Tu b’Shvat: Celebrating the Impregnation of Mother Earth

In Jewish tradition, when do we celebrate conception? This question is answered by the Jewish New Year for trees: Tu b’Shvat. Tonight (Sunday January 24) starts the Jewish New Year for Trees. It is commonly referred to as Tu b’Shvat which simply means the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat. It almost was known as Echad b’Shvat, the first of Shvat. 2500 years ago, two of our great sages, Shammai and Hillel, argued over when the new year for … Continue reading