Daf Ditty Rosh Hashanah 10: Tu Bishvat

1
The Sages taught in a baraita: If one plants a tree or layers a vine shoot into the ground so that
it may take root or grafts a branch onto a tree on the eve of the Sabbatical Year thirty days
before Rosh HaShana, as soon as Rosh HaShana arrives, a year is counted for him. The thirty
days count as a full year with regard to the prohibition of orla, and it is permitted to preserve
the plant during the Sabbatical Year, as this is not considered new growth. However, if one
performed these actions less than thirty days before Rosh HaShana, then when Rosh HaShana
arrives, a year is not counted for him for orla, and it is prohibited to preserve the new growth
during the Sabbatical Year.

2
And if the planting, layering, or grafting took place more than thirty days before Rosh HaShana,
the fruit of this planting is prohibited until the fifteenth of Shevat of the fourth year since the
tree’s planting, even though the three years were already completed the previous Rosh HaShana.
This principle applies both for orla during the year of orla, when it is prohibited to eat the fruit,
and for fourth-year produce during the year of fourth-year produce, which must be eaten in
Jerusalem or redeemed before it is eaten outside Jerusalem.

3
The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived, that the prohibitions of orla and fourth-
year produce extend past Tishrei until the fifteenth of Shevat? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that
Rabbi Yoḥanan said, and some determined that it was stated in the name of Rabbi Yannai:
The verse states:

-‫ וּ ְנַטְﬠֶתּם ָכּל‬,‫ָהָא ֶרץ‬-‫ָתֹבאוּ ֶאל‬-‫כג ְוִכי‬ 23 And when ye shall come into the land and shall have
;‫ִפּ ְריוֹ‬-‫ ֶאת‬,‫ַוֲﬠ ַרְלֶתּם ָﬠ ְרָלתוֹ‬--‫ֵﬠץ ַמֲאָכל‬ planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count
‫ל ֹא‬--‫ ִיְהֶיה ָלֶכם ֲﬠ ֵרִלים‬,‫שׁ ָשׁ ִנים‬d‫ָשׁ‬ the fruit thereof as forbidden; three years shall it be as
.‫ֵיָאֵכל‬ forbidden unto you; it shall not be eaten.

-‫ִפּ ְריוֹ‬-‫ ָכּל‬,‫ ִיְהֶיה‬,‫ ָה ְרִביִﬠת‬,‫כד וַּבָשָּׁנה‬ 24 And in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be
.‫ ַליהָוה‬,‫ֹקֶדשׁ ִהלּוִּלים‬- holy, for giving praise unto the LORD.

4
 -‫ תּ ֹאְכלוּ ֶאת‬,‫כה וַּבָשָּׁנה ַהֲחִמיִשׁת‬ 25 But in the fifth year may ye eat of the fruit thereof,
,‫ ֲא ִני‬:‫ ְתּבוָּאתוֹ‬,‫ ְלהוִֹסיף ָלֶכם‬,‫ִפּ ְריוֹ‬ that it may yield unto you more richly the increase
.‫ֵהיֶכם‬d‫ְיהָוה ֱא‬ thereof: I am the LORD your God.
Lev 19:23-25

“Three years shall it be as prohibited to you; it shall not be eaten. And in the fourth year all
its fruit shall be sacred for praise-giving to the Lord. And in the fifth year shall you eat of its
fruit, that it may yield to you its increase; I am the Lord your God”

The baraita explains: The repetition of the word “and,” indicated by the conjunctive vav that joins
these verses, teaches that there are times that the tree is already in its fourth year and yet the
fruit is forbidden as orla, from the verses “three years…and in the fourth year”; and there are
times that the tree is already in its fifth year and yet the fruit is forbidden as fourth-year
produce, from the verses “in the fourth year…and in the fifth year.”

5
The Gemara suggests: Let us say that this baraita is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi
Meir, as, if it were in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, didn’t Rabbi Meir say that
even one day in a year is considered a year? As it is taught in a baraita: The term bullock [par]
mentioned in the Torah without specification is referring to a bullock that is twenty-four
months and one day old, as although it is known by tradition that a bullock is three years old,
once it is one day into its third year, it is already considered three years old; this is the statement
of Rabbi Meir.

6
§ The Gemara comments: By inference, both of them, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar, hold that
the world was created in Nisan and that the years are counted from that month, as, if the world
were created in Tishrei and the count started then, the first day of the first month of the six hundred
and first year would already have been six months into the year for the purpose of counting years.

It is taught in a baraita that the tanna’im disagreed about this point: Rabbi Eliezer says: In
Tishrei the world was created; in Tishrei the Patriarchs were born; in Tishrei the Patriarchs
died; on Passover Isaac was born; on Rosh HaShana Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were
remembered by God and conceived; on Rosh HaShana Joseph came out from prison;

Summary

7
Our daf discusses a question that has perplexed me since first grade. I clearly remember
questioning the concept of the number one. It began with my close examination of the number
line above the chalkboard. There was a clear line separating 0 from 1. But where did 'one' truly
begin? On that line? At some point after the line ended and within that first empty space of
'one'? Or perhaps one began at the end of that empty space, somewhere within the vertical line
delineating 1.1

0 1 2 3

|___|___|___|___ ....

My confusion became more pronounced when classmates were counting down days to their
birthdays. Mine was on June 17, and I counted several days. But how did the other students know
whether or not to count the day that we were in? And when did the birthday start, at midnight? At
the time that each student was born. How could any of us declare that we knew with certainty how
many days there were until our birthdays?

Beginning with the concept of orla, today's daf questions how we are to count days from different
New Years. The halacha of orla prohibits the use of fruit from trees for at least the first three years
of their lives. We learn that the rabbis were curious about how to count those years. Do we wait
three years after the tree was planted in the ground? Or three years from its establishment in the
soil, which seems to be mostly understood to be 30 days? Do we assume that there is a New Year
for trees, where all trees celebrate their birthdays regardless of when they were planted or when
they took root? This would avoid any confusion about whether or not an individual tree is three
years old and ready to spend its fourth year giving fruit to the priests (and then its fifth year giving
fruit to its owner).

The rabbis engage in a debate about grafting, rooting, and other horticultural practices.

More interesting to me, as I have no green thumb at all, is their discussion regarding 'one
day'. Some rabbis believe that one day can be one year; others insist that one day or any other part
of a year cannot be thought of as the same as one year.

It is telling that they often use the same verses to prove their contradictory points. One regarding
the date that the waters dried up beneath Noah's ark. Genesis 8:13 can teach us that one day beyond
six hundred years is the same as 601 years. If we look at its phrasing differently, the same verse
teaches that the intended amount of time is 600 years plus one day.

It is reassuring to find our Sages questioning the same concept that has stumped me for years. The

1
http://dafyomibeginner.blogspot.com/2014/05/

8
nature of one can be defined in practical terms, but the concept of one deserves much more
complex philosophical discussion.

Rav Avrohom Adler writes:2

ORLAH

The Mishna had stated that the First of Tishrei is the New Year in regard to the laws of orlah. One
is prohibited to eat or derive pleasure from fruits during the first three years of its growth. The
Gemora cites a source proving that the years of a tree’s growth are not counted by the date it was
planted, rather by the first of Tishrei.

ADDING FROM THE ORDINARY ONTO THE HOLY

The Gemora cites a braisa regarding one who plants a tree in the year before Shemitah. If it is
planted more than thirty days before the first of Tishrei, it will be considered a complete year in
respect to orlah when Rosh Hashanah arrives and will not be regarded as produce grown during
Shemitah. If, however, it was planted within thirty days from Rosh Hashanah, when the first of
Tishrei arrives, it will not be considered a year in respect to orlah and it will be regarded as produce
grown during Shemitah. The braisa continues discussing the case where the tree was planted more
than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah. Even though we have learned that the first of Tishrei
accomplishes that the tree has completed its first year, this is only regarding fruits that emerge
after the fifteenth of Shevat. Regarding the fruits that emerge before the fifteenth of Shevat, they
will still be considered orlah until the third fifteenth of Shevat arrives. If the tree was planted within
thirty days of Rosh Hashanah, the fruits will remain in an orlah status until three more Rosh
Hashanahs, seven and a half months after the other fruits (those emerging from the trees planted
more than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah). The Gemora cites the sources for these halachos.

LESS THAN A YEAR CAN BE REGARDED AS A COMPLETE YEAR

The braisa had stated that the time frame to be considered a full year is thirty days. The Gemora
examines this further.

When the Torah states that one can offer a bull as a korban, it is agreed upon that the bull must be
in its third year. Rabbi Meir maintains that the bull must be at least twenty-four months and one
day old. Rabbi Elozar disagrees and holds that the bull must be at least twenty-four months and
thirty days old. The Gemora assumes that the Tanna of our braisa cannot be Rabbi Meir since he
maintains that one day constitutes a year and it is not necessary to have thirty days. The Gemora
responds and states that perhaps there is a distinction between the beginning of the year and the
conclusion of the year. Rabbi Meir would maintain that one day at the end of the year constitutes
a year but to be considered a year in the beginning, thirty days would be required. Rava objects to
this distinction and proves that the logic should be exactly the opposite from a halachah regarding
the Biblical laws of a niddah. In order for a niddah to purify herself by immersing in the mikvah,

2
http://dafnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rosh_Hashanah_10.pdf

9
she must wait for nightfall after the seventh day is complete; yet the first day counts as a complete
day even if her flow began towards the end of the day. If Rabbi Meir holds that one day at the end
is considered a year, he should certainly regard one day in the beginning of the year as a year.

The Gemora considers that perhaps the Tanna of our braisa is Rabbi Elozar who holds that thirty
days constitutes a year pertaining to animals used for a korban, so too the tree must be planted
thirty days before Rosh Hashanah to be considered a year. The Gemora cites a Mishna proving
that a tree needs thirty days to become rooted in the ground.

The Mishna states that if one plants a tree within thirty days of Rosh Hashanah prior to a Shemitah
year, the tree must be uprooted. Rabbi Yehudah maintains that a tree takes root within three days.
Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Shimon hold that a tree takes root within two weeks of its being planted.
Rav Nachman rules in the name of Rabbah bar Avuhah that according to all these opinions, you
must add an additional thirty days to satisfy the requirement of adding from the ordinary onto the
holy. In conclusion, the Gemora is asking that our braisa which stated that if the tree is planted
thirty days before Rosh Hashanah, when the first of Tishrei arrives, the first year is completed.
This is not consistent with any of the opinions cited above. The Gemora concludes that our Tanna
must be Rabbi Meir who holds that thirty days are required for the tree to take root.

The Gemora questions this since an additional day is needed for it to be considered a complete
year. The Gemora answers that the tree takes root on the beginning of the thirtieth day and the
remainder of the day is the one day that would constitute the first year. The Gemora cites Scriptural
proofs that less than a year can be regarded as a complete year.

TISHREI OR NISSAN

Rabbi Eliezer learned in a braisa that there were many events that took place in the month of
Tishrei. The world was created in Tishrei. The Patriarchs (Avrohom and Yaakov) were born and
died in Tishrei. Yitzchak, however, was born on Pesach. It was decreed on Rosh Hashanah that
Sarah, Rochel and Chanah would give birth to children. Yosef was released from prison on Rosh
Hashanah. Our forefathers were removed from servitude in Egypt on Rosh Hashanah. Klal Yisroel
was redeemed from Egypt in the month of Nissan and the final redemption will be in Tishrei.
Rabbi Yehoshua maintains that the world was created in Nissan. The Patriarchs were born and
died in Nissan. Yitzchok was born on Pesach. It was decreed on Rosh Hashanah that Sarah, Rochel
and Chanah would give birth to children. Yosef was released from prison on Rosh Hashanah. Our
forefathers were removed from servitude in Egypt on Rosh Hashanah. Klal Yisroel was redeemed
from Egypt in the month of Nissan and the final redemption will be in Nissan.

HOW SHOULD WE RULE?

The Gemora cites a Mishna which states that if one plants a tree within thirty days of Rosh
Hashanah prior to a Shemitah year, the tree must be uprooted. Rabbi Yehuda maintains that a tree
takes root within three days. Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Shimon hold that a tree takes root within two
weeks of its being planted. The Rambam and other poskim all rule in accordance with Rabbi Yosi
and Rabbi Shimon. The Sfas Emes questions as to why the Rambam does not rule regarding lands

10
outside of Eretz Yisroel in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda who holds that three days is sufficient.
There is a principle that we rule outside of Eretz Yisroel in accordance with the viewpoint which
is most lenient in Eretz Yisroel.The Shagas Aryeh (14) and the Noda Beyehuda (kamma Y”D 88)
answer that whenever the Gemora rules explicitly like the Tanna who is stringent, the principle of
ruling in Chutz La’aretz in accordance with the lenient opinion does not apply.

