– Q. I just don’t understand why and how is Tu Bishvat so important to us and why we celebrate it outside of the Land of Israel, since as is those once upon time mitzvot do not apply anymore in our days and even on the past they applied only in the Land of Israel?

A. Tu BiShvat appears in the first Mishnah in Tractate Rosh Hashanah as one of the four new years in the Jewish calendar:

The Mishnah reads: “On the first of Shevat is the New Year for the trees; the fruit of a tree that was formed prior to that date belong to the previous tithe year and cannot be tithed together with fruit that was formed after that date; this ruling is in accordance with the statement of Beit Shammai. But Beit Hillel say: The New Year for trees is on the fifteenth of Shevat.

A most basic point is that the Mishna (Kidushin 1:9) states that Orlah is an exceptional mitzvah: “All mitzvot tied to the Land of Israel usually apply only in the Land [of Israel – except for orlah and kilei hakerem (planting different species of seeds and plants, specially vineyard) which also apply abroad.”

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a