Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish-legal New Year for trees, comes on the 15th - "Tu," according to Hebrew numerology - of the Jewish month of Shvat. This year it falls out on Monday night and Tuesday, January 21-22. It is customary to eat fruits of the land, including especially the Seven Species "by which the Land of Israel is praised" - wheat, barley, grapes/wine, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.

Arutz Sheva takes you to Jerusalem's 'shuk' Machane Yehuda open-air market to witness preparations being made for the unique Land of Israel holiday.

 
A Jerusalemite couple shops for fruits for Tu B'Shvat.

Dried fruits and nuts in the shuk.

Dried fruits, some candied.

"Tu B'Shvat Festival!" one stand advertises.

Fresh dates, a Tu B'Shvat favorite.



Star fruit



Pomegranates remain in season since Rosh HaShana.

Dried kiwi

Dried pears and pomelas

"All the fruit in this store are grown on gentile ground, with no concern of shevi'it (produce grown during the Sabbatical year)." The strawberries are from Gaza.

An Otzar HaAretz Shemitta (sabbatical) observant store in the shuk selling Jewish produce according to the Otzar Beit Din method and other Jewish legal mechanisms.

Assorted apples "without 'kedushat shevi'it' (sabbatical holiness)"

Pre-packaged selections of dried fruits and nuts for Tu B'Shvat



A barbershop advertises its adherence to Jewish law prohibiting the use of a razor in shaving.

Local men and women gathered at the shuk synagogue for the afternoon prayer.

A shuk worker dons phylacteries at the last moment of the day permitted before nightfall. The owner of a spice shop stands up for the 'kedusha' prayer.

A sign announcing a Torah class on 'topics of the day' at the stall-side synagogue in one of the shuk's side alleys.



Uziel, a Yemenite Jewish healer, sells juices, hot drinks and tinctures made from home-grown Etrogs (citrons) and other ingredients grown on his Jerusalem-area moshav.

Almonds

"Small pistachios"

Candied kumquats and etrogs (Citron).

Roasted salted sunflower seeds, referred to as 'garinim' or 'garinim shechorim' to differentiate them from dried watermelon or pumpkin seeds.

A view of David's Fish - a popular fish store in the shuk.



Chestnuts, grown increasingly in Israel.

The view from the shuk down Agrippas Road toward the Central Bus Station

Click here for more Tu B'Shvat information and click here for more information on Shemitta observance during the Sabbatical year.

Hillel Fendel contributed to this report

(Photos: Ezra HaLevi)