NOT A FACTUAL DISPUTE

The Gemora cites a Mishna which states that if one plants a tree within thirty days of Rosh
Hashanah prior to a Shemitah year, the tree must be uprooted. Rabbi Yehuda maintains that a tree
takes root within three days. Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Shimon hold that a tree takes root within two
weeks of its being planted. The Chasam Sofer (Y”D 284) comment that this is not a factual dispute
as to how many days it takes for a tree to take root for everyone holds that it takes root in three
days or less and the facts can attest to this. The argument is regarding a case where for some reason
the tree did not take root. After how long it can be stated with a certainty that the tree will not take
root any longer. Interestingly, the Chazon Ish (Shvi’is 17:28) explains exactly the opposite. He
also comments that there is no factual dispute amongst the Tannaim, and everyone agrees that a
tree can only begin to take root within three days. The argument is if that little bit is considered
taking root or is a much firmer attachment to the ground necessary.

The Connection to Rosh Hashanah

Eliezer Bulka writes:

On the first day of Rosh HaShanah, the Torah reading comes from Parshas Vayeira. It begins with
the conception and birth of Yitzchak to Avraham and Sarah after many years of barrenness. This
is a fitting section to be read on this day as the gemara (Rosh HaShanah 10b) teaches us that it was
on Rosh HaShanah that Sarah, Rachel and Chanah were "remembered”, and their prayers
answered. Then ensuing episodes of Yitzchak's weaning and the expulsion of Hagar and Yishmael
are all directly pertinent to Yitzchak's upbringing and are justly included in the reading. The last
two aliyos deal with the pact made between Avimelech, king of the Pelishtim, and Avraham that
they and their descendants shall do no harm to each other. On the surface, there does not seem to
be any relevance to Rosh HaShanah. The first three aliyos contain 21 pesukim, conceivably enough
to comprise a complete Torah reading, even on Shabbos when we require seven aliyos. Why, then,
is this section included in the reading?

I suggest that this section of the reading does in fact have a significant connection to the Rosh
HaShanah experience. The central theme of the Mussaf service on Rosh HaShanah is the trio of
malchios, zichronos and shofaros - kingship, remembrances, and shofars . The middle of the three,
remembrances, refers specifically to recalling the various covenants made with our forefathers.
This section which is read at the end of the day's Torah reading impresses upon us the significance
of a covenant.

The pact made between Avimelech and Avraham, later reaffirmed by Yitzchak, was binding over
many generations. Despite being gravely mistreated and persecuted by the Pelishtim, Avimelech's
descendants, after entering Eretz Yisroel, on two occasions (Yeshoshua 15:63, Shmuel II 5) B'nei

11
Yisroel refrained from any offensive against the Pelishtim. In the Midrash (Sifrei Re'eih 12:17) R'
Yehoshua ben Levi teaches that it was within their powers to do battle with them, but they were
not allowed because of the covenant between Avraham and Avimelech. Perhaps, the inclusion of
this episode in the Torah reading is in parallel with the zichronos aspect of our prayers. Indeed, we
are guilty many times over of violating our covenant with HaShem to keep the Torah in its entirety.
Nevertheless, we beseech of HaShem to remember, so to speak, the covenant made with Avraham,
Yitzchak, and Yaakov never to forsake us despite our transgressions, in the same manner in which
we faithfully upheld our accord with the Pelishtim.

COUNTING THE YEARS OF A TREE

Rav Mordechai Kornfeld writes:3

The Beraisa (9b) states that a tree planted more than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah is
considered to be one year old when Rosh Hashanah arrives. With regard to the age of the tree for
matters of Orlah and Reva'i, those thirty days before Rosh Hashanah count as one year. When the
following Rosh Hashanah arrives (the second Rosh Hashanah from the time the tree was planted),
the tree is considered two years old, and upon the arrival of the third Rosh Hashanah, three years
old.

However, the fruit of the tree remains Orlah (fruit that grew within the first three years of the tree's
life) until the fifteenth of Shevat ("Tu b'Shevat") after the third Rosh Hashanah. Similarly, although
the tree is considered to have completed four years of growth upon the arrival of the fourth Rosh
Hashanah, its fruit remains Reva'i (fruit of the fourth year) until the Tu b'Shevat after the fourth
Rosh Hashanah, as the Gemara derives from verses.

The Rishonim dispute under which conditions the year is extended until Tu b'Shevat (see Chart).

3
https://www.dafyomi.co.il/rhashanah/insites/rh-dt-010.htm

12
 TIMELINE:

5757 5758 5759 5760

-----R-----T-------R-----T-------R-----T-------R-----T KEY:

R = Rosh Hashanah

|_|_____|______| T = Tu b'Shevat

(B) (C) (A) - = one month

(1) This Halachah is mentioned explicitly in the Beraisa.

13
(2) Some infer from the language of the Beraisa (which says, "the fruits of this plantling are Asur until Tu b'Shevat," and
"sometimes the fourth year arrives, and the fruits are still Asur") that in another case, such as this one, the fruits are permitted when
Rosh Hashanah arrives and there is no need to wait until Tu b'Shevat. See Insights.

(3) This is Rashi's opinion as recorded by the Rosh (Hilchos Orlah, #9), and so it appears from the text of Rashi in our Gemara.
However, in some records of Rashi, a line is omitted at the end of Rashi, which would equate Rashi's opinion with that of the Ba'al
ha'Me'or (row #4 in the chart). See Insights.

(4) Cited in the Shitas Rivav on the Rif. Rabeinu Shmuel bar David was one of the Torah leaders in Provence during the generation
that preceded the Ra'avad.

(5) See Insights for the logic behind this. (According to what we wrote in the Insights, it could be that this Halachah applies only
when the tree was planted before 30 days prior to Tu b'Shevat. Only then will the fruits become Mutar on Rosh Hashanah of 5760.)

(6) Hilchos Ma'aser Sheni 9:11-12.

(7) This is the ruling of the Rambam there. However, the Me'iri writes that also in this case, the fruits become Mutar after three
years have passed to the day (m'Yom l'Yom), and it is not necessary to wait another few days until Rosh Hashanah of 5760.

(8) It seems that his source is the Yerushalmi here (1:2), according to his Girsa and explanation in the Yerushalmi.

RASHI (DH Peros) concludes that when one plants a tree more than thirty days before Rosh
Hashanah, the fruit becomes permitted seven and a half months before a full three years have
passed. They become permitted from Tu b'Shevat of the third year (after the third Rosh Hashanah),
instead of from the fourth Rosh Hashanah. Conversely, when one plants a tree within thirty days
of Rosh Hashanah, the fruit of that tree remains Orlah for more than four full years, until the fourth
Rosh Hashanah.

It is unclear why Rashi says that one gains only the time between Tu b'Shevat and Rosh Hashanah
(seven and a half months). Logically, one should gain an entire year -- from Tu b'Shevat of the
third year to Tu b'Shevat of the fourth year. If one plants early enough, he should gain a year by
not having to wait until the Tu b'Shevat after the fourth Rosh Hashanah.

The ROSH (Hilchos Orlah #9, printed in the end of Maseches Menachos) explains that Rashi
bases his opinion on an inference from the Gemara which says that "the fruits of this sapling are
prohibited until Tu b'Shevat." This implies that only for this tree -- which was planted more than
thirty days before Rosh Hashanah -- does the third-year end at Tu b'Shevat. When one planted a
tree within thirty days before Rosh Hashanah, he must wait three years until the fourth Rosh
Hashanah (the passage of the first Rosh Hashanah does not count as one year since the tree was
planted less than thirty days before that Rosh Hashanah), but he does not have to wait until Tu
b'Shevat after the fourth Rosh Hashanah.

Furthermore, Rashi may have been bothered by the next statement of the Gemara which says that
"sometimes the fourth year arrives, and the fruits are still prohibited because of Orlah,
and sometimes the fifth year arrives, and the fruits are still Reva'i." If every fruit tree must wait

14
until Tu b'Shevat regardless of when it was planted, then the fruit of all trees are prohibited when
the fourth year arrives and not just "sometimes."

Therefore, Rashi concludes that only fruits of a tree planted more than thirty days before Rosh
Hashanah are prohibited until Tu b'Shevat. If a tree was planted within thirty days before Rosh
Hashanah (and thus the first year is not completed until the following Rosh Hashanah), it is not
necessary to wait until Tu b'Shevat of the fourth year for the fruits to become permitted.

This is also the opinion of RABEINU SHMUEL BAR DAVID cited by the SHITAS RIVAV on
the Rif. The Shitas Rivav proposes a logical explanation for the difference between a tree planted
more than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah and a tree planted within thirty days. He says that
when one plants a tree within thirty days before Rosh Hashanah, although the period of time before
Rosh Hashanah does not count as one year for the tree (because it is comprised of less than thirty
days), the period of time that passes from its planting until the first Tu b'Shevat does count as a
year (since it is more than thirty days) as far as the mature, three-year-old tree is concerned. By
the time the third Tu b'Shevat arrives (which is before the fourth Rosh Hashanah, see timeline in
Chart), the tree has already passed three full years as far as Orlah and Reva'i are concerned. One
merely needs to wait until Rosh Hashanah after the third Tu b'Shevat in order to eat the fruits (since
the tree must wait for both the Rosh Hashanah of trees (15 Shevat) and the Rosh Hashanah of
plants (1 Tishrei) to pass). After three Tu b'Shevats and three Rosh Hashanahs have passed, the
fruit is permitted.

According to this logic, if one plants a tree any time between Rosh Hashanah and [30 days before]
Tu b'Shevat, one does not need to wait until the Tu b'Shevat after the third Rosh Hashanah. The
fruit is no longer Orlah when the third Rosh Hashanah arrives (because three Tu b'Shevats have
passed).

The RAMBAM (Hilchos Ma'aser Sheni 9:11-12) rules like Rashi, that one needs to wait only until
Tu b'Shevat if he planted the tree more than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah. If he planted it less
than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah, then the third year ends on Rosh Hashanah (i.e., the fourth
Rosh Hashanah that passes from the time he planted the tree), and it is not necessary to wait until
the following Tu b'Shevat.

The Rambam adds, however, that if one planted a tree any time between Rosh Hashanah and Tu
b'Shevat, he must wait three years to the day ("mi'Yom l'Yom") in order for the fruit to be
permitted (in contrast to waiting only until the third Rosh Hashanah, as Rashi maintains). This
opinion is mentioned independently by the ME'IRI (except that he maintains that even if the tree
is planted during the thirty days before Rosh Hashanah, one must wait only three years to the day
and not until Rosh Hashanah).

The logic of this ruling may be as follows. The Rambam maintains that the fruit is no longer
considered Orlah if, after the third Rosh Hashanah has passed, either the tree completes the third
year of its life or Tu b'Shevat passes. Either event can be considered the completion of a year.
(Three Rosh Hashanahs must pass first, since the year of a sapling (with regard to Orlah) as
opposed to the year of a tree (with regard to Reva'i) is measured by three Rosh Hashanahs, as Rashi
explains.) When one plants a tree after Tu b'Shevat and before Rosh Hashanah (at least thirty days

15
before Rosh Hashanah), after three Rosh Hashanahs have passed the first of the two dates to arrive
is Tu b'Shevat, which arrives before three complete years pass. In such a case, the Halachah is
lenient, and the fruit is permitted from that Tu b'Shevat. When one plants a tree after Rosh
Hashanah and before Tu b'Shevat, after three Rosh Hashanahs have passed the first date to arrive
is the third-year mark (the anniversary date of the tree's planting), before Tu b'Shevat. Since three
full years "mi'Yom l'Yom" pass before the arrival of Tu b'Shevat of the third year, the fruit
becomes permitted, and one need not wait until Tu b'Shevat.

In addition, the Rambam implies that when one plants the tree within thirty days of Rosh Hashanah,
it is not enough to wait three years "mi'Yom l'Yom." The passage of the first Rosh Hashanah does
not count (because thirty days have not passed), and one must wait until the fourth Rosh Hashanah,
which is a few days after three years "mi'Yom l'Yom." At that point, the tree has already attained
three years "mi'Yom l'Yom" and therefore it is no longer Orlah. (The Me'iri does not add this
condition.)

The RA'AVAD (Hilchos Ma'aser Sheni 9:11) also maintains that it is not necessary to wait until
the Tu b'Shevat after the fourth Rosh Hashanah, when one does not rely on a partial year to be
considered as a full year at the beginning of the three-year period. However, he proposes a different
line of reasoning. He says that when one relies on the leniency of considering a partial year as a
full year, he must add extra days at the end of the three-year period and wait until Tu b'Shevat
(which is the Gezeiras ha'Kasuv which the Gemara mentions). This Gezeiras ha'Kasuv does not
apply if one relies on a full year as the first year. Thus, if he plants the tree less than thirty days
before Rosh Hashanah, then since he waits three full years (until the fourth Rosh Hashanah) he
does not have to wait until the Tu b'Shevat after the fourth Rosh Hashanah.

In practice, this opinion differs from that of Rashi and the Rambam with regard to trees planted
between Rosh Hashanah and Tu b'Shevat. Rashi maintains that such trees do not have to wait until
the Tu b'Shevat after the third Rosh Hashanah, because by the third Rosh Hashanah three Tu
b'Shevats have also passed. The Rambam also maintains that such trees do not have to wait until
the Tu b'Shevat after the third Rosh Hashanah, because one follows the date of the three-year mark
"mi'Yom l'Yom" (which occurs after the third Rosh Hashanah, before Tu b'Shevat). The Ra'avad,
in contrast, rules that one must wait until the following Tu b'Shevat (after the third Rosh
Hashanah). He maintains that when, at the beginning of the three-year period, one counts -- as one
year -- a time period which is even one day less than a year, he must wait until Tu b'Shevat of the
fourth year for the fruit to be Reva'i. The RITVA also cites such an opinion.

