Parshas Beshalach (Shira) 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Jan 28
- 2 min read
Select Halachos Pertaining to Tu B’Shvat
Halachos Pertaining to Fruit. Since Tu B’Shvat is the Rosh Hashana for trees (1), many people have a custom to eat fruit to celebrate this day. Fruit grown before this day was produced by rain of the previous year, thus its spiritual mazel is different from any newer fruit. Chazal explain that rain is a shower of blessing that falls from Heaven and many different kinds of spiritual energy gets “dropped” from the skies during a rain shower. Since all material bounty in this world is based on a flow of spirituality, on the Rosh Hashana of trees - which is clearly a day of material bounty - it must also be a day of great spiritual opportunity (2). Hence the Bnei Yissaschar writes that Tu B’Shvat is a good time to daven for a beautiful esrog for next Sukkos (3).
The Beracha on Fruit. Fruit that grows on trees essentially comes from the ground, but since fruit emanates from lasting “year-to-year” trees, they are given the beracha of "בורא פרי העץ". If a person mistakenly said "האדמה" instead of "העץ" he has still fulfilled his obligation since fruit does evolve from the ground (4). (Conversely, where he said "העץ" on a vegetable or legume instead of "האדמה" he is not יוצא and the correct beracha must be said, unless he corrected himself immediately - תוך כדי דיבור.)
Defining What is and isn’t a Tree. Growth that requires replanting after each crop, like vegetables and beans, are clearly not trees because a “tree” regrows from year to year. The extreme opposite - where the roots, trunk, and branches remain from year to year are clearly trees. Therefore, classical fruit such as apples, oranges, etc., are clearly "העץ" because they grow yearly from the same branch. For this same reason, most nuts - Brazil, cashew, hazel, pecan and walnut - are all "העץ". Even a firm bush that has a “tree-like characteristic” and its wood lasts from year to year, is deemed "העץ". Therefore, regular blueberries and blackberries sold in stores are also "העץ". This “tree-like characteristic” is even extended to include soft vines which last and produce fruit yearly. This is why we say "העץ" on grapes and kiwis (5).
(1) ר"ה ב. (2) בסידור יעב"ץ כתב שאכילת פירות בט"ו בשבט "תיקון גדול בעולמות העליונים" (3) בני יששכר מאמרי שבט מאמר ב' אות ב' (4) או"ח רו:א (5) שם רג:ב