Tu B’Shvat is playfully called the “birthday” for the trees and is a day to celebrate nature and nurture a sense of gratitude for nature and the world we live in. However, its historical roots are not celebratory. Rather, Tu B’Shvat is a day connected to the yearly agricultural cycle used to calculate yearly growth cycles. In the Torah, the Jews are commanded as follows:
When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before God.
According to Jewish law, all fruit trees need to be left to grow for a three-year period, and whatever blossoms in the fourth year after Tu B’Shevat until Tu B’Shevat of the fifth year are called “neta revai.” Then, only after a ritual redemptive process in Jerusalem, may we finally eat the saplings of that tree. That first three-year waiting period is called “Orlah.”
On the surface, this long and complicated process may seem tedious and unnecessary. But if you DIG a bit deeper, the laws of Orlah and Neta Revai offer us a valuable lesson about the importance of patience when undergoing growth processes.
Jewish tradition often compares human beings to trees — the idea being that both trees and people grow and produce “fruit.” In order to properly produce those “fruits,” however, whether they are actual fruits or the fruits of our labor, we must give ourselves the time and space to plant our roots — the things in our lives that keep us grounded and functional and help us build resilience as we undergo processes of change. Uprooting ourselves before we are ready, and our roots are properly set, can have disastrous consequences and even undo any progress we had made beforehand.
It can be incredibly challenging to practice patience, especially in a fast-paced world where we are constantly moving from one thing to the next. Patience is the “ability to stay calm in the face of adversity, waiting, frustration or suffering” (Sarah Schnitker). Patience allows us to accept our current circumstances while also continuing to move forward.
Practicing patience can have positive impacts on our physical and mental well-being. Studies have found signs that it boosts self-esteem and self-control, increases productivity, strengthens resilience and decreases health risks ( Sarah Schnitker and Robert Emmons).
The significance of patience within Jewish tradition is reflected in the book, Avot d’Rabbi Natan:
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai used to say: If you have a sapling in your hand and are planting it, and someone should say to you that the Moshiach has come, stay and complete the planting, and only then go to greet the Moshiach
Our roads of recovery and growth can feel endless at times, and there may be times in our lives where we feel ready to move forward. We need to be patient and spend more time building the foundations for our continued wellness and success before we can move forward. Tu B’Shvat is our yearly reminder that our roots need to be grounded and cultivated in order to truly see the long-lasting fruits of our labor.
One whose deeds exceed their wisdom — to what are they similar? To a tree whose branches are few and whose roots are many; even if all the winds in the world come and blow against it, they will not move it from its place. As it is said: "And they shall be like a tree planted by the water spreading its roots toward the stream, and it will not notice when heat comes. Its leaves will be fresh, in a year of drought it will not worry, and it shall not cease yielding fruit" (ibid., 17:8).
It isn’t always how much we know that builds resilience; it’s what we do to prepare for change that keeps us grounded. The real question is, what are the roots that keep you grounded, and how are you nurturing them?