The following is based upon some of the thoughts that Rav Yoel Schwartz zt”l, the former chevrusah of Rav Chaim Shmulevitz and a remarkable Gadol and Marbitz Torah as expressed in his Sefer B’ikvei Maran regarding Tu BiShvat:
On Tu BiShvat, a remarkable halachic principle comes into effect: Every fruit that ripened before this date belongs to the previous year, and every fruit that ripened afterward belongs to the new year—for purposes of terumos, ma’asros, and orlah. The reason seems to be straightforward: by Tu B’Shvat, most of the annual rainfall in Eretz Yisrael has already fallen, and the sap has begun to rise within the trees. (Rosh Hashanah 14a)
Tu B’Shvat serves as the New Year for trees everywhere in the world—even in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is midsummer. And yet the date is determined exclusively by conditions in Eretz Yisrael.
Why is this so?
The answer is that it is because Eretz Yisrael is the principal focus of creation, the center of the world. Chazal teach that the spiritual influence that brings rain to every land must first pass through Eretz Yisrael before extending outward.
This principle illuminates a teaching of Chazal about Shlomo HaMelech. Shlomo HaMelech, was the wisest of all men, and was able to plant every type of tree in Eretz Yisrael because he understood that each species draws its Divine influence from a specific location within Eretz Yisroel. Eretz Yisroel is not merely one territory among many—it is the source from which all blessing flows.
Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l explained this connection beautifully: “The holiness of Eretz Yisrael derives from the holiness of the Torah, as Chazal hinted when they said (Bava Basra 75a) that the face of Moshe was like the sun, and the face of Yehoshua was like the moon. Eretz Yisrael, symbolized by Yehoshua, is like the moon in relation to the Torah, which is like the sun.” (Ma’or Yisrael, p. 189)
The Custom of Eating Fruits: Deeper Dimensions
The most well-known practice of Tu B’Shvat is eating fruits of the tree to remember the mitzvos dependent on the Land. We eat dried figs, dates, carobs, almonds, raisins, and preserved fruits—many of which were common in the time of Chazal.
But a question arises: if we are commemorating the laws of Eretz Yisrael, why do we eat fruits from outside of Eretz Yisroel?
The answer reveals layers of meaning in what might seem a simple custom.
Remembering the Exile
Just as we give thanks at Pesach while reciting “We were slaves,” so too when we celebrate the fruits of the Land, we acknowledge the galus. The galus served as preparation for Ge’ulah, a rectification for Aveiros.
This parallel appears in the very structure of the Shulchan Aruch itself! The wording composed by Maran HaBeis Yosef in Eretz Yisrael is printed alongside the additions of the Rema, written in chutz la’aretz.
One line represents Eretz Yisroel, the next line represents the galus—the fullness of Jewish history bound together in one single work. Similarly, the Talmud Bavli, composed in Babylon, serves as a commentary on the Mishnah of Eretz Yisrael, while its commentaries—Rashi and Tosafos—emerged from galus Edom.
The Exile Has Fulfilled Its Purpose
Eating dried fruits from chutz la’aretz on a day so connected to Eretz Yisrael teaches us that the exile has “dried up”—it has completed its function. The Shechinah has returned to the Land. We see this pattern in the era of Bayis Sheini: when Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael was reestablished, the great Torah scholars of Bavel became famous only when they came to the Land—Hillel HaBavli, Chiya HaBavli.
The center of gravity had shifted. This continued until Rav and Shmuel returned and established yeshivos in Bavel, because in the Land the Christians began to oppress the Jews.
All Influence Originates in the Land
Even fruits from chutz la’aretz remind us that their ultimate source is Eretz Yisrael. As the Navi states, “Distinguished from the most beautiful of all” (Yechezkel)—the Land is the wellspring from which all blessing emerges.
