Origins
The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:1) teaches:
There
are four new years:
On the first of Nisan it is the new year for the kings and festivals.
On the first of Elul is is the new year for animal tithing.
On the first of Tishrei it is the new year for the sabbatical and
jubilee years, for the tithing of plants and vegetables.
On the first of Shevat it is the new year for trees, according to
the ruling of the House of Shammi; Beit Hillel, however, places
it on the 15th of that month.
During
this month of Shevat we celebrate the new year of the trees, the fourth
of the new years mentioned in the Mishnah. The view of the House of Hillel
was adopted, i.e., that the new year for the fruit crop would begin on
the 15th of Shevat (Tu bi-Shevat; Tu is the numerical equivalent
of 15) For hundreds of years, this midwinter day was marked as a minor
holiday; it was customary among East European Jews to eat 15 different
kinds of fruit, especially those from the Land of Israel mentioned in
the Torah: olives, dates, grapes, fig and pomegranates. The eating of
fruits was accompanied by the recitation of Psalm 104 (glorifying the
wonder of God's creation) and the fifteen Psalms of Ascent (120-134; which
may have been recited while going up into the Temple compound or sung
by the Levites on the steps as part of a musical rendition).
SHEVAT
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