The BA'AL HA'ME'OR, RASHBA, and RITVA argue with the Ra'avad. They assert that there
is no logical basis to limit the Gezeiras ha'Kasuv (which teaches that fruits are sometimes Orlah
even into the fourth year) to plants which had only a partial year as their first year, because the
verse says nothing about a partial year. Rather, they maintain that the Rosh Hashanah for Orlah
and Reva'i is always Tu b'Shevat regardless of when the tree was planted. Three years (for Orlah)
and four years (for Reva'i) are considered complete only when Tu b'Shevat arrives.

How do these Rishonim explain the inferences of Rashi (see (a) above) that there are some trees
whose years do not depend on Tu b'Shevat?

16
According to these Rishonim, when the Gemara says that "the fruits of this sapling are prohibited
until Tu b'Shevat," it does not mean to imply that there are fruits of other trees that become
permitted before Tu b'Shevat. Rather, it means that even though one month can be considered like
a full year, nevertheless the Halachah is stringent with regard to the tree's fourth year. It remains
Orlah until Tu b'Shevat after the third Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara means to emphasize that
even this sapling is prohibited until Tu b'Shevat, even though it is technically more than three years
old. (ROSH ibid.; see also Ba'al ha'Me'or and Rishonim.)

Similarly, when the Gemara says that "sometimes" a tree remains Orlah into the fourth year until
Tu b'Shevat, it does not mean to imply that sometimes it is permitted at the beginning of the fourth
year (at Rosh Hashanah). Rather, the Gemara says "sometimes" only because most trees do not
bear fruit before Tu b'Shevat. Therefore, in practice, the tree will not actually bear Orlah fruit in
its fourth year. Whenever a tree does bear fruit before Tu b'Shevat, that fruit will be prohibited
until Tu b'Shevat arrives.

It I’ interesting to note that the words of Rashi printed with the Rif, as well as the way the Ran
quotes Rashi’s comments on this topic, deviate somewhat from the text of Rashi printed in the
Gemara. The Ran’s version omits the phrase (at the end of DH u’Peiros) that when the tree is
planted more than thirty days before Rosh Hashanah one gains the fruit grown “from Tu b’Shevat
until Rosh Hashanah.” Accordingly, one cannot infer from Rashi’s words that the need to wait
until Tu b’Shevat applies only when the tree was planted less than thirty days before Rosh
Hashanah. Rashi may rule like the other Rishonim who maintain that one must always wait until
Tu b’Shevat. Indeed, even Rashi in the Gemara (DH Peiros and DH Pe’amim) clearly explains the
words “this” and “sometimes” (which were the sources for the first three opinions cited above) the
same way as the Ba’al ha’Me’or and others explain them. (Perhaps there was a second version of
Rashi’s commentary in which Rashi retracted his first explanation, and a combination of both
versions was printed in the Gemara.)

Steinzaltz (OBM) writes:4

We find a disagreement in our Gemara as to the time of year when the world was created.
According to Rabbi Eliezer, the world was created in Tishrei. Similarly, the Avot – Avraham,
Yitzhak, and Yaakov – were born and died in Tishrei. Rabbi Yehoshua argues that all of these
events took place took place in Nissan.

The rishonim (see the Ran, for example) point out that Rabbi Eliezer does not really mean to say
that the world was created in Tishrei, since it is the creation of Man which takes place on Rosh
HaShanah, the first day of Tishrei. Thus, the six days of creation began on the 25th day of the
month of Elul. Nevertheless, he is expressing the idea that creation took place during the time of
year when Tishrei occurs.

Although both of these tanna’im bring textual support for their positions (see page 11a),
the Ritva explains that none of the proofs is truly convincing, and that the passages quoted are, at
4
https://www.ou.org/life/torah/masechet_roshhashanah1016/

17
best, hints brought in support of a tradition held by each of the Rabbis, or, perhaps, based on their
logic in understanding which time of year it would be most logical for the world to have been
created.

The Maharal explains in great length that their disagreement stems from different views that each
of them held with regards to a deep understanding of life and its meaning. According to the
Maharal, the month of Nissan, which occurs in the Spring, represents the driving force of life that
grows and blossoms, and compares it to the heart of Man. Tishrei, which falls in Autumn, expresses
the holiness, spirituality, and solemnity of life, which is the realm of the human mind. Which of
these times of year is most appropriate for the creation of the world is the source for the argument
between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua.

Landscape with Oak Trees By Caspar David Friedrich

Mark Kerzner writes:5

The years of a tree are also counted from the first of Tishrei. Why is it important to know how old
a tree is? - Because for the first three years the fruit of the tree are called "orlah" and cannot be
eaten, so we need to know when to count the first year. As it turns out, if the tree is planted at least
30 days before Rosh Hashanah, this is already considered the first full year of its life. Even so,
after the the third Rosh Hashanah, the fruit are not permitted immediately, but only after the
fifteenth of Shvat, also known as "Tu B'Shvat."

From the rule above we see that thirty days in a year a considered a full year. However, this is only
5
https://talmudilluminated.com/rosh_hashanah/roshhashanah10.html

18
the opinion of Rabbi Elazar. By contrast, Rabbi Meir says that even one day in a year is already
considered a full year. If so, how does Rabbi Meir explains the rule of thirty days for orlah cited
above? He says that to take root the tree indeed needs thirty days, but if not for that, even one day
in a year would make it a year old.

From here we can see that these teachers disagree on the months in which the world was created.

Why do the kiddush and tefila of Rosh Hashana include references of this day being a calendar
date and an occasion which is a remembrance of our having left Egypt— “‫”? מצרים ליציאת זכר‬
whereas the festivals all commemorate a different facet of our departure from Egypt, Rosh
Hashana does not seem to fit this pattern.6

‫ הלקט שבולי‬explains that the truth is that Rosh Hashana indeed represents a prominent part of the
process of our having been saved from the slavery in Egypt. The Gemara (Rosh Hashana 10b)
brings the opinion of Rebbe Eliezer, who holds that Tishrei was the month when the world was
created. It was the month during which each of our forefathers was born, and it was also when they
died. Our matriarch Sarah was remembered favorably on Rosh Hashana to have a child, and it was
the month in which Rachel and Channa had their prayers answered to be able to have children.
Tishrei was the month Yosef was released from prison, and it is the month that the servitude of
our ancestors in Egypt was relieved.

Although Rabbi Yehoshua argues, and he says that the world was created in Nisan, he does agree
that the servitude and torture of the slavery was alleviated in Tishrei. We see, therefore, that
everyone agrees that Rosh Hashana played a critical role in the eventual exodus of our people from
Egypt, and it is therefore appropriate to pronounce that Rosh Hashana is a time we remember our
Exodus from Egypt.

As was taught in a Baraisa: When the Torah mentions a ‫פר‬without any qualification it refers
to a bull that is twenty-four months and a day.

Tosafos (1) writes that when determining a boy’s Bar Mitzvah we calculate the thirteen years to
the hour when the child was born. In other words, a child who was born at 7:00 a.m. does not
become bar-mitzvah until his birthday thirteen years later at 7:00 a.m., and he is not considered
bar-mitzvah the night his thirteenth birthday arrives. In fact, there was a custom practiced by some

6
https://www.dafdigest.org/masechtos/RoshHaShana%20010.pdf

19
(2), upon the birth of a boy to write in a record book, “A son was born on such and such day at
such and such hour.”

The Shach (3) disagrees and maintains that a boy only has to reach his birthday, and it is not
necessary to calculate his bar-mitzvah to the hour. The emphasis of Tosafos, explains Shach, is
that the boy must reach his birthday and we do not apply the principle of “‫ – ככולו היום מקצת‬part of
the day is like the entire day” to consider him a bar-mitzvah the day before.

The Bach (4) finds support for this position from the Maharil who wrote that a boy who is
becoming bar-mitzvah on Shabbos may not serve as shaliach tzibbur for davening Shabbos night.
The reason is that the custom at that time was to daven early. Although one is permitted and it is
even a mitzvah to add to Shabbos by accepting Shabbos early, nevertheless, it does not have an
effect as far as calculating a boy’s bar-mitzvah.

One can infer, notes the Bach, that as long as the night of the boy’s bar-mitzvah arrived he is
considered a barmitzvah, without having to wait until the hour of his birth. This is the ruling of
Mishna Berurah (5) as well as the majority of later Poskim (6).

Tu Bishvat 101
The "birthday of the trees" is a time for seders, tree-planting and more.
The name of this festival is actually its date: “Tu” is a pronunciation of the Hebrew letters for the
number 15, and it falls in the Hebrew month of Shevat.7

Traditionally, Tu Bishvat was not a Jewish festival. Rather, it marked an important date for Jewish
farmers in ancient times. The Torah states, “When you enter the land [of Israel] and plant any tree
for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be
eaten” ( Leviticus 19:23 ). The fruit of the fourth year was to be offered to the priests in the Temple
as a gift of gratitude for the bounty of the land, and the fifth-year fruit–and all subsequent fruit–

7
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tu-bishvat-ideas-beliefs/

20
was finally for the farmer. This law, however, raised the question of how farmers were to mark the
“birthday” of a tree. The Rabbis therefore established the 15th of the month of Shevat as a general
“birthday” for all trees, regardless of when they were actually planted.

Fruit trees were awarded special status in the Torah because of their importance in sustaining life
and as a symbol of God’s divine favor. Even during times of war, God warns the Israelites, “When
in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not
destroy its trees… Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city?
Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed” ( Deuteronomy 20:19-20 ).

At a later time, the Rabbis of the Talmud established four “new years” throughout the Jewish
calendar–Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish new year for the calendar date; a new year for establishing
the reign of kings; a new year for tithing animals of Jewish farmers to be given to the Temple; and
finally, Tu Bishvat, the new year for the trees (Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:1). The Rabbis
discussed why this date was chosen; saying that Tu Bishvat falls after mid-winter (usually in
February), they concluded that the majority of the annual rainfall has usually already fallen by this
time in the land of Israel, thus yielding a healthy, water-logged soil in which to plant new trees
(Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 14a ).

In medieval times, kabbalists (Jewish mystics) gave Tu Bishvat greater spiritual significance.
Seeing in Tu Bishvat a vehicle for mystical ideas, the kabbalists imbued Tu Bishvat with new
religious significance as well as created elaborate new symbolic rituals. According to Lurianic
Kabbalah (which is a form of mysticism studied by the students of Isaac Luria), all physical forms–
including human beings–hide within them a spark of the Divine Presence. This is similar to some
kinds of fruits or nuts, which hide within them seeds of new life and potential growth. In Jewish
mysticism, human actions can release these sparks and help increase God’s presence in the world.
On Tu Bishvat, the kabbalists would eat certain fruits associated with the land of Israel as a
symbolic way of releasing these divine sparks.

In modern times, Tu Bishvat has become a symbol of both Zionist attachment to the land of
Israel as well as an example of Jewish sensitivity to the environment. Early Zionist settlers to Israel
began planting new trees not only to restore the ecology of ancient Israel, but as a symbol of
renewed growth of the Jewish people returning to their ancestral homeland. While relatively few
Jews continue to observe the kabbalistic Tu Bishvat seder, many American and European Jews
observe Tu Bishvat by contributing money to the Jewish National Fund, an organization devoted
to reforesting Israel.

For environmentalists, Tu Bishvat is an ancient and authentic Jewish “Earth Day” that educates
Jews about the Jewish tradition’s advocacy of responsible stewardship of God’s creation as
manifested in ecological activism. Among them, contemporary versions of the Tu Bishvat seder,
emphasizing environmentalist concerns, are gaining popularity.

21
Rabbi Elliot Goldberg writes:8

With all the speculation about dates we’ve seen so far in this tractate, it may not be surprising to
learn that the rabbis wondered when (in the year) creation happened. Nor should it be much of a
surprise that they disagree, as we learn on today’s page:

Rabbi Eliezer says: In Tishrei the world was created.

Rabbi Yehoshua says: In Nisan the world was created.

According to Rabbi Eliezer, the six days of creation fell out in the fall, in Tishrei. According to
Rabbi Yehoshua, it was the spring month of Nisan.

Now, if you’re like me, you might be thinking: Does it make a difference one way or the other?
Well, for a rabbinic folktale found on Avodah Zarah 8a, it might. There, the Talmud tells the
following story:

When Adam saw that the daytime was progressively diminishing, he said, “Woe is me; perhaps
because I sinned the world is becoming dark around me and will ultimately return to the
primordial state of chaos and disorder. And this is the death that was sentenced upon me from
Heaven.” He arose and spent eight days in fasting and in prayer.

Once he saw that the season of Tevet (the winter solstice) had arrived and that the daytime was
progressively lengthening, he said, “Clearly, the days become shorter and then longer, and this
is the order of the world.” He went and observed a festival for eight days.

This is one in a series of stories in which the rabbis imagine the early experiences of the first human
in the world. This one, which doubles as a Hanukkah origin story, imagines that the newly-minted
human, Adam, would have been terrified to watch the days grow shorter in the autumn (perhaps
fearfully extrapolating that the daylight would cease altogether).

In the conversation that follows, the Gemara notes that the story fits well with Rabbi Eliezer’s
view that the world was created in Tishrei, which occurs in the fall. But how can Rabbi Yehoshua,
who placed creation in Nisan (spring), explain this story? After all, the rabbis surmise, if the world
was created in the spring Adam would experience the lengthening of days until the summer solstice
and then the shortening of date in the fall — enough experience to be aware of “the order of the
world” by the time the days get really short in the early winter.

No, the Gemara answers, it’s possible that even if Adam began life in Nisan, he might still have
panicked as winter approached because:

Although Adam had experienced short days, he had not seen days that were this short, as in the
days before the winter solstice.

So while the narrative in Avodah Zarah fits better with Rabbi Eliezer’s view, the Gemara has found
a way for it to make sense for Rabbi Yehosuha as well.
8
Myjewishlearning.com

22
We’ve seen many examples of talmudic discussions that demonstrate the plausibility of opposing
legal opinions. In this instance, we see the same thinking applied to folklore. In this case, the rabbis
don’t seem terribly invested in deciding whether the world was created in Tishrei or Nisan. Rather,
they simply want to show how the opinions of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua can both be read
in ways that align with the rest of rabbinic tradition.

Rabbi Johnny Solomon writes:9

Our daf (Rosh Hashanah 10a-b) explores the question of whether periods shorter than a year can,
in particular circumstances and for particular outcomes, be counted as a year. For example, here
we are taught that 30 days can, in some situations, be counted as a year, while a further opinion
goes so far as to claim that just one day may be counted as a year.

Interestingly, one of the sources (Mishna Shevi’it 2:6) quoted by the Gemara in addressing this
question relates to the status of trees or plants that have been planted or grafted prior to the Shemitta
year, with the question being how long does it take for a tree or plant to be sufficiently established
in the earth such that – when the new year comes - it is considered as if it has been in the earth for
the prior year?

Reflecting on this question, I’d like to consider its application to the realm of human planting and
grafting, with my question being: “How long does it take for someone who has been planted or
grafted into a class, a team, or a community to feel like a fully fledged member of that class, team
or community?”

Naturally, there are many variables to this question, and as such, the answer is likely to differ from
person to person. Though there are a select few who may be able to achieve this in just one day,
and while there are some who take 30 days to feel truly at home in their new environment, others
will take longer to ‘take root’, while there are those who may – as noted in Mishna Shevi’it itself
– never quite ‘take hold’.

We often naively presume that people are like trees and plants and that, within a short and
predictable period of time, they will feel at home in the new place where they now find themselves.
But what we often forget - although admittedly it seems strange to make such a simple point - is
that people aren’t like trees and plants, and there are those who, even after a significant period of
time, don’t fully feel part of the class, the team, or the community to which they have been added.
As we know, the ‘done thing’ is to welcome people when they join a class, team or community.
But it is important to remember that being made to feel welcome is not a moment but a process,
and it is a process that takes longer for some than others.

Given this, if we know someone who was recently added to one of these settings of which we are
a part, perhaps today should be the day for us to reach out to them, to find out how they are doing,
and to reiterate our warm welcoming sentiments that perhaps need repeating. And if we are that

9
www.rabbijohnnysolomon.com

23
person who recently joined a class, team or community and who doesn’t quite feel that we’ve
‘taken hold’, firstly we should remind ourselves of the above-mentioned fact that people aren’t
trees and plants, and we should then consider what we - and others - can do to help us better take
root in the new environment where we now find ourselves.

Why do Trees Need a New Year?

We all know that Tu Bi'Shvat is the "Rosh Hashanah" for trees, but what
does that mean? Halachot of "ARLAH".

Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff writes:10

We all know that Tu Bi’Shvat is the "Rosh Hashanah" for trees, but what does that mean? Do the
trees ignite fireworks on their New Year? Does Hashem judge their deeds and misdeeds and grant
them a fruitful year or otherwise, chas v’shalom? As an aside, the judgment of trees is on Shavuos,
not Tu Bi’Shvat (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 16a.) Do the trees coronate Hashem as their King on
their Rosh Hashanah? Is the only halacha ramification to eat all kinds of fruit on Tu Bi’Shvat?

Obviously, since trees have no free choice, the Heavenly Tribunal does not judge them on their
Rosh Hashanah, yet the arboreal New Year does have major halachic ramifications other than the
popular custom of eating fruit.

10
https://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/10684

24
Here are some halachic inquiries, whose answers are influenced by Tu Bi’Shvat:

Question #1: Arlah

Introduction: The Torah (VaYikra 19:23) prohibits eating or benefiting from fruit grown on a tree
during its first three years, and this prohibition is as severe as that against eating pork. This mitzvah
applies whether the tree grew in Eretz Yisroel or in Chutz La’Aretz, although the halachos relating
to arlah are more lenient for trees growing in Chutz La’Aretz (Mishnah Arlah 3:9). I am required
to burn the forbidden fruit to guarantee that no one benefits from it (Mishnah Temurah 33b), and
I should remove it from the tree as soon as it begins to grow to prevent someone from mistakenly
eating it (heard from Rav Shlomoh Zalman Auerbach, zt"l).

The Shaylah.

Dateline: New York

During Av, 5764 (August 2004), Miriam purchased a pear tree from a nursery, which was neatly
wrapped with a ball of earth surrounding its roots. While the gardener was planting the tree in her
yard, much of the attached earth fell off. Although the tree is already several years old, since it
could not survive without any additional soil, we consider it halachically as a new tree. Therefore,
its arlah count begins anew and all fruit that grows during the next three years of this tree’s life are
not kosher. Miriam would like to know when to begin enjoying the fruits of her labors, that is,
when the three years end so that fruit that sets after this date is permitted.

If the earth ball remained intact while the tree was transplanted, then whether the arlah count begins
anew is the subject of a halachic dispute. One factor is how much earth must remain with the tree
[based on Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 294:13].

Question #2: Revai’i

Introduction: The Torah (VaYikra 19:24) teaches that the fruit a tree produces during its fourth
year (the year following its arlah years) has a unique halachic status called revai’i. One may eat
this fruit only within the original city walls of Yerushalayim and only if one is tahor, a status that
is unattainable today as we have no ashes of parah adumah. However, the Torah permitted us to
redeem revai’i in a special procedure, after which one may eat it anywhere and even if one is tamei.
(Note that the current city walls, built by the Turks, probably have little relationship to the halachic

25
kedusha of the city. Much of the Holy City probably lies outside these walls, particularly its
southeastern section, and the western part within the current walls is probably not part of halachic
Yerushalayim.)

There are two interesting disputes regarding the mitzvah of revai’i. The first, mentioned in the
Gemara (Brachos 35a), is whether the mitzvah of revai’i applies only to grapes or to all fruits. A
second dispute is whether the mitzvah of revai’i applies outside the land of Israel, like the mitzvah
of arlah, or whether it follows the general rule of most other agricultural mitzvos and it applies
only in Eretz Yisroel (Tosafos, Kiddushin 2b s.v. esrog and Brachos 35a s.v. ulimaan; Gra, Yoreh
Deah 294:28).

The Shaylah.

Dateline: Baltimore

Rachamim, who was born in Iran and follows Sefardic practice, knows that Beryl, his Ashkenazi
neighbor, celebrated his move into the neighborhood four years ago by planting grapes and an
apple tree in his yard. Do the halachos of revai’i apply to the fruits these trees produce this year?
If they do, what determines which fruits are included in this mitzvah and which are not.

ANALYZING THE HALACHIC ISSUES: ARLAH

Now that we have some background to the halachic issues, we can discuss what Tu Bi’Shvat has
to do with these questions.

Miriam, who planted her tree in Av 5764 (August, ’04) wanted to know when the pears produced
by her tree are no longer arlah. According to the calendar, her tree is not yet three years old, and
therefore she assumed that its fruit is arlah. However, this is not accurate, because the three-year
count for arlah sometimes includes partial years as I will explain. How does one determine this?

There is a dispute in the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 10b) how to calculate this. The accepted halacha
is that any tree planted before the 16th of Av is considered to have begun its first year of growth
that year until Rosh Hashana (Rambam, Hil. Maaser Sheni 9:10; Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah
294:4; cf., however, Chazon Ish [Shvi’is 17:29] who calculates everything a day later). Chazal
teach us that this partial year is enough to be counted as the first year for arlah purposes. Thus, if
Miriam planted her tree on the 15th of Av or earlier, the year 5764 counts as the first year of the
tree’s life, 5765 as the second, and 5766 as the third. However, the third year does not end at Rosh
Hashanah of 5767. Since Tu Bi’Shvat is the "New Year" for trees, fruits that begin to appear before
Tu Bi’Shvat of 5767 are prohibited as arlah. Thus, we see how Tu Bi’Shvat has major halachic
ramifications. Fruits that appear before Tu Bi’Shvat of 5767 are arlah and prohibited; those that
appear afterwards are permitted.

26
BUT TREES DON’T APPEAR IN THE WINTER

Indeed, in most colder parts of the northern hemisphere, the difference between Rosh Hashanah
and Tu Bi’Shvat does not really make much difference since most fruit trees do not appear in the
fall or winter. However, this does affect trees growing in the southern hemisphere, where summer
begins in late December, and also affects certain early fruit producers in warmer climates such as
some citrus trees, shesek [loquat], peach, and almond.

JERUSALEM VERSUS JOHANNESBURG

Thus, someone who planted a tree in Santiago, Melbourne, or Johannesburg (all of which have
thriving Jewish communities) should pay attention to whether the tree began producing fruit before
Tu Bi’Shvat or after. Some fruits growing on the same tree may be prohibited as arlah, and others
are permitted.

WHY THE SIXTEENTH OF AV?

Previously I wrote that one counts 5764 as the first year for a tree that was planted before the 16th
of Av of that year, but not if the tree was planted afterwards. What is special about the 16th of Av?

The year 5764 can only count as the first year of this tree’s life if thirty days passed before Rosh
Hashanah after the tree took root. Chazal assume that this usually happens if the tree was planted
before the 15th of Av; however, if one could somehow determine that the tree had already formed
new roots prior to the 30 days before Rosh Hashanah, the year 5764 would still count as its first
year (Chazon Ish, Dinei Arlah #6).

What if Miriam planted her tree later?

If Miriam did not plant her tree until after Tu Bi’Shvat of the year 5765, then 5765 is its first year,
5766 its second year, and 5767 is its third year, and all produce of these years is prohibited as
arlah. In addition, fruits appearing before Tu Bi’Shvat of 5768 will also be prohibited.

What if she planted her tree between the 16th of Av and the 15th of Shvat?

27
The poskim dispute what are the halachos concerning the fruit of this tree.

(1) According to the Rambam and Raavad (Hilchos Maaser Sheni 9:11), a tree planted between
the 16th of Av and Rosh Hashanah ends its third year on Rosh Hashanah beginning the fourth year,
not the Tu Bi’Shvat following. Thus a tree planted in Elul 5764 becomes permitted on Rosh
Hashanah of 5768; fruit that appears on this tree after Rosh Hashanah is not prohibited as arlah.

According to Rambam, if the tree was planted between Rosh Hashanah and Tu Bi’Shvat one counts
exactly three years from its planting (Gra, Yoreh Deah 294:13; cf. Kesef Mishneh, Hilchos Maaser
Sheni 9:12). He contends that arlah for these trees will never apply for longer than three full years.

(2) Raavad contends that a tree planted between the 16th of Av and Rosh Hashanah ends its third
year on Rosh Hashanah beginning the fourth year; if it is planted after Rosh Hashanah, it becomes
permitted on the Tu Bi’Shvat following. In his opinion, there are two potential cutoff dates for
arlah, Tu Bi’Shvat and Rosh Hashanah, and they will permit the tree if it is already three years old.
Thus a tree planted in Elul 5764 becomes permitted on Rosh Hashanah of 5768 and a tree planted
during the beginning of 5765 becomes permitted on Tu Bi’Shvat of 5768.

(3) Other Rishonim contend that the cutoff date for all arlah is Tu Bi’Shvat. In their opinion any
tree planted after the 15th of Av and before Tu Bi’Shvat does not become permitted until three Tu
Bi’Shvat’s have passed. (Baal HaMaor and Ran to Rosh Hashanah 10a). According to this opinion,
a tree planted after 15th of Av 5764 and before Tu Bi’Shvat 5765 produces forbidden fruits until
Tu Bi’Shvat of 5768.

Shaylah #2:

Rachamim knows that his neighbor Beryl planted grapes and an apple tree in his yard when he
moved in four years ago, and now the tree is producing fruit. Do the halachos of revai’i applied to
this fruit?

When the mitzvah of revai’i applies, it always applies to the crop year produced in the first year
when the tree is no longer producing arlah fruits (Rambam, Maaser Sheni 9:11). Therefore, on a
tree planted during the summer of 5764 before the 15th of Av, the arlah period ends on Tu Bi’Shvat
of 5767; the fruit produced between Tu Bi’Shvat of 5767 and Tu Bi’Shvat of 5768 are growing in
the revai’i year. (According to Rambam’s opinion that the arlah year may end on different dates
depending on when the tree was planted, revai’i ends exactly a year later.)

DOES REVAI’I APPLY TO FRUITS GROWN OUTSIDE OF ERETZ YISROEL?

28
There are three opinions among the poskim:

(1) Revai’i applies to the fruit of all trees growing outside Eretz Yisroel.

(2) Revai’i applies only to grapes, but not to other fruit trees of Chutz La’Aretz.

(3) Revai’i does not apply in Chutz La’Aretz.

How do we paskin?

Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 294:7) quotes the 1st and 3rd opinions, but rules primarily like the
1st opinion that the mitzvah of revai’i does apply outside of Eretz Yisroel. Rama and Gra both rule
like the 2nd opinion that it applies for grapes even outside of Eretz Yisroel, but not for other fruits.
Therefore, Ashkenazim may be lenient not to redeem fourth year fruits grown outside of Eretz
Yisroel other than grapes, but Sefardim are required to redeem them. Thus Beryl must redeem the
grapes that grow in the fourth year but not his apples; however, Rachamim may not eat the apples
without first redeeming them. For advice on redeeming these fruits, please consult your Rav.

Two more Tu BiShvat rules: Maasros

Introduction:

Among the wonderful mitzvos that Hashem granted us concerning Eretz Yisroel are the separating
of terumos and maasros. This requires separating terumah, maaser rishon (usually called simply
"maaser"), and then a second maaser, which, depending on the year, is either maaser sheni or
maaser ani.

Each of these items, terumah, maaser rishon, maaser sheni and maaser ani, has its own unique
halachos. Terumah has a tremendous level of sanctity which permits it to be eaten only by a kohen
or his family members, and only when they are tahor. Since we cannot become tahor today, no one
may eat terumah. Unlike revai’i, one cannot redeem terumah. If the terumah becomes tamei one
should burn it; if it is tahor, one must be careful to put it where no one will use it until it
decomposes, either by burying it (Tur, Yoreh Deah 331), by wrapping it carefully and disposing
of it in a place where no one will use it (Kuntros Terumos, published in Derech Emunah, Vol. 3
pg. 754) or by allowing it to rot in a place where no one will get to it (Shu’t Igros Moshe, Yoreh
Deah 3:129).

The owner of the crops gives the maaser rishon to a levi, who then separates one tenth of the
maaser rishon, which is called terumas maaser, and gives the terumas maaser to a kohen. Whereas
the terumas maaser has the same sanctity as terumah, the rest of the maaser rishon (after the

29
terumas maaser has been separated from it) has no sanctity and is the property of the levi. Anyone,
even a non-levi, may eat it whether or not the person or the fruit is tamei.

During the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th years of the seven-year shmittah cycle, the second maaser that is
separated is maaser sheni, which has halachos very similar to revai’i and therefore must be
redeemed. Immediately prior to redeeming these fruits, recite a bracha, asher kidishanu
bimitzvosav vitzivanu al pidyon maaser sheni (Rambam, Hilchos Maaser Sheni 4:3).

During the other years, that is the 3rd and 6th years of the shmittah cycle, we give this second
maaser to poor people and it has no sanctity. Thus, the poor person may give it away or sell it to
anyone and may eat it when tamei.

Note that since the New Year for trees is --- Tu Bi’Shvat, that fruits that appear before Tu Bi’Shvat
are considered to be from the previous year’s calculation, and those appearing afterwards are from
the next year.

There is also another maasros question that is germane to Tu Bi’Shvat. Tu Bi’Shvat functions as
the cutoff point between two crop years, and the halacha is that one cannot separate terumah or
maasros from one crop year on the next. This can have interesting ramifications for fruits that
appear just about Tu Bi’Shvat time, such as peach, loquat or almond. One could easily have a tree
containing some fruit that appeared before Tu Bi’Shvat and some afterwards. This creates a
shaylah and dispute whether one can separate terumah and maasros from the earlier fruit on the
same tree for the late bloomers on the same tree.

Thus, we have now learned four different halachos where Tu Bi’Shvat makes a difference:

(1) The last date for determining whether a tree is producing forbidden arlah fruit or not is usually the day before Tu Bi’Shvat.
Once Tu Bi’Shvat of the fourth year arrives, the fruits appearing after this point are permitted.

(2) Fruits of the fifth year of a tree’s life do not have the sanctity of revai’i; those of the fourth year do. The determining date
whether these fruits are considered 4th year or 5th year fruits is usually Tu Bi’Shvat.

(3) Dependent on which year some fruit grows is whether one must separate maaser sheni from it or maaser ani. Tu Bi’Shvat
determines whether the fruit is obligated in maaser sheni or maaser ani.

(4) Tu Bi’Shvat determines which crop year a fruit belongs to, and this affects how one separates terumah and maasros.

30
 Tu B'Shevat-Renewal

Tu B'Shevat signals renewed vitalization in nature. Some Halachic

ramifications of the New Year for the trees, the parallel to the spiritual
renewal of man on our New Year, and how our daily, monthly, and yearly
"timetable" is intimately connected with the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Dov Lior writes:11

Tu B'Shevat is the New Year for the trees, and this has ramifications with regard to the following
Mitzvot as they relate to the fruit of the trees: Terumot (Priestly tithes), Maasrot (Levittical tithes
and other tithes, the type of which is determined by the year), Orla (the fruits of the first three
years, which are forbidden for consumption) and Sheviyit ("Shemittah" - the seventh, Sabbatical
year). Rosh Hashanah in Tishrei determines the halachic year for Maasrot or Sheviyit, which, like
the Jewish calendar year, begins in Tishrei and ends when the following year's Tishrei begins. This
is what determines regarding Terumot and Maasrot of vegetables, and the prohibition of working

11
https://www.yeshiva.co/rabbi/18

31
the land on the seventh, Shemittah year, which also begins in Tishrei. However, as opposed to
vegetables, where what determines is the time of their harvest, in the case of fruits of the tree, what
determines is the time of the fruit's ripening. For example, citrus fruits, which generally are picked
after Rosh Hashanah, belong to the previous year, according to the time of the ripening of the fruit.

And according to the Rambam, "ripening" means that they have reached the time of Maasrot, as
will be explained further on. The significance is: every fruit which has ripened from Tu B'Shevat
and afterwards, even if the fruits are picked only after Tishrei of the following year, and even
though a new year has already begun for Maasrot for vegetables, the aforementioned fruits belong
to the previous year. Similarly, Tu B'Shevat determines regarding Orla.

For example, fruit trees that were planted before the 15th of Av (that is, the last date for planting
so that the remainder of that year is already counted as a year when Rosh Hashanah comes in
Tishrei), after three years have passed (three times Rosh Hashanah of Tishrei. After that point, the
plant is no longer considered a "sapling," whose new year is Tishrei with relation to Orla. It is now
a "tree," whose new year is Tu B'Shevat), then we could think that the years of Orla are over. But
if the fruits ripen before Tu B'Shevat (of the fourth year of the tree), they are still Orla, meaning
that they are still categorized as Orla of the previous year. Only fruits which ripen after Tu B'Shevat
of the fourth year are considered to be after the years of Orla.

But with the Etrog this isn't so, since the Etrog grows on all water, and therefore there is an opinion
that it belongs to the year it is picked, like a vegetable. But at the moment we won't go into all the
opinions and ramifications regarding the Etrog.

With regard to Maasrot, HaRav Eliyahu Gerditz and also HaRav Kook explain according to the
Rambam, that the ripening which is mentioned is the time of the Maasrot, meaning the elementary
growth of the fruit. The fruit's further growth is only in size, in volume, but its critical structural
development was in this year. If the fruit is ripe enough to at least be edible, even though its size
is minimal, then the fruit has reached its time of Maasrot, but if it is still unripe and inedible, for
example, if the fruit is sour, this is still a deficiency. The fruit has to develop a minimum basis in
size, but if it is totally unripe, then it is not something to be considered regarding Maasrot, as it
has not yet ripened.

Trees, "Renew"

The determining date for trees is Tu B'Shevat, at that time there is a renewal. G-d created the world
with an element of cycling; one cycle ends, and another, new cycle begins, and the same is true
regarding Tishrei. Obviously, on a deeper level, inside of every renewal is a new vitality, new
manifestations in creation. Just as we say that on Rosh Hashanah the man renews, and for him the
significance is that he needs to adopt a better outlook on reality, similarly the renewal of the entire
universe, the vegetation, and the fruit of the trees has its significance for them. This is the
determining date for the New Year. The Torah established everything according to natural events:
the new day begins with the emergence of the stars; we see that in nature a different day is
beginning. The new month begins with the new moon; toward the end of the month the moon
becomes veiled. And the New Year: the summer has ended, the hot days have passed, the days are

32
getting shorter, and we see a change in nature. From then onwards we see something new.
All the laws of the Torah, Terumot and Maasrot of the different years of Maasrot - everything is
determined according to the climate of the Land of Israel. The same is with the appearance of the
new moon, and also the horizon is gauged (according to certain opinions) according to that of
Jerusalem.

In the summer, in the "blessing of the years" we say, "And give a blessing on the face of the earth"
(as opposed to asking for rain, which we do in the winter). Even if an entire country needs rain
specifically during the summer, like France or Spain, the Shulchan Aruch rules that even in this
case the Jews residing there shouldn't request rain in the "blessing of the years" but as a private
petition - even for an entire country - in the blessing "You...who hears prayer" (where one is
permitted to add private prayers). The reason for this is that our Sages formulated the eighteen
blessings of the Amidah according to the needs of the Land of Israel, and since the Land of Israel
needs rain in the winter and not in the summer, the universal prayer goes according to this, even if
all of Europe needs rain in the summer.

The nations of the world, on the other hand, established their timetable arbitrarily. According to
them, the new day begins at 12:00 at night. Why? Because by then they have finished the night's
partying and can take the time to say Tikkun Hatzot...they don't take the moon into account at all,
and they created the months arbitrarily.

The ancient Romans had the wisdom to begin their new year in March, because then all can see
that the winter has passed and there is a change in nature. Afterwards came idolaters who believed
that the "holy spirit" entered a certain individual in April and left him in the end of December.
According to their "logic," nine are the months of the "holy spirit!" And because of that, they
arbitrarily set their New Year in the dead of winter.

By the nations of the world, the year is set up arbitrarily, and by us, according to nature. There is
a renewal for the trees beginning from Tu B'Shevat, as our Sages say, most of the year's rains have
fallen and the trees have absorbed the precipitation and now they are exuding resin, with new
vitality.

The idea which accompanies Tu B'Shevat is to see the renewal. He who thinks that everything is
static doesn't get excited about anything. The rejuvenation in nature gives the man motivation for
his own renewal, with a new way of thinking, and this awakens the man from his slumber. That is
the way it is in nature, and that is the way it is regarding Rosh Hashanah in Tishrei, which is the
Day of Judgment, and men must mend their ways, start a new page, renew. The general guidance
is that a man is to be defined as "walking," not to stand in one place and not to stop at the level he
has attained, but to continually advance. If there is advancement, the man ascends, but if he stays
in the same place, he retreats backwards.

The "S'fat Emet" mentions over and over the subject of new vitality that a man receives on Rosh
Hashanah for the entire year, and the trees undergo a similar process on Tu B'Shevat. In the
Diaspora, Jews ate carob from the Land of Israel, because they didn't have anything else...

33
 Does It Really Matter?

Rabbi Jay Kelman writes:12

History is not something that greatly interested our Talmudic Sages. Of course, such was the norm
for all in the ancient world; and history as a serious academic discipline is a product of modernity.
The historical information presented in the Bible is only that which directly relates to the mission
of the Jewish people. Questions such as the identity of the Pharaoh of the Exodus or the location
of Mount Sinai are ignored.
It thus seems a bit odd that there would be detailed debate amongst our Talmudic Sages as to when
the world was created. "It has been taught Rabbi Eliezer says: 'In Tishrei, the world was created...
in Nisan, the Jewish people were redeemed [from Egypt], in Tishrei they will be redeemed in the
future'. Rabbi Joshua says: 'In Nisan, the world was created...in Nisan, they were redeemed; and
in Nisan, they will be redeemed in the future'" (Rosh Hashanah 10b-11a). The Talmud then spends
more than a page bringing proofs for the respective views of Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer.
But why does it matter? Of what practical importance is this? There appears to be no law dependent
on this debate, nor does there appear to be any ethical teaching therein. Regardless of when the
world was created, we are to blow shofar on the first day of the seventh month--a mitzvah that has
no biblical connection to creation. While I imagine Rabbi Yehoshua would skip the paragraph
"hayom harat olam, today is the birthday of the world", little would change if we were to accept
the view the world was created in Nisan[1]. Yet the fact that that such debate is given prominence
means there must be significance to it.

12
https://torahinmotion.org/discussions-and-blogs/rosh-hashanah-10-does-it-really-matter

34
Nissan is chodesh haAviv, the time of spring, when nature begins to sprout forth. Hope is in the
air. But it is not until Tishrei, during the fall, that we reap the bounty of nature. A world created in
Tishrei is a world where all is ready for man to partake of it, whereas one created in Nisan is one
in which man must work the land before he can enjoy the fruit. Is the ideal world one in which all
our physical needs are taken care of, allowing us to focus on spiritual matters? Or is it one in which
we must work for our sustenance? If framed this way, this mirrors the debate between Rabbi
Yishmael and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, in which Rabbi Yishmael is of the view that, in an ideal
world, we are to work for our sustenance; whereas Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai idealizes a situation
in which "our work is done by others". Interestingly, the Talmud accepts the view of Rabbi
Yishmael as normative (Brachot 35b).
While the above may explain the debate surrounding creation, it does little for our understanding
of the debate referring to the time of redemption.
Our calendar is a lunar-solar one, counting months based on the moon cycle and years based on
the sun. The moon waxes and wanes as it renews itself each month. It is thus the perfect symbol
for the Jewish people, with the twists and turns of Jewish history that has seen the unbelievable
renewal of a people coming back to its home after 1900 years. But nature, and the world itself, are
dependent on the sun. Nisan is the month of Jewish history, whereas Tishrei is that of world
history[2]. The nations of the world are like the sun--more powerful yet following the natural
course of cause and effect as nations rise to power, reach their height, followed by decline and
disappearance.
A redemption in Nisan is one where the focus is internal: Jewish dominion and power, both
physical and spiritual. The redemption of Tishrei has a broader focus when Jew and non-Jew will
work together in peace for the benefit of all. It is noteworthy that twice a year--at the end of the
seder in Nisan, and the end of Yom Kippur in Tishrei--we pray for our return to a redeemed
Jerusalem.
[1] In fact, Jewish law does seem to accept this view. Birchat hachamah--the blessing over the sun recited every 28 years, when
the earth and sun are in the same location as they were during Creation--is said not in Tishrei, but in Nisan. This only makes sense
if we assume the world was created in Nisan.
[2] As we have noted, the opening sugya of Rosh Hashanah teaches that when dating documents, those relating to a Jewish king
are to be dated from Nisan; whereas when referring to non-Jewish kings, they are to be dated from Tishrei.

35
 Dr. Benjamin Fenichel, a captain in the US Army, blows the shofar on
Guadalcanal Island in 1943

Rosh Hashanah in World War II

“Everywhere, one finds among these military forces American Jewish men
and women,” said Louis Kraft.

David Geffen writes:13

“On every front, from the South Pacific to the rugged hills of Sicily, from the jungles of Panama
to the icy slopes of Attu, from the sands of North Africa to the European soil, on land, on the sea
and in the air, many are fighting in the uniforms of American armed forces,” said Louis Kraft,
director of the Jewish Welfare Board War efforts. “Everywhere, one finds among these military
forces American Jewish men and women.”

By the end of the war, 550,000 had served. Three of the major American military commanders
during World War II made public statements to emphasize the presence of American Jewish
soldiers in the war effort.

13
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/rosh-hashanah-in-world-war-ii-602968

36
“Americans of the Jewish faith in the Marine Corps have served with distinction throughout this
war,” declared Gen. A. Vandergrift, commander of the US Marines.
Gen. Mark Clark, commander of the American army, put it this way at a Seder he attended in 1943.
“Thousands of Americans of the Jewish faith are serving under my command carrying their share
of the burden in the battle for Italy.”

When Clark became the military governor of the defeated Austrian nation in 1946, he was
instrumental in assisting many survivors in the DP camps to make their way to Palestine prior to
1948.

“The officers and men in the US Naval Forces in Europe join to honor those gallant Americans of
the Jewish faith who laid down their lives for our nation,” Admiral Harold R. Stark, the commander
of the US Navy in Europe, told a large gathering to memorialize the Jews who died serving in the
Navy.

World War II presented a great challenge to the American Jew. The Jewish fighter was not just
involved in a global conflagration; he wanted to “do his share” to end the tragedy after Hitler
ordered the decimation of the Jewish people.

Hitler arranged for and ordered the death of millions of innocent Jews, who did not even know
why they were being killed.

The policy of the American government since the Civil War had been to provide Jewish chaplains
and to make possible, with or without professional clergy, the military observance of the major
Jewish holidays.

Before there were sufficient Jewish chaplains in World War II, military lay people took over. On
the well-known Guadalcanal Island in 1943, Dr. Benjamin Fenichel, a captain in the US Army,
and Sidney Altman, a captain in the US Marines, led Rosh Hashanah services.

They became instantly recognizable when their pictures appeared on the cover of the American
Hebrew. The Jewish Welfare Board had supplied the soldiers with the shofar, the High Holiday
miniature prayer books complete and abbreviated, and refreshments from gefilte fish to honey
cake.
Chaplain Max Eichhorn was always on the front lines with his troops as the battles raged. When
the High Holidays arrived, he did his job.

“I arrived in Verdun three days before Rosh Hashanah and found the people living there still
celebrating the departure of the Germans and arrival of the Americans.” He described the
synagogue as “in a rundown condition. The Nazis had gutted it completely of all religious fixtures
and had used it as a soup kitchen to feed starving Frenchmen.”

As Eichhorn looked around, he saw the Torah ark piled high with ill-smelling fertilizer – the roof
had been bombed out so the “whole edifice was quite exposed to wind and rain.”

37
When a structure needs quick repair, the chaplain has to figure out how to have it done. In
Eichhorn’s case, he obtained 10 Germans from a prisoner-of-war camp. “These erstwhile
‘supermen’ worked. They cleaned out the synagogue in a jiffy, scrubbed the floors and walls and
turned the desecrated sanctuary into a fit place of worship.”

Twenty-four hours before Rosh Hashanah, it rained cats and dogs. Eichhorn was a little
pessimistic. He had the benches moved to the sides of the synagogue since the rain was coming
right down into the middle of the shul.

What happened when Erev Rosh Hashanah approached? Jewish men and women in uniform
poured into town, with some having traveled 120 km to get to the Rosh Hashanah service. News
of this nature had spread throughout the area around Verdun. Eichhorn was amazed when 500
soldiers arrived, some soaking wet because of the driving rain. “Most of them stood up in the damp
and the rain for an hour and a half through the entire service and they loved it.”
The Star-Spangled Banner was sung; a local baritone thrilled all with the Marseillaise. The chief
chaplain of the area, a Catholic, gave the opening prayer; the mayor of Verdun spoke. The architect
vowed that the synagogue would be restored. Sadly, the entire Jewish population of Verdun had
been deported and gassed.

Eichhorn led the service. He did not know all the melodies but there were those in the congregation
who assisted. The Shema brought all the people there assembled to the peak of joy and relief –
they were alive; they were together for Rosh Hashanah.

As the service progressed, more and more participated. When they reached Adon Olam, every one
of the verses was intoned with great feeling.

“It was a thrilling moment, when at the conclusion, they all rose to sing Hatikvah,” Eichhorn said.
For the first morning of Rosh Hashanah the chaplain left us this description: “Next morning we
were blessed with a little better weather. Over 600 soldiers crowded into the synagogue. We had
no shofar and so an Army bugler blew the traditional blasts on a good old G.I. bugle. We had no
Sefer Torah but only a Hebrew Bible. We opened the ark and went through the entire Torah service
just as though the Torah had been there.”
While services for 600 soldiers were held at Verdun, across the sea at Lowrey Field just outside
of Denver, a bigger crowd was expected. An Air Force base, Lowrey grew daily because of the
necessity of training thousands of military personnel to handle the major air attack campaign of
the United States. The number of Jewish pilots was not extremely high, but the number of ground
crew and tower operators and reconstruction personnel rose into the thousands. It might be said
that Lowrey was swarming with Jews.

Over 1,000 were expected to attend the Rosh Hashanah services, so an airplane hangar was
designated as the locale for the prayers. In numbers that large, a cantor could be found, a Torah
reader, a shofar blower and whatever else was required, the chaplain making all the preparations.
On the first morning of the holiday, almost 1,600 were in attendance.

The military photographers were out in droves to document the services both for the Army Times
and for the Jewish Welfare Board. The services went well – the Torah reading brought honors to

38
many soldiers – but everyone was waiting for the blowing of the shofar. Many had not heard those
sounds since their childhood. Dressed in a well-pressed uniform, the shofar blower mounted the
bima. Since he was a professional trumpet player, his performance provided a real concert.

The lasting memory of that service was a photograph taken of military personnel on the front row
in the makeshift sanctuary. When the American Hebrew weekly published the picture on its cover,
the faces of these young and eager Jews buoyed the spirit of all the Jews of the country.

IN AUGUST 1945, a few days after Rosh Hodesh, a plane flew over the Shangri-La valley in New
Guinea and a Star of David was dropped to mark the final resting place of WAC Seargent Belle
G. Nainer of New York City. She was one of eight WACs who lost their lives in a plane crash.
Crosses were dropped for the seven others, and prayers were recited.

Readers Digest wrote the story of this group and it circulated throughout the world. Most of the
200,000 Jewish personnel from different branches of military, still on duty, had access to a Rosh
Hashanah service in September 1945.

For my father, Colonel Louis Geffen, a judge advocate in the US Army since January 1941, the
High Holidays posed a problem. Stationed at a base in Oakland when the atomic bombs were
dropped, he received orders on August 9 that he would be sailing to ports unknown on the 29th of
the month.

In the end he went first to the Philippines and then on to Japan to prosecute lower-level Japanese
war criminals. Knowing he would be on the ship for Rosh Hashanah, my father tried to get some
preliminary information as to what religious items might be available.

There would be no Jewish chaplain attached to the ship, but that was all anyone knew. Upon
boarding the ship, he contacted the Catholic chaplain, the only chaplain aboard, and together they
hatched a plan for the next week until Erev Rosh Hashanah.

My father used a Shabbat service he planned the day after the boarding to find a former choir
member, who would be the cantor; a Torah reader who would read from the one Tanach aboard;
and there would be a shofar blower surprise.

When the ship reached Eniwetok Island, Geffen and the chaplain picked up about 60 small military
prayer books and 20 tallitot (prayer shawls) at the naval base there. The chaplain had arranged for
them to be flown in.

In actual numbers for Rosh Hashanah, on September 7, 8, and 9, 1945, some 125 to 130 attendees
formed the largest congregation of men and women personnel.

On the first morning the cantor did his job, my father acted as the rabbi, the Torah-Tanach was
read. For the shofar, a member of the US army Far East Band took out his trumpet and sounded,
“Tekiah, shevarim, truah, tekiah gadolah,” with deep feeling.

Col. Louis Geffen gave a brief sermon, which he recalled for the next half century of his life.

39
“My fellow American Jews and comrades in arms, you have fought hard in this war to destroy the
vicious antisemitism fabricated by Hitler, which he then transformed into the deaths of the
innocent, our people. Now with your determination, which succeeded in these past few years
leading to victory, there is hope for a new world in which sadness will cease and joy reign.”

Now my father offered the sermon part. “The word in Hebrew for sin is het, but it can also mean
to miss the mark. America defeated her enemies in World War II because the leadership, civilian
and military, was right on target. For four long years, President Roosevelt hit the Nazis and their
allies, seeking to pound them into submission. President Truman, in the last month, was right on
target with the atomic bombs. American commanders certainly did their share and called on each
of us to do battle against our foes. Truthfully, without God’s help, neither the great nor the small
could have succeeded.

“The New Year of 5706 should grant you goodness and sweetness. Find only happiness when you
return to your families. May you all be inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year.”
He used to tell me how he looked at those soldiers seated on the ship’s bow and concluded, “You,
who fought so hard, are most deserving of the gift of life from God in the heavens above.”

When Truman sent a message to American Jewry and to the many thousands of American Jews
still serving that Rosh Hashanah – to those “of our countrymen who will be observing the holiday
in military installations throughout the world” – he stressed that as the Jewish New Year 5706
begins, “we must build a peace that will prevent the recurrence of the misery and human
destruction, which was brought on the Jews of Europe and other minorities.”

He praised those half-million American Jews “who have fought and suffered and labored and died
in the struggle to preserve mankind.”

Why is this not the Jewish holiday season?

David Curwin writes:14

One of the most obvious differences between Western / Christian culture and Israeli / Jewish
culture is what the phrase “the holidays” means. While in the West the phrase clearly refers to the

14
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-is-this-not-the-jewish-holiday-season/

40
last week of December, for the Jews it is the month of Tishrei (usually in September). While it’s
clear that the presence in Tishrei of the holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and the great
festival of Sukkot make it the most holiday-dense month of the year, it’s still worth asking: why
in the autumn? Why not in the winter or any other time of the year?

But let’s start with another question. Do the holidays of Tishrei have anything in common? Outside
of the month of Tishrei, the dates of the holidays seem to have great significance. Purim, Pesach
and Channukah all commemorate historical events on that happened days. Shavuot and Sukkot are
both associated with agricultural seasons in the Torah. However, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
don’t seem to be seasonal or historical. And do either have anything to do with Sukkot?

We’ll get a better understanding if we look at what the Torah itself says about the holidays.
Regarding Rosh HaShana, almost none the things we usually associate with Rosh HaShana – the
creation of the world (the conclusion of the Talmud [Rosh HaShana 10b-11a] in fact seems to
indicate that the world was created in the month of Nissan), teshuva (repentance), the kingship of
God, even the shofar – are mentioned in the Torah in connection with the day. In fact even the
name, Rosh HaShana, is not used. The name given in the Torah is “Yom Teruah” – the day of the
short blasts.

While we are accustomed to hearing the tekiah (long blasts) and the teruah together, in the Torah
they have very different meanings:
Have two silver trumpets made; make them of hammered work. They shall serve you to
summon the community and to set the divisions in motion. When both are blown in long blasts
(tekiah), the whole community shall assemble before you at the entrance of the Tent of
Meeting…But when you hear short blasts (teruah), the divisions encamped on the east shall
move forward…Thus short blasts shall be blown for setting them in motion, while to convoke
the congregation you shall blow long blasts, not short ones…

41
When you are at war in your land against an aggressor who attacks you, you shall sound short
blasts on the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God and be delivered
from your enemies.

And on your joyous occasions – your fixed festivals and new moon days (Rosh Chodesh) – you
shall sound the trumpets (tekiah) over your burnt offerings and your sacrifices of well-
being. (Bamidbar 10:2-10)

Here we see that unlike in our lives, tekiah and teruah were not a once-a-year occasion. And they
had very different meanings – movement vs. congregation, war vs. celebration. Every Rosh
Chodesh had a tekiah, to accompany the joy of that day. And we would certainly expect that on
the Rosh Chodesh of Tishrei, the month celebrating the end of the harvest, the happiest month of
the year, that there would be tekiah as well. But no – instead, on Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, we have
“Yom Teruah”.
What is the reason for this unexpected signal? The farmer, who all summer was “weeping, carrying
the seed-bag” expects now to “come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves” (Tehilim
126:6). He expects to sit down in his comfortable chair, rest and enjoy the fruit of his labors. But
like an alarm clock in the middle of the night, like someone honking his horn at a red traffic light,
he is jolted out of his complacency. As the Rambam says, the meaning of the shofar is “Wake up
from your sleep!”

The Torah is telling us not to enjoy the harvest – yet. The praise of Hallel is not said on Rosh
HaShana. First it is time for teshuva and cheshbon nefesh (taking an accounting of our lives). Do
we really merit the blessings we have received?

This leads us, ten days later, to Yom Kippur. The only fast day to be mentioned in the Torah falls,
of all times, in the month where the farmer can finally enjoy his food. During the summer, he is

42
occupied with the hard work in the fields. In the winter, he is concerned if his crops will last all
season. But now, when there’s plenty of food, he is forbidden to eat.

And then we finish up with Sukkot, known as Chag HaAsif (the harvest holiday) and Zman
Simchateinu (the time of our rejoicing). Here we know we are celebrating the harvest and are in
fact commanded to rejoice. But how?

Here again the Torah gives us the direction that otherwise we would be lacking. If naturally the
landowner would be the one to celebrate from the harvest, here we have a different description:

“After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat you shall hold the Feast of Booths
for seven days. You shall rejoice in your festival (v’samachta b’chagecha), with your son and
daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in
your communities.” (Devarim 16:13-14).

And not only does the landowner share with those who have less, he does not restrict himself to
celebration in his own residence, but instead the Torah commands him:

“You shall hold festival for the Lord your God seven days, in the place that the Lord will choose;
for the Lord your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have
nothing but joy (v’hayita ach sameach).” (Devarim 16:15)
So the Torah teaches us that true joy from the harvest can only come with two conditions: a) that
those would not naturally benefit from the crops also be included in the celebrations, and b) that
the celebration take place in the Temple, at the center of the entire nation, so everyone should feel
part of the whole.

43
(With this perspective we can see that the popular song, “v’samachta b’chagecha, v’hayita ach
sameach” misses the point. As Rav Hirsch in his commentary points out, only after fulfilling the
conditions mentioned above can one truly become “ach sameach”.)

The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim adds another dimension to the redirection of joy that the Torah
commands us in regard to Sukkot:

“The Festival of Sukkot, which aims at rejoicing and gladness, lasts for seven days, so that its
meaning be generally known. The reason for it taking place in the season in question is
explained in the Torah: ‘When you gather in your labors out of the field’ (Shemot 23:16); this
refers to the season of leisure when one rests from necessary labors. In the ninth book of the
“Ethics”, Aristotle states that this was the general practice of the religious communities in
ancient times. He says literally: The ancient sacrifices and gatherings used to take place after
the harvesting of the fruit. They were, as it were, offerings given because of leisure…Both these
festivals, I mean Sukkot and Pesach inculcate both and opinion and a moral quality… In the
case of Sukkot, the opinion consists in the perpetuation of the memory of the miracles of the
desert throughout the periods of time. As for the moral quality, it consists in man’s always
remembering the days of stress in the days of prosperity, so that his gratitude to God should
become great and so that he should achieve humility and submission. Accordingly, matza and
maror must be eaten on Pesach in commemoration of what happened to us. Similarly one must
leave the houses (on the holiday of Sukkot) and dwell in Sukkot, as is done by the wretched
inhabitants of deserts and wastelands, in order that the fact be commemorated that such was
our state in ancient times: ‘That I made the children of Israel dwell in sukkot’ (Vayikra 23:43).
From this (the desert) we went over to dwell in richly ornamented houses in the best and most
fertile place on earth, thanks to the benefaction of God…” (Moreh Nevuchim 3:43).

44
The Rambam is saying that even now, when the farmer is commanded to celebrate the ingathering
of the crops, he should still not do it in the natural way, inside his house, but rather outside, in the
sukkah, to remember the great blessings God has given us.

So now, after a month where our natural instincts for joy have either been repressed or redirected,
we arrive at the last holiday, Shemini Atzeret. A superficial look at the Torah might indicate a
holiday without much to it. But we can now understand that Shmini Atzeret was a wonderful gift
from God to the farmer, for it finally allowed him to simply enjoy the harvest with no significant
interruptions. As the Rambam continued in Moreh Nevuchim:

“One’s going over from Sukkot to a second festival, I mean Shmini Atzeret, can be accounted
for by the consideration that in this way one can complete such rejoicings as are impossible in
Sukkot, but only possible in spacious dwellings and buildings.”

And so here, our tired farmer finally gets to relax in his comfortable chair, in his spacious home,
surrounded by his family, and eats the fruits of his labors. And so the Torah ends the holidays of
the month of Tishrei.

And so we have seen that despite what seems to be a random collection of holidays in the month
of Tishrei – we have a very prominent theme – teshuva. And the rabbis clearly understood this
when they determined the nature of the prayers of those holidays.

And this returns us to our original question. Certainly a month of repentance and introspection is
worthy. But is this the best month? Perhaps the dark nights of winter are the ideal times to consider
who is naughty and who is nice? (The Talmud in Avoda Zara 8b describes the fear the biblical
Adam experienced during his first winter as the days got shorter and shorter).

45
And the winter (in Israel) is when we are most concerned about rain – and that was even more so
in the biblical, agricultural society. What better time to encourage people to draw closer to God
then when they’re naturally concerned about their crops, their water – their future?

But that is exactly the point. As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes. A month
of teshuva at the winter solstice would be easy. Everyone would almost automatically connect.
The challenge is – and this, in my opinion is the challenge of the entire Torah – is to remember
God when things are good, when your bounty is sitting in front of you. That is the point of
the mitzvot – to teach us, through constant practice, to restrain ourselves from eating and enjoying
everything good in the world. First we think, we reflect, then we dig in (and afterwards we think
again and give thanks.)

Of course, Judaism does have holidays at all times of year – including Chanukah which falls in the
heart of winter as well. But that’s a story for another time. Perhaps “after the holidays”….

Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman writes:15

"Tu" is the word formed by the Hebrew letters "tet" and "vav". Since in the mystical tradition each
Hebrew letter also has a numerical value, the combination of these two letters equals fifteen.
"Shevat" is the name of the month that, in the Jewish calendar, occurs towards the end of the
winter. Tu B’Shevat, then, refers to the 15th day of the month of Shevat.

The day is significant because by this time most of the winter rains have fallen in the Land of
Israel, promising a summer of luscious, delicious fruits for which Israel is praised. For this reason,
Tu B’Shevat is also considered Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) for fruit trees regarding certain
laws of agriculture such as orlah, the first three years during which fruits are
forbidden; ma’aser tithes; and shemita fruits of the sabbatical year.

The Torah likens man to a tree, "For man is a tree of the field" (Deut. 20:19). Man is like a tree in
that his head is rooted in the Heavens, nestled in the spiritual soils of the Eternal, and nourished
by his connection to his Creator. His arms and legs are like branches, through which he accrues
15
https://ohr.edu/holidays/tu_bshvat/1460

46
good deeds, and upon which the "fruits" of his labor are laden. Therefore on Tu B’Shevat, one
must revitalize his connection to G-d, and rejuvenate his commitment to keep the mitzvot (Midrash
Shemuel on Pirkei Avot 3:24).

It is the custom on Tu B'Shevat to eat from the seven species for which G-d praised the land of
Israel: "...a land of wheat and barley and [grape] vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land
of olive trees and [date] honey" (Deut. 8). According to the Kabbalists, the custom in the Land of
Israel is to eat fifteen different types of fruits, corresponding to the 15th of Shevat. By increasing
the blessings we pronounce over G-d's produce, we become more aware of His providential role
in creation. Not by our toil alone does the land bear fruit. Without G-d’s providing rain and
sustenance, the farmer's efforts would be worthless.

One of the great Chassidic leaders, Rabbi Zvi Elimelech of Dinov, in his classic work "Bnei
Yissachar" notes that our sources refer to Tu B’Shevat as the "New Year of the Tree", in the
singular. This suggests that while Tu B'Shevat is the New Year of all trees, we are to focus on one
tree in particular, the one that provides the etrog for the mitzvah of taking the four species on
Succot. There is a tradition, he notes, to pray on this day to have the privilege of acquiring not only
a kosher etrog, but a beautiful one as well. Another beautiful custom is to preserve the etrog from
Succot in a jam, and to eat it for the first time on Tu B’Shevat.

The Kabbalists also made a sort of "Seder Night" on Tu B'Shevat, over four cups of wine. The first
cup is of white wine, symbolizing the pale slumber of winter. For the second cup, red wine is added
to the white, symbolizing Creation’s stirring from winter’s slumber. The third is of more red wine
than white, heralding the gentle warmth of spring. The fourth cup is completely red, representing
the strength of the coming summer’s sun. On a personal level, this expresses our desire to rekindle
our spirituality. It also represents the transition between this world of relative spiritual paleness
and the world to come of great spiritual intensity. On a collective level, it represents the cold
"lifelessness" of exile that contains within it the seed of redemption and the blossom of Mashiach.

47
 The Tu BiShvat Change that Happened 4 Centuries Ago

Rabbi Yair Hoffman writes:16

Tu B’Shvat is tonight, but the dramatic change in how we commemorate it happened in the
17th century. Tu B’Shvat underwent a metamorphosis because of the publication of a new mystical
and kabbalistic work. The work was called Chemdas Yamim and its origins are somewhat obscure.

16
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/featured/1830240/the-tu-bishvat-change-that-happened-4-centuries-ago.html

48
It was printed anonymously and it was the publication of this Sefer that caused the Tu B’Shvat
revolution.

[By the way, according to Rav Yisroel Belsky zt”l, it is pronounced Tu B’shvat where the shva is
a short e sound as in the first e in the word “between” rather than as an i as in “bitcoin.”]

HISTORICALLY

Most people knew (and still know) very little about Tu B’Shvat. We knew it as the Rosh HaShana
for trees. This was based upon the first Mishna in the tractate Rosh HaShana, “Beis Shammai is of
the opinion that Rosh HaShana for trees is the 1st of Shvat. Bais Hillel says that it is the 15th.”

What does the term “Rosh HaShana” in this context mean?. We often associate Rosh HaShana
with Day of Judgment. But are trees actually judged on this day?

ISN’t THAT SHAVUOS?

The consensus of Rabbinic thought is that there is a Rosh HaShana for trees, but it is not Tu
B’Shvat – it is Shavuos. The Gemorah in Rosh HaShana (16a) states clearly trees are judged on
Shavuos. This is also how the majority of commentators understand this Gemorah.

What then is the nature of the Rosh HaShana of Tu B’Shvat as discussed in the tractate of Rosh
HaShana (2a)?

ACCOUNTING DIMENSION

It is more like a fiscal year – beginning of the year. In regard to all Mitzvos associated with trees,
Tu B’Shvat begins the year and ends the previous year. Maaser, for example, cannot be taken on
fruits from one year to the next year. The same is true for the laws of Orlah – until it sees its third
and fourth Tu B’Shvat (with one other proviso according to the Rambam) it is still forbidden to be
consumed.

49
The laws of Trumah, Shviis, are also affected by the date of Tu B’Shvat. In short, it is a technical
Rosh haShana – the date that is crucial for all the agricultural halachos.

MORE THAN A FISCAL YEAR

This approach, however, is not so simple. The Shulchan Aruch rules (OC 572:3) that a community
that wishes to establish a communal fast on a Monday or Thursday, and it happened to fall on Tu
B’shvat – the fast should be pushed off until the next week. The Shulchan Aruch references the
Hagaos Maimonius, but the question was first posed to Rabbeinu Gershom MeOhr HaGolah.

The problem is that this seems to show that there is much more than a “fiscal year” nature to Tu
B’Shvat. No fasting means that there is something other than technical details of the agricultural
halachos going on here.

Another halacha brings out this point as well – a Chosson should not fast on his wedding day if it
falls out on Tu B’shvat (See Mishna Brura 573:7).

50
If it is only fiscal – then why do we not fast? The answer is that there must have been some
dimension of ruchniyus- spirituality here.

The Mogain Avrohom (131:16) writes that the Minhag among Ashkenazim is to eat fruits of trees
on this day.

ONLY IN ASHKENAZIC CIRCLES

It is interesting to note that all of the Tu B’Shvat holiness minhagim are traced to Ashkenaz Jewry.
It seems that they were privy to traditions not found in the Talmud Bavli. These traditions were
not passed down to Sefardic schools or the writings of the Sefardic Rishonim. There is also no
mention of Tu B’shvat practices in the writings of the AriZal either.

Throughout the Rishonim and the early Achronim – only these three halachos were mentioned.

THE BOMBSHELL ERUPTS

Then, historically, a bomb shell erupted. The Sefer Chemdas Yamim, an anonymous kabbalistic
work written in the late 17th century on mystical aspects of Shabbos and the Yamim Tovim
appeared. It was not limited to mysticism. It mentioned halacha, mussar, and many of the
Minhagim of the Arizal.

Initially, the great Acharon Rav Yaakov Emden believed that it was written by a follower of
Shabtai Tzvi. Since then, however, it has been accepted by many various groups in Klal Yisroel.
Chassidim and Sefardim use it as a source for many Kaballah minhagim.

This sefer has in it something called, “The Tu BeShevat Seder” (see Vol. 2, Shovevim Ch. 3, p.
108-110), which has become very popular among many various groups of Jews. Indeed, a whole
Seder of events was described with psukim recited for each of some thirty different fruits.

Sefer Chemdas Yamim was originally published and edited in 1732 by the great Rabeinu Yaakov
Ben Yom Tov Algazi, the father of the Maharit Algazi, who was a friend of the Chida. This gave

51
the sefer great credibility and authenticity. The hesitations of Rav Yaakov Emden were soon
forgotten.

Whether or not they were to adopt the Tu B’Shvat Seder (most people did not) – the Chemdas
Yamim pointed the way for the great Baalei Machshava to see and describe the spiritual essence
of Tu B’Shvat.

THE CAIRO GENIZAH

The author of the Chemdas Yamim was unaware of something that was to be discovered in the
late 1800’s in Egypt. This was the Cairo Geniza where well over half a million items placed in
Shaimus in a shul in Cairo for over a thousand years were discovered. In the Cairo Genizah were
special piyutim (hymnal prayers) that were apparently recited with the Shmoneh Esreh in Eretz
Yisroel during the times of the Gaonim.

OUR LOST HERITAGE

What were in these piyutim? They described a spiritual dimension to Tu B’Shvat that clearly
demonstrated to all that Tu B’Shvat was a deep spiritual experience for the Torah community in
Eretz Yisroel.

Unfortunately, the Yiddishkeit of Eretz Yisroel’s Gaonim was soon to be utterly destroyed with
the advent of the Crusades. Jewish blood flowed in the streets like rivers. Those Jews were
viciously murdered. It seems, however, that some remembrance of the “holiness” practices
remained with Ashkenazic Jewry.

So what was the spiritual dimension of Tu B’Shvat? Where did the holiness emanate from? What
is it that these three halachos allude to?

TIME OF PRE-REDEMPTION

The Apter Rav, author of the Ohaiv Yisroel (end of Parshas Shlach) (1748-1825) zatzal explained
that the month of Nissan is when the Jewish nation will ultimately be redeemed in the future. Forty

52
days or so before this time is an “aschalta degeulah,” an awakening of the time of Bias HaMashiach
– the arrival of Mashiach.

Chazal, therefore, established this time as a holiday with aspects of the sparks of the redemption
that will occur in Nissan. It is this day, Tu B’Shvat, which is imbued with the holiness of the
Aschalta – beginnings of the Geulah.

Therefore, all the halachos of Trumah, Maaser, Orlah, will begin on the day imbued with the
holiness of the impending redemption.

Even though the redemption did not yet occur, the holiness is still inherent in the day. The
Klausenberger Rebbe points out (Drashos 5741) that Avrohom Avinu baked Matzos on the day of
Pesach even before it happened according to the Midrash (BR 48:12). Why? Because the holiness
is part of the very day – even before it transpired. The same is true for Tu B’shvat.

We may ask, however, why is there a special minhag of eating the fruits of Eretz Yisroel on this
day? And what is the further or deeper connection between the Rosh HaShana for trees and the
future redemption?

We find in the Mechilta (BeShalach chapter 3) that Rabbi Yishmael tells us that the Red Sea was
split through the merit of Yerushalayim. At first glance this seems bizarre. What does the
redemption from Mitzrayim have to do with Yerushalayim?

The Midrash tells us (Esther Rabbah 1:9) that Yerushalayim is the way that Eretz Yisroel is often
referenced because it is the center of Eretz Yisroel. We find, therefore, that this Mechilta is telling
us that the merit of Eretz Yisroel brings about Geulah – redemption.

THE CENTRALITY OF ERETZ YISROEL

Tu B’Shvat, in its primary role, highlights the trees and fruits of what Eretz Yisroel is blessed with.
It is the merit of Eretz Yisroel, that brought about the past Geulah from Egypt according to this
Mechilta. It would seem very appropriate that the merit of Eretz Yisroel will bring about the future
Geulah as well.

53
It would seem that these are the reasons for our halachic minhagim as well. We eat the fruit of
Eretz Yisroel on Tu B’Shvat so that the Aschalta of the Geulah will materialize through the merit
of Eretz Yisroel.

How to Know the Age of a Tree17

If you are curious about the year that a tree was planted, then you are in luck, as there is an easy
way to tell! You may have heard of how to identify the age of the tree by the rings within its trunk,
but what’s inside the trunk can even tell us about the conditions/environment the tree was exposed
to for its full life cycle. A tree may have experienced drought, excessive rain, fire, insect plagues
and disease epidemics, injuries, thinning or air pollution. This can all be told by the trunk of the
tree.

How to Identify Using Rings

17
https://brockleytree.com/how-to-know-the-age-of-a-tree/

54
The only way to see the rings on a tree is for the entire horizontal surface of the trunk to be
exposed. After cutting horizontally through the tree, all you need to do is count the dark rings and
you’ll know the tree’s age! You can also gain insight into environmental conditions affecting the
tree based on the appearance of the rings.
The rings could have some alteration to their shape, colour, and thickness. For example, narrow
rings may be due to insects or dry conditions. On the contrary, wide rings may indicate a wet-
season or the death of neighboring vegetation, permitting rapid growth. While this method may
only work on dead trees, it is not impossible to date a living tree.

55
What About Living Trees?
Bisecting a living tree will obviously cause it immediate and irreparable damage. It is often
important to identify the age of living trees. Fortunately, this is possible, even if only in a rough
way.
To do this, you need to multiply the diameter of the tree by its species-specific growth factor. First,
you measure the circumference of the trunk in inches. Next, calculate the diameter and then
multiply the diameter by the species’ average growth factor.
Now you will have a rough age of the living tree! Here is a chart for trees and their associated
growth factor. Naturally, you will need to know precisely what species you are dealing with.

56
ANNIE MULLIGAN WRITES: 18
The easiest way to tell the age of a tree is to cut it down and count the interior rings. But what do
you do when you don't want to cut down the tree but want to obtain a general estimate of its age?
One way is to have a professional obtain a core boring of the tree and count the annual rings. This
method, however, is invasive and may damage the tree.

Another method, developed by the International Society of Arboriculture, requires only some
simple measurements and calculations to obtain a good estimate of a tree's age.

Estimate a Tree's Age

Step 1

18
https://www.hunker.com/12001364/how-to-tell-the-age-of-a-tree-without-cutting-it-down

57
Wrap the tape measure around the tree at about four and a half feet above the ground. This
measurement is the tree's circumference. Write down this measurement.

Step 2

Use the circumference to find the diameter of the tree. The formula for finding diameter is:
Diameter = circumference divided by 3.14 (pi).

Step 3

Determine the age of the tree by multiplying the diameter by the growth factor. Here are the growth
factor rates for common trees:

2.0: Aspen, Cottonwood

3.0: Silver Maple, Pin Oak, Linden
3.5: River Birch
4.0: American Elm, Green Ash, Red Oak
4.5: Black Walnut, Red Maple
5.0: Sugar Maple, White Birch, White Oak, Black Cherry
7.0: Dogwood, Ironwood, Redbud

For example, say a Silver Maple has a circumference of 20 inches. The diameter (20 divided by
3.14) is 6.369. The diameter (6.369) x growth factor (3.0) = 19.108.

The tree is approximately 19 years old.

58
 How Old Is My Tree?
Lindsey Purcell writes:19
If you know when the tree was planted and the age of the tree at the time of planting, obviously,
you can easily and accurately determine its age. Most trees are between 5 – 10 years when they
come out of the nursery. The second most accurate way to estimate tree age is to count the annual
rings of wood growth. However, we don’t want to injure or cut the tree down just to figure out its
birthday.

Annual rings can be counted using two different methods. You can extract a core from the live tree
using an increment borer, which can leave wounds in the tree. Or, dead trees and trees which have
been removed enable ring counting on the stump. Although counting rings provides an accurate
estimate of age, most people do not have access to an increment borer for live trees or the tree
must be cut down.

By following these easy steps, you can get a rough estimate of a live, standing trees age, without
knowing when the tree was planted and without injuring or cutting the tree down.

STEP 1. Measure the circumference (c) of the tree trunk using a measuring tape that measures in
feet and inches. This should be done at 4.5 feet above the ground or slightly below shoulder
height. This is known to arborist as the DBH or Diameter at Breast Height.

EXAMPLE:

Our white oak tree measures 5 feet, 10 inches in circumference.

c = 5 feet, 10 inches or, 70 inches

STEP 2. Calculate the diameter (d). Divide the circumference by 3.14, a constant known as
“pi”. Formula: c / 3.14 = d. For the white oak if the diameter is 70 inches/3.14 = 22 inches DBH.

STEP 3. Multiply the diameter of the tree by the growth factor as determined by species.

19
https://www.purduelandscapereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/P1070522.jpg

59
Figure 1. Measure trunk circumference at 4.5 feet above the ground

60
 Figure 2. Use a tape measure to determine circumference or diameter.

This is where we have so many variables that affect the accuracy of our answer. Growth factor
tables assume a consistent or linear relationship of diameter increment to years of growth. This
assumes little variation in the many problems which can affect tree growth.

Woodland trees and urban trees grow quite differently. Trees in our neighborhoods, along streets
and in the parks, are often under more stress and grow more slowly. Natural woodland trees are
on undisturbed sites with less pressure. Tree growth rates are affected tremendously by conditions
such as water availability, climate, soil conditions, root stress, competition for light, and overall
plant vigor. Further, the growth rates of species within genera can vary significantly. A white oak
growing in a moist, well drained site will grow faster and be younger than a similar white oak in a
dry, stressed tree lawn. So, only use this formula as a very rough estimate of a tree’s age.

Also, trees growing in a woodland environment typically have a restricted crown and therefore
increase in circumference at about half of the rate of full, open-grown tree found in a park or
residential landscape. History tells us there are very few trees much older than about 250 years in
the Midwest due to the early settlers clearing our forests for farm fields.

Back to our white oak tree. We determined that the tree has a 22” DBH, so you would then
multiply it by the growth factor of 5.0 (refer to table below), and our answer is 110 years old! This
oak tree is considered as a youngster for white oaks. Under perfect conditions, a white oak tree
can live to be 300 or more years old. However, under urban conditions, most white oak trees may
only live to be around 150 years old. So, this may be a more accurate number if the tree were in

61
perfect, natural growing conditions. However, if our tree is in a park or residential area where the
tree may be more stressed or crowded, it is likely the calculation of age is a little high. Often, I
will apply my “urban forest factor” of deducting 25% from the age calculation. This is an anecdotal
deduction based on experience with aging trees in different environmental situations. If we apply
this factor, the tree is aged at about 83 years old. So somewhere in that range would be a good
guess. Again, it’s all a fun estimation.

Formula for Aging Trees:

Diameter = Circumference divided by 3.14

Formula: DBH X Growth Factor

62