Matters to Think About
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch wrote simply: “This day calls for contemplation!” What should we contemplate? With Hashem’s help, here are several matters that this day is the time to contemplate:
The Taste of Holiness
The produce of Eretz Yisrael possesses superior taste and size compared to most other lands. Wine from the Shemittah year is sweeter than wine from any other year. Holiness enhances flavor and fragrance, while sin diminishes quality. This is not mere sentiment—the Gemara at the end of Sotah discusses this phenomenon directly. (Sotah 49b)
The Ancient Abundance
Tu B’Shvat stirs us to recall what Eretz Yisrael once produced—the extraordinary fruits the meraglim brought back, described in Parshas Shelach, and the unique produce of legendary size described at the end of Kesubos. (Kesubos 111b-112a)
Hashem’s Special Providence
The Torah promises that Eretz Yisrael is “a land that the eyes of Hashem your G-d are upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.” (Parshas Eikev) This means ongoing miracles. Shemittah observers consistently report miraculous blessings—some seeing abundance in the sixth year, others experiencing unexpected provision during the Shemittah year itself. During the Shemittah of 5775, fields in Jordan that had lain fallow for years suddenly began producing, cultivated for the benefit of Shemittah observers.
The Land in Our Times
Eretz Yisrael today is truly a land flowing with milk and honey. The date palm produces yields many times the world average. The milk of Eretz Yisrael has reached the highest quality globally. During the Gulf War of 5751, we witnessed open miracles—despite tremendous destruction from Iraqi missiles, casualties were prevented. (As we already cited above from the words of Maran regarding these miracles.)
In the Lebanon War, approximately four thousand missiles fell, yet only 21 Jews were killed. And in Arab villages that were struck by missiles, stray ones, there were 19 killed. For most of them, despite the intended target, the Hashgachah directed them to open areas. Rockets from Gaza continue to fall in empty areas with such consistency that people have grown accustomed to the miracles.
The Sign of the End of Days
The Gemara in Sanhedrin states: “When Eretz Yisrael gives its fruit in abundance, there is no clearer sign of the End.” (Sanhedrin 98a) The blessing we witness today is not merely agricultural success—it is testimony that we are living in the era approaching the Geulah. (see Rashi ibid)
The Spiritual Power of Eating Fruits of Eretz Yisroel
The Beis Yosef discusses the phrase in the blessing “And we will eat from its fruit and be satisfied from its goodness.” One should not interpret this as desiring the Land merely for its produce. Rather, we say this because eating the fruits of Eretz Yisrael—when they possess their inherent holiness—nourishes us spiritually. (OC 208)
The Torah warns: “You shall not defile the land in which you dwell, in which I dwell.” (end of Parshas Masei) When the Land is defiled, its fruits are affected. When the impurity is removed, the Shechinah returns, and eating the fruits draws us closer to Hashem.
Regarding the species through which Eretz Yisrael was praised, even if grown in chutz la’aretz, they have a superior quality over other fruits, for in them there is special spiritual power. (See Gra on Brachos 35a)
The Admor of Tchortkov offered a remarkable interpretation of the Gemara’s question about Moshe Rabbeinu (Sotah 14a): “Why did Moshe desire to enter the Land? Was it to eat from its fruit? Or to be satisfied from its goodness?” One must explain: Why would it enter one’s mind that Moshe wanted the Land for the sake of eating its fruits?
According to the Arizal, eating the fruits of Eretz Yisrael enables one to perceive Heaven. Thus eating the fruits of the Land to see Heaven is something significant. Even for Moshe, who already perceived the Divine, there was something unique to be gained through the fruits of the Land.
Eating Fruits and the Tikkun of Blessing
The Yerushalmi teaches that in the future, a person will have to give an accounting for every delicacy he saw but did not eat. Rebbi Elazar would therefore save money to taste every variety of food. (Yerushalmi Brachos, end of perek 15)
The reason runs deep: one who benefits from this world without reciting a blessing is considered as if he stole—as if he robbed his father and mother. When we eat with intention and recite blessings, we rectify sparks of our own souls and the souls of our ancestors. (Sefer Pri Eitz Hadar)
This is the origin of the custom to make a seudah on a yahrzeit—the blessings recited elevate the soul of the deceased.
On Tu B’Shvat, when we eat for the sake of a mitzvah rather than mere pleasure, we rectify the inclination toward eating for desire alone. The sign of Shevat in Sefer Yetzirah is “l’itah”—chewing, eating. This echoes Eisav’s demand: “Feed me please!” Eating on Tu B’Shvat with spiritual intention transforms this basic human drive into avodas Hashem.
Rabbeinu Yonah records in the name of the Raavad an additional form of teshuvah: when one eats something tasty and stops in the middle for the honor of Heaven, this is equivalent to a fast. (Yesod HaTeshuvah)
Strengthening Emunah Through Creation’s Bounty
The abundance of fruits we taste on Tu B’Shvat should arouse contemplation of Hashem’s wondrous creation. We should sample every type of fruit once a year and recite Shehecheyanu—the newness stirs gratitude.
