By Popular Request.

Today's cartoon is a golden oldie. I'm running it in response to requests from readers who suggest that I run it every year. What do you think? Tu BiShvat is the Jewish "New Year" of the trees. On Tu BiShvat we plant trees for future generations. Tu is the number 15 in the biblical numbering system (which uses the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet). Bi is Hebrew for "in". Shvat is the current month in the Hebrew calendar. So Tu BiShvat simply means the "15th of Shvat".
This year,Tu BiShvat starts on the evening of Tuesday January 30 2018, and ends on Wednesday evening January 31.
Get your copy of Trees, The Green Testament at http://store.drybones.com * * * For info on how to make a donation to Dry Bones click on donate

Happy Tu BiShvat

Tu Bi Shvat 2018 (The New Year of the Trees) begins Tuesday evening January 30 and ends Wednesday evening January 31. Get your copy of Trees, The Green Testament at http://store.drybones.com* * * For info on how to make a donation to Dry Bones click on donate

Save the World

Tu Bi Shvat 2018 (The New Year of the Trees) begins Tuesday evening January 30 and ends Wednesday evening January 31. Get your copy of Trees, The Green Testament at http://store.drybones.com* * * For info on how to make a donation to Dry Bones click on donate

Trees R Us

Tonight ushers in the Jewish Holiday of Tu B'Shvat. The New Year of the Trees! And we celebrate by planting trees!! It's a Jewish fixation! Plant a Tree, Save the World!! Hag Sameach!

Tu BeShvat

Hag Sameah!

Happy Holiday!

You can check out previous Tu B'Shvat cartoons by clicking on
TREES.

Tu BeShvat (2004)

Today's cartoon is from 2004 ...not really what you'd call a Golden Oldie, but it is from before I started the blog ...and today is Tu BeShvat.

So Happy New Year Holiday of the Trees! An important part of Israel's culture, as we fight against the desertification of the planet (and the nations of the world fight against us).

* * * Many of those who stand with us are not Jews, a subtext of today's cartoon.

Happy Tree Day

Yup. Plant a tree and save the world.

Tu B'Shvat (Tu BiShvat, Tu BeShvat, etc.) is a festival that expresses our link to the land of Israel. It's customs started in ancient Israel. Later, after our cruel expulsion from the land, on this holiday we would put the "seven species" of fruits wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates on our tables. A reminder of the land of Israel... and of our hopes to return to it.

Now that we are back home, Tu B'Shvat (the New Year of the Trees) is a day when trees are planted. As the bible commands,(Leviticus 19:23):"And when you shall enter this land, you shall plant fruit-bearing trees".

Midrash Tanhuma comments on this verse :

"you plant trees for your descendants. And let no one say: I am already old, how much longer shall I live? Why should I strive on behalf of others, if tomorrow I may die? Therefore a person may not evade this duty, even if he plants trees in old age, to add to what has already been planted."

This year Tu B'Shvat falls on Shabbat, February 3, 2007... therefore many of the holiday plantings took place yesterday, Thursday, February 1. Other tree-plantings will take place after the close of Shabbat (Saturday night)

We've posted two Tu B'Shvat "golden oldies" this week. One (from 1997) was called Optimism. The other (from 1993) was called Tradition.

Happy Tree Day to us all!

Optimism (1997)

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 February 3, 2007, this coming Saturday.

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.

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.