufficient.
In the seforim hakedoshim we find a connection
between the mitzvah of arba minim performed during
Sukkos and Tu BeShevat. The Yofeh LaLev writes, "One
should make jam out of the esrog after performing the
mitzvah with it and serve the jam on the night of Tu
BeShevat, the Rosh Hashanah for Trees, among the other
fruits that the family will make a brocho on. Eating
from it is of great value both for a pregnant woman and for
a woman having difficulty giving birth. It helps the child
emerge easily without any suffering and later live a good
and peaceful life."
But what is the relationship between the mitzvah of
esrog and Tu BeShevat? What is the secret of the
esrog's special power on Tu BeShevat for these
women?
The Bnei Yissoschor (Shevat, 2:2) cites another link
between Tu BeShevat and the arba minim: "A person
should pray on Tu BeShevat to find a kosher, beautiful, and
mehudar esrog with which to fulfill the mitzvah." (He
details his reason there.) The Ben Ish Chai composed a
special tefillah for "the entire arba minim"
to be said on Tu BeShevat. The tefillah asks, "May
Hashem help us to fulfill this mitzvah of lulav,
hadas, arovoh, and esrog properly on Sukkos."
[Kashrus Arbaas Minim writes a wonderful allusion to
the connection between Tu BeShevat and Sukkos. The
gematria of chamishah osor BeShevat is exactly
the same as lechavein al esrog, lulav,
hadas, arovoh -- that we should concentrate in
our tefillos to ask for the four minim.]
In the continuation of this article, with Hashem's help, we
will analyze this connection. First, we will discuss the
special essence of Tu BeShevat as distinct from the other
roshei shonim.
Tu BeShevat's distinct quality, which separates it from
other roshei shonim mentioned in the Mishnah (Rosh
Hashanah 1:1), is that on it we act in some ways as if
it were a Yom Tov: we do not say tachanun at
Shacharis and Minchoh; we do not eulogize the
dead; and when it falls on Shabbos we do not say Av
Horachamim. We are likewise accustomed to eat many
fruits of Eretz Yisroel, and we try to eat a new fruit on
which to make a shehecheyonu because it is the Rosh
Hashanah for Trees.
Why is this day more exceptional than 1 Elul, the Rosh
Hashanah for ma'aser beheimoh? On 1 Elul we do not do
anything special. What is the difference between
ma'aser of beheimos and ma'aser of
peiros?
One of the explanations offered in the
seforim hakedoshim is that Tu BeShevat is a special
time for tefillah and din for the trees.
HaKodosh Boruch Hu always acts in the following
manner: at the beginning of each creature's growth He
surveys its future. At that time -- the time of din
for that creature -- it is naturally fitting to pray for its
success. Since the Torah likens man to "a tree of the
field," this day is a sort of yom din for man too.
The Jewish Nation's nature is to be cheerful on a day of
din. Whatever the verdict will be, it does not matter
as long as everyone sees justice being done in the world and
that a Judge rules over the world. Then, since Yisroel love
din, they are vindicated from any punishment.
In fact, the entire special significance of Tu BeShevat in
comparison to other roshei shonim lies in that a
person is likened to a tree: "For man is a tree of the
field, [so should he] be besieged by you?" (Devorim
20:19).
R' Chaim Vital cites in the name of his rebbe, the Ari
z'l ,that he instituted a custom of eating thirty
different fruits on Tu BeShevat. This had hidden
significance in the hands of such an odom godol, and
it could remedy the sin of Odom Horishon, who sinned through
the fruit of Eitz Hadaas. Although the full impact of
this is beyond our understanding, we see at any rate that Tu
BeShevat is unique in that it alleviates the sin of the
Eitz Hadaas (see the Pri Yitzchok, who
discusses special meanings of Tu BeShevat). We will try now
to explain this as best as we can.
Eitz HaDaas and Eitz Hasodeh
The origin of the saying that a person is compared to a tree
is the posuk "For man is a tree of the field, [so
should he] be besieged by you?" The gemora (in
Taanis 7a) asks, "Is man a tree of the field?" The
Maharsha (ibid.) explains that the gemora's
lesson from the posuk ("if he is a proper
talmid chochom you should learn from him and not
destroy him") is a drash.
I believe that the adage is really derived from the nature
of Odom Horishon's sin. To explain this deeply, I will first
explain Odom's sin of eating from the Eitz Hadaas.
The Nefesh HaChaim (1:6, in note) when discussing
Odom Horishon's sin writes: "Undoubtedly before the sin,
Odom had full free choice . . . since that is the objective
of the whole Creation. Nevertheless, his ability to choose
how to act was not because he possessed an innate power of
evil [that he had to overcome]. This could not be, because
Odom Horishon was absolutely upright . . . He had free
choice just as a person has free choice whether to walk into
fire . . . After Odom's sin the power of evil actually
became mixed within him, and from that day on there was
great chaos in what he does. All of man's acts had become
muddled and fluctuated excessively -- sometimes good,
sometimes bad -- always changing from good to evil and back
from evil to good. When a person is brought before Hashem to
be judged, endless reckoning is made on every detail of his
acts, speech, thoughts, and behavior, in order to discern
their inclination. This is what is written in Koheles
(7:29) `Behold, this only have I found, that Hashem made man
upright; but they [by their sinning] have sought out many
reckonings.'
"This condition [of evil being incorporated within a person,
unlike the pre-sin stage when it was something external]
continued until, as Chazal write, bnei Yisroel
received the Torah and the zuhamoh (filth) ceased
from within them. Afterwards, during the cheit
ho'eigel, the Satan came and perplexed them -- meaning
that it came from outside them just as with the sin of Odom
Horishon. Evil had been driven out from within them, but
through the cheit ho'eigel the zuhamoh
returned and became mixed within them as beforehand."
Our Sages taught us that Odom Horishon's free choice before
his sin was between truth and falsehood and not between good
and evil. He did not discern evil as a reality at all since
he clearly knew that evil was only falsehood and fantasy
while truth was the absolute reality. One thing Odom did
know about evil: if he ate from the Eitz Hadaas he
would be able to discern the essence of evil.
This is what HaRav Moshe Chaim Luzatto (in Daas
Tevunos) writes: Odom Horishon knew about good and evil,
i.e., he knew that by eating this fruit he would
later discern good and evil.
The Ari z'l explained that Odom Horishon wanted to
make a horo'as sho'oh (a one-time exception) of doing
a sin "for the sake of Heaven." He wanted to increase his
power of free choice by descending to a lower level. He
reasoned that in this way he could increase Heaven's honor
by withstanding temptation while the glory of the
Shechinah was hidden deeply away from him. Odom
Horishon had no inkling of the difficulty he would later
have in overcoming temptation when he was tested after
eating from the Eitz Hadaas. He was unable to
evaluate what his condition would be after eating the
fruit.
His sin was that despite all his intentions he should not
have rebelled against Hashem's command -- "There is no
wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Hashem"
(Mishlei 21:30). Any thought to the effect that a
person can do differently from Hashem's will but can still
benefit by doing so, results from a lack of clear knowledge
of His uniqueness. A person must serve Hashem by annulling
his own will and accept Hashem's commands simply without
making any calculations.
End of Part I
HaRav Aryeh Leib HaCohen Shapira is the author of Chazon
LaMoed and mashgiach of Chevron Yeshiva, Geulah,
Yerushalayim.
