Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin will take part in a tree-planting ceremony in Nitzan, the largest neighborhood of expelled Gush Katif families. Over 300 families from the former communities of Gush Katif currently live there, just north of Ashkelon.
The holiday falls on the 15th - "Tu," according to Hebrew numerology - of the month of Shvat. Fruits of the land are widely partaken of, including especially the Seven Species "by which the Land of Israel is praised" - wheat, barley, grapes/wine, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.
Tu B'Shvat is considered a day of joy, as well as - especially since the beginning of modern Zionism - a day of planting. This date was designated by the Sages as the "cut-off date" between one agricultural year and another. The Jerusalem Talmud explains that this is because most of the year's rains have already fallen by this date. The choice of date has ramifications on Land of Israel agricultural laws such as tithing and forbidden fruit of trees under four years old.
A large planting ceremony was held today at Mt. Eitan in the Jerusalem Forest area, just south of the capital. It was sponsored by the Jewish National Fund and the Immigration and Absorption Center, and soldiers of the Nachal Hareidi unit took part. The JNF views the event as another aspect of its struggle against the Safdie Plan, which threatens vast areas of the Jerusalem Forest with a massive construction program.
In recent years, it has become prevalent to conduct tree-planting ceremonies in locations whose future is uncertain. Last year, for instance, such plantings were held in Gush Katif and northern Shomron. A festive tree-planting and gathering, attended by 1,000 people, was held in Amona yesterday.
For more information on Tu B'Shvat, click here.
Friends of the IDF, known as the Association for the Welfare of Soldiers, is distributing packages of dried fruits and other food to soldiers whose families are not in Israel. The gift was contributed by the Venezuelan branch of the organization. The drive is named after the fallen astronaut Ilan Ramon, and his widow, Rona Ramon, participated in the distribution of the gifts.
Click here for Arutz-7's Tu B'Shvat Photo Essay
The holiday falls on the 15th - "Tu," according to Hebrew numerology - of the month of Shvat. Fruits of the land are widely partaken of, including especially the Seven Species "by which the Land of Israel is praised" - wheat, barley, grapes/wine, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.
Tu B'Shvat is considered a day of joy, as well as - especially since the beginning of modern Zionism - a day of planting. This date was designated by the Sages as the "cut-off date" between one agricultural year and another. The Jerusalem Talmud explains that this is because most of the year's rains have already fallen by this date. The choice of date has ramifications on Land of Israel agricultural laws such as tithing and forbidden fruit of trees under four years old.
A large planting ceremony was held today at Mt. Eitan in the Jerusalem Forest area, just south of the capital. It was sponsored by the Jewish National Fund and the Immigration and Absorption Center, and soldiers of the Nachal Hareidi unit took part. The JNF views the event as another aspect of its struggle against the Safdie Plan, which threatens vast areas of the Jerusalem Forest with a massive construction program.
In recent years, it has become prevalent to conduct tree-planting ceremonies in locations whose future is uncertain. Last year, for instance, such plantings were held in Gush Katif and northern Shomron. A festive tree-planting and gathering, attended by 1,000 people, was held in Amona yesterday.
For more information on Tu B'Shvat, click here.
Friends of the IDF, known as the Association for the Welfare of Soldiers, is distributing packages of dried fruits and other food to soldiers whose families are not in Israel. The gift was contributed by the Venezuelan branch of the organization. The drive is named after the fallen astronaut Ilan Ramon, and his widow, Rona Ramon, participated in the distribution of the gifts.
Click here for Arutz-7's Tu B'Shvat Photo Essay