TU BISHVAT, THE NEW YEAR
OF THE TREES

Tu BiShvat, the New Year of the Trees arrived on February 2. It is one of the most unusual New Years on the Jewish calendar.

Jewish tradition speaks of four New Years — moments that mark creation, kingship, animals, and growth. Tu BiShvat stands apart. It comes in winter, when trees appear bare and lifeless, especially here in Los Angeles. The branches are quiet. The earth is cool.

And yet — beneath the surface — the roots are awake. The sap is rising. Preparation is already underway.

The trees are waiting for warmth, for rain, for time to do its work. Soon they will bloom again, leaves unfolding, fruit returning. But before that comes this pause — this hidden beginning.

So it is with us. There are seasons when nothing seems to move, when progress is invisible. Tu BiShvat teaches us that these moments are not empty. They are necessary. Growth is happening where we cannot yet see it.

Sometimes, all we are asked to do is wait, trust the process, and allow nature — within and around us — to take its course.

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