Dedicated to the runners of Team Yitzi who are running in the Miami Marathon on Sunday, if you would like to support Team Yitzi goto run4yitzi.com
This week is Tu B'Shvat, the New Year for trees. There are two opinions as to when the New Year for trees is. Beis Shamai says that it is on the first of the month of Shevat, Rosh Chodesh Shevat, and Beis Hillel says that it is on Tu B'Shvat, the fifteenth of Shevat.
There is a rule that when there is a dispute between Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel, the law goes according to Beis Hillel, and in this case, that the new year for trees is on Tu B'Shvat.
What is the basis of their disputes?
We find in Talmud that Beis Shammai goes according to the potential, and Beis Hillel goes according to the actual.
For example, In the laws of purity, liquids have different laws than solids. When it comes to a honeycomb, when can the honey become an impure liquid? Beis Shamai says, "when he smokes the hive," although he hasn't yet removed the honeycombs, it's in potential as if he did. Beis Hillel says, "when he removes," the honeycomb, when he actually has it.
Another example. The lights of Chanukah, Beis Shamai says that we start with eight and we subtract one on every subsequent day, because on the first day there is the potential for eight days of light and on the second day there is the potential of seven days of light, as the first day is no more. Beis Hillel says that we light one on the first night, and on every subsequent day we add one, because in actuality on the first day you have one day and on the second day, you have that day and the one that passed and so on.
Why is the new year for trees in the month of Shevat, four months after the new year for people, Rosh Hashanah?
The idea of the new year for trees is that the trees are no longer affected by the water from the previous year, and now they are nourished from the water of the new year.
The amount of time it takes to have an impact on the trees is four months from the time the water of the year is judged.
On Sukkos, the fifteenth of Tishrei, we are judged for water and four months later is Tu B'Shvat.
It's true that the water is actually and openly judged on Sukkos, however in potential it's judged on the first of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah, when the whole world is judged, including water. It's just that it comes out in the open on Sukkos, the fifteenth of Tishrei.
Because in potential the water is judged on the first of Tishrei, Beis Shamai says that the new year for trees is four months later, on the first of Shevat, and being that it's actually and openly judged on Sukkos, the fifteenth of Tishrei, Beis Hillel says that the new year for trees is on the fifteenth of Shevat.
It turns out that even Beis Shamai would agree that actually and openly the new year for trees is on the fifteenth of Shevat.
What are we meant to learn from Tu B'Shvat?
Every one of us is like a tree, as the Torah says, "For a man is the tree of the field."
The idea of a tree is that it gives fruits and from the fruits come new trees.
So too, every Jewish person has to have an impact on his or her surroundings, on the Jews that they come in contact with, that they should get more involved in their Judaism. They in turn will have an impact on another Jewish person. Because the greatest blessing a tree can have, is that the trees that come from it should be just like it. As our sages say, "Tree tree, with what should I bless you? That your plantings should be like you."
This Shabbos many synagogues are celebrating a Shabbos of inclusion, in which people will be learning the value of including our special needs children, brothers and sisters in synagogue life. We have to know that they are also beautiful trees that bear fruit, perhaps the most beautiful and that we can learn the most from them.
I grew up with my older brother Shalom, who has special needs. It was wonderful how our synagogue included him. He had an amazing impact on my life and the life of everyone he comes in contact with. I believe that I am the person I am because I grew up with him. And I believe that you will find the same about every special needs person.
Dina and I celebrate our anniversary on Tu B'Shvat. I am so grateful for her, she is a great woman and it's an honor to be her husband. She is having an amazing effect on so many people and I hope that I am too. And that should be one of the goals of a couple, to have a positive effect on their children and their community. We should be blessed that our plantings should be like us.
When we have a positive impact on our brothers and sisters, we create a ripple effect on our communities and ultimately the entire world. We have to be trees that bare fruit and when we are, we bring Moshiach closer. May he come soon.
You give me tremendous faith, Rabbi Yitzi. G-d bless you!
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