Tu-Bishvat is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat (in 2013 falls on January 26) is celebrated as the "New Year for Trees."
Exactly middle of the month, a full moon day, this time of year is extended by almost two hours. It is a time when the very early flowering trees in the Land of Israel are awakening from its winter sleep and begin a new cycle of fruiting.
Formally, the new year of trees is related to different types of tithes, which were separated from the crop grown in the Holy Land. These tithes were different in different periods of seven series Schmitt. The starting point from which formed fruits were considered related to next year's crop, and was on Tu-Bishvat.
This holiday is celebrated since time immemorial. Although prescriptions written about him in the Torah, no, he is mentioned in the Mishnah. On this day people eat fruits, especially grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates - that is, the fruit that glorifies the Torah of Israel - "the land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates, olive trees and palm honey. "
About four hundred years ago, there was a tradition of Kabbalists of Safed in the New Year festive Seder trees, like the Passover: the traditional drink four cups of wine, in different proportions, mixing red and white wine in a certain order to eat fruit, which is famous in Israel, read verses of the Torah that mention these plants, fragments of Talmud, and of course, the Zohar.