This is a paper bag that was printed in Jerusalem for Tu B’Shvat in 1919. The text indicates that it was printed for the children of Jerusalem. The verse printed on the bag is from Leviticus (Vayikra) 19:23 and relates to planting trees in Israel: “When you come to the Land and you plant any fruit tree.” The verse actually deals with the laws relating to the prohibition of eating the fruits of a young tree. Nevertheless, the beginning of this verse is often (mis)quoted as a commandment to plant trees in Israel. The text is surrounded by decorative plants and flowers representing the idea that Tu B’Shvat is considered the new year for nature. At the top of the text is a Star of David with the word Zion written in Hebrew inside, and at the bottom is the name of the Teachers’ Union, which was responsible for printing this bag. Teachers would presumably have filled this paper bag with dried fruit and given it to the students to commemorate Tu B’Shvat. This bag connects two traditions of the day: planting trees and eating fresh and dried fruit. The tradition of dry fruit comes from the difficulty of finding fresh fruit in the winter months when Tu B’Shvat is celebrated; it was much easier to find dry fruit that could be stored and preserved for a long time. This tradition has stayed with us, despite the fact that today fresh fruit is easily accessible.
These bags were handed out by the teachers of Jerusalem during the special Tu B’Shvat parade. The Jerusalem Teachers’ Union was founded in 1903 with the goal of teaching in Hebrew and bestowing Jewish and Zionist values. At the Union’s meeting in 1906, the educator Chaim Zuta suggested that Tu B’Shvat should be celebrated as a day of planting in the schools. Ever since, tree planting has become the main focus of the day.
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Tu B’Shvat - TuB’Shvat, the 15th day of the month of Shvat, is first mentioned in the Mishnah as one of the Jewish New Years, the date that marked the beginning of the tax year for fruits and trees. At the time of the Temple, this meant taking a portion of one’s crops and giving it to the Levites. This special day evolved into the New Year for trees, fruit, and nature that we know today. The tradition of planting trees slowly developed, not as a halachic ritual, but as a Zionist, nationalistic one. In 1884 the pioneers of the village of YesudHama’alah planted 1,500 fruit trees on TuB’Shvat, and in 1890 Rabbi Ze’ev Yaavitz planted seeds with his students in Zichron Yaakov. By doing this, Yaavitz and the YesudHama’alah farmers gave a Zionist interpretation to this mishnaic date by planting trees to make the Land of Israel flourish. In 1908, the teachers union in Jerusalem adopted this new tradition and made TuB’Shvat the “Festival of Planting” that was later adopted by the JNF-KKL and has since been celebrated by planting trees and promoting environmental concerns. Another traditional way of celebrating TuB’Shvat is conducting a TuB’Shvat Seder, a ritual first conducted in Tzfat (Safed) in the seventeenth century. This includes eating fruit of the Land of Israel and reading special passages that relate to fruit and the Land of Israel.