Human beings were created different from all other creatures: we enjoy eating everything—vegetables, fruits, creatures of all types—prepared in countless ways with spices, cooking, baking.
The yetzer hara tries to prevent gratitude, but the very breadth of human appetite exists so that we might thank the Creator for His overwhelming goodness.
The Flowering Almond: A Lesson in Resurrection
In Eretz Yisrael on Tu B’Shvat, the almond trees fill with blossoms in splendid display. Rav Yisrael Lifshitz, author of the Tiferes Yisrael, elaborated on this in his discourse “Or HaChaim”: the dormancy of winter is merely temporary sleep until spring, when nature awakens to life.
So too, human death is preparation for arising to an even better reality.
The almond’s flowering testifies to the beginning of a new year’s growth. It strengthens emunah in the Divine promise that all the tzaddikim will arise at the resurrection.
The Mitzvos of the Land: Source and Consequence
Rav Kook zt”l drew a crucial distinction in Sheves HaAretz: In chutz la’aretz, holiness comes through the mitzvos—the things of the world possess no inherent kedushah until we sanctify them through observance. In Eretz Yisrael, the opposite is true. The Land itself possesses inherent holiness, and this holiness obligates the mitzvos dependent upon it.
This explains why Moshe Rabbeinu so desperately wanted to enter Eretz Yisroel. The mitzvos of Eretz Yisrael add holiness to the person himself in a way impossible elsewhere.
The practical implications are profound. The exile from our Land came because we did not keep Shemittah properly. The redemption depends upon its observance. Even today, when we cannot fully practice terumah and ma’aser as in former times, these mitzvos retain their significance.
If we uphold them with enthusiasm, they serve as seeds that will sprout, lifting the nation from its current state to great heights in preparation for complete fulfillment.
Also in Sefer Ma’ayanei HaYeshuah (chapter 42) it emphasized that the mitzvos dependent on the Land resulted from the holiness of Eretz Yisroel, and not the opposite.
From every place he writes: “And through the fulfillment of the mitzvos dependent on the Land, it reveals the intrinsic holiness of Eretz Yisrael.”
In Sefer Rosh Amir it is written: “The mitzvos dependent on the Land, behold they are the fundamental spiritual acquisition of the nation as a whole, and of the unique holiness.”
Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l noted the connection between dates and Torah study: the Gemara states (Pesachim 87b) that Hashem exiled us to Bavel because dates were plentiful there, and eating many dates produces much Torah. (Pesachim, chapter 8, states: “The Holy One Blessed Be He exiled us to Bavel because there are many dates there, and when we eat many of them, we learn much Torah!”)
The date palm is according to the Gra a symbol for disseminating the wisdom of Torah, and the Livyasan is the great produce in the world—thus it is a symbol for the abundance of Torah wisdom. The agricultural bounty of Eretz Yisrael today instructs us regarding the spreading of Torah.
The Arizal taught regarding the verse “Giving a soul to the people upon it and a spirit to those who walk in it” (Yeshayahu)—the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael merit a neshamah. Those in chutz la’aretz who merely visit receive benefit according to their visit. But those who settle in the Land receive a soul among “the people upon it.” (Kesubos 75a).
Chazal further said: “One born there and one who said it would be his expected end”
Rav Chaim Palagi extended this principle: supporting Torah in Eretz Yisrael is equivalent to dwelling there. Those who support the yeshivos in the Land merit the neshamah as well.
Conclusion: A Day That Calls for Contemplation
Tu B’Shvat is far more than a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. It is a day that proclaims the centrality of Eretz Yisrael, the source of all blessing, the place where holiness inheres in the very soil and produces fruits that can open the gates of Heaven.
When we eat fruits on this day—whether from the Land or from afar—we affirm that all influence flows from Eretz Yisrael, that the exile has served its purpose, and that we stand in an era of manifest miracles and approaching redemption.
As Rav Hirsch wrote: “This day calls for contemplation!” May our contemplation on Tu B’Shvat deepen our connection to the Land, strengthen our emunah, and hasten the day when we will fulfill all the mitzvos of Eretz Yisrael in their completeness.
The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com
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