| |
Tu Bishvat and The Happy Medium
By:
Robin Treistman
The funny thing about this "holiday" which we call Tu Bishvat is its inconspicuousness in Jewish literature. Of course it is mentioned in books about the Jewish calendar. However, beyond that, in the massive volumes of the Talmud, and in later halachic literature it is discussed only briefly.
Today, Tu Bishvat is celebrated in numerous ways: By planting trees, by eating fruit,
especially fruit that is indigenous to the Land of Israel, by having a "Tu Bishvat
Seder," by doing some special project for the environment, or by collecting funds
to plant trees in Israel. Where did this demi-festival come from and how did it evolve
to the status it receives in today's Jewish world?
Let's begin with the origins of Tu Bishvat. In the Mishna (6 orders of the
Oral Tradition), tractate Rosh Hashana, the very first verse says the following:
There are four New Years: On the first of the month of Nissan is the New Year for kings
and for festivals; on the first of Elul is the New Year for the tithe of animals, Rabbi
Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say the first of Tishrei (is the New Year for animals); on the
first of Tishrei is the New Year for the (counting of the) years, for Shmitta (sabbatical
years), for the Jubilee, for planting, and for vegetables; and on the first of Shevat is
the New Year for Trees, according to the view of the School of Shammai. But the School of
Hillel say, on the fifteenth of that month (Shevat).
There you have it: THE source for the celebrations of Tu Bishvat. Now, I
could give a 30-page thesis elaborating on this mishna and its implications about the
various "New Years" in detail, but the Talmud (Babylonian) already did that.
Rather, I will settle for a short-and-to-the-point explanation of the part relating to Tu
Bishvat. By the way, though there is dissent in the Mishna as to which day of the calendar
year this particular New Year is celebrated - the decisive ruling rests with the
fifteenth.
What does that mean, a "new year" for the trees? Do they make
resolutions on that day? Do they dip their apples in honey and ask for a sweet year? Not
as far as I know. This new-year- business is related to the tithe on fruits. Fruits which
ripen and are picked from the trees up until the 15th of Shevat get counted for tithing
that year, and the fruit picked from the trees after Tu Bishvat get counted for the
following year. These two groups must be kept separate - one must not take fruit of the
previous year and pass it off as tithes for the following year, and vice versa.
Wait. What is this tithe business? The actual term is often associated with the
donation given to the largest institution in the world (guess, and it's not the UJA).
Actually, it is a concept taken directly from the Bible:
Twelve tribes received a portion of the land of Israel (including the 2 sons of
Joseph), while the Levite tribe did not. The members of this tribe lived in apportioned
cities and served in the Temple rather than working the land. The other twelve tribes were
in turn commanded to tithe their agricultural produce (animals, fruits, vegetables), the
results of which became the support system for the tribe of Levi.
Besides the tithes, there were other "gifts" such as the "terumah"
and the "challah" which I am not going to discuss here. In addition, there were
two other types of tithes, one called "the second-tithe" and one called
"poor-man's tithe." The "second-tithe" (in years 1,2,4,5 in relation
to the Sabbatical year) was meant to be eaten by the owner in Jerusalem or sold to finance
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The "poor-man's tithe" (years 3 and 6 of the
Sabbatical cycle) was to be given to the impoverished.
As you can see from the mishna on the New Year, three of the four New Years relate to
the idea of tithing (new year for the animals, for the vegetables, and for the fruits.) So
though Tu Bishvat in its modern form has come to celebrate trees, the environment, and
even the land of Israel, it originally referred specifically to the tithe of the fruit of
the tree. Therefore, I would like to "revert" back to this idea and discuss some
philosophy behind the tithe (from here on, let's call it by its Hebrew name,
"ma-aser").
There is a Jewish-philosophical concept that all of the commandments share the same
goal: To improve one's character. You may have heard before that theoretically,
observing the Torah is meant to make you a better person. It is possible to analyze each
and every commandment - even those that may seem "unreasonable" and see which
type of "personality flaws" they are meant to combat.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch is notable for discussing this idea in many of his
works. In an explication about the laws of Ma-aser in his book Horeb, he explains
how each of the three types of ma- aser comes to safeguard the individual against
potential personality flaws specifically regarding the misuse of possessions.
- Neglect of the soul (The First Ma-aser): A person can get so caught up in
amassing material possessions that he forgets the metaphysical side within that also needs
to be nourished. In fact, S.R. Hirsch explains that concentrating only on pleasing the
personal senses can turn any human being into a "beast."
To safeguard a Jew
against this, the Bible commands that before deriving benefit from one's own produce, s/he
must set aside a portion (1/10) for the spiritual leaders of the nation, the Levites.
Spiritual sustenance must come before (but never at the expense of) physical nurturing.
- Neglect of the body (The Second Ma-aser): What about those people who choose the
life of the radical ascetic? For them, spirituality comes first with only the barest of
physical necessities. S.R. Hirsch suggests that such repression is extremely unhealthy,
even with the attainment of spiritual heights, for it often backfires when the body
reminds itself that it is hungry. The "second ma-aser" was a portion of produce
set aside to be eaten by the landowner in Jerusalem.
Basically, it involved a forced
vacation to the holiest city during which the landowner was meant to eat and enjoy to
his/her heart's (stomach's?) content. The fact that this "vacation" takes place
in Jerusalem teaches that one is not allowed to neglect the body, its needs, and even its
desires, so long as all is done within a spiritual framework. In this way, the material
and the spiritual combine in a complementary fashion, teaching that one should not come at
the expense of the other.
- Neglect of your "brother" (Ma-aser for the Poor): After working hard
and bringing home a salary at the end of the month, one's tendency is to feel, "it's
MINE." Completely legitimate. Even though in the real world we have majorly
overwhelming responsibilities, we should still remember that kindergarten lesson about
sharing. The Ma-aser for the Poor reminds us that one of the greatest blessings in having
possessions is the opportunity to share. We are not only taught not to be stingy, but also
that giving to others would help us better ourselves.
Where does all of this leave us? To me, the bottom line of Ma- aser has
something to do with the Golden Mean (could also be called the Middle of the Road or the
Happy Medium). Ideally, a person shouldn't be overly materialistic, nor excessively
transcendental, nor too miserly.
At the same time, you aren't meant to give away all your possessions - only a tenth
(which is hard enough). Heading toward the central path between two extremes in order to
improve our character is something that we can think about this Tu Bishvat in addition to
our thoughts about Israel and even the environment at large. Moreover, perhaps this "Happy
Medium" bit is connected to the fact that Tu Bishvat is celebrated in the
middle (15th) of the month rather than the first of the month as suggested by the School
of Shammai.
And that is yet another connection (boy I'm getting good now...):
The School of Shammai is characterized by "extremes" while the School of
Hillel, the opinion followed in this and in most other cases of dispute, is characterized
by a moderate approach. Again, following the opinion of the School of Hillel in regard to
Tu Bishvat, adds to the notion that ultimately we should aspire to moderation (and !not!
mediocrity).
Happy fruity to you....
This article belongs to the following subjects:
|
