Tu biShbat: ILANOT

Today is the 14th day of Shebat , 5771

Tonight B'H will be the fifteenth day (in Hebrew= Tu) of the month of Shebat, the New Year - Rosh haShana- of the trees. In our community this festival is known as "ILANOT" (trees). Tu biShbat is considered the new year of the trees in the sense that on this day the trees (or more specifically, their fruits) are considered one year older, independently of when they were planted (See link for details). This in an important fact for many Mitzvot connected to agriculture like 'orla', etc. for which one needs to know the age of the tree.

How do we celebrate the 15th of Shebat today?

The custom in our community is to eat tonight from the seven fruits or species for which the Land of Israel is praised: "...a land of wheat and barley and grape and fig and pomegranate, a land of olives and honey (=dates)" (Deut. 8:8).

It is a special Zekhut to eat fruits which actually come from the Land of Israel and say Berakha for them.

In Iran our community used to say one berakha for each one of the seven fruits, uncovering one at a time. Mr Nassim Bassalian told me that here the standard custom is to say just one berakha for the fruits of the tree (haetz) and the correspondent berakha for whatever is eaten made of wheat and barley (normally, mezonot).

No special prayers are added to the regular services and Tachanun is not said.

For more information about Tu-biShbat click here:
http://www.ou.org/holidays/article_index/tu_bshevat

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 14th Berakha: Jerusalem.

Today is the 13th day of Shebat , 5771

tishkon betokh Yerushalayim irekha...

In this blessing we ask God Almighty

1. To restore His presence in Yerushalayim.

2. To reestablish the Kingdom of David in Yerushalayim.

3. To rebuild Yerushalayim, soon in our days.

2. Like Washington D.C for America, Jerusalem was -and B'H 'is'- the political capital of the Jewish Nation. It consisted of the area of the King's palace (the White house), the residing place of the Bet Din haGadol (the Supