New Year of the Trees

Tu B'Shvat is the Jewish "New Year" of the trees. On Tu B'Shvat we plant trees For future generations. Tu is the number 15 in the biblical numbering system (which uses the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet). B' is Hebrew for "in". Shvat is the current month in the Hebrew calendar. So Tu B'Shvat simply means the "15th of Shvat".
This year Tu B'Shvat falls on January 16, 2014, this coming Thursday.
I chose this "golden oldie" because it illustrates what I believe is a basic Jewish attitude. The blending of short-term pessimism and long-term optimism . . . packaged with a Judaic compulsion to heal the planet.

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This would be a good time to check out my book: Trees ...the Green Testament, the front page story it made, and the special pdf edition you can buy at our webstore (or get for free when you buy a Dry Bones Passover Haggadah).  Just visit: Treesthegreentestament.com

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For a complete rundown on Tu B'Shvat (sometimes written in English as Tu BeShvat or Tu Bishvat or...) check out Jacob Richman's awesome Tu B'Shvat site.