Tu Bishvat

Tu BiShvat, the fifteenth of Shevat, falls this year on Saturday, January 23, 2027. The Mishnah calls it the New Year for Trees, according to Beit Hillel (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1).

It is customary to eat many kinds of tree fruits on this day (Magen Avraham 131:16), and Tachanun is not said (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 131:6).

The Mishnah lists it among the four new years of the Jewish calendar. It sets the year of a tree for the laws of tithes and orlah, which apply to fruit grown in the Land of Israel. By this point in winter most of the year's rain in Israel has fallen, and the sap begins to rise in the trees.

There are no special mitzvot on Tu BiShvat, but many eat especially from the seven species with which the Land of Israel is praised: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Many hold a Tu BiShvat seder with blessings, verses and songs, and some pray on this day for a beautiful etrog for Sukkot.

Below you will find the blessings, the customs and ideas for celebrating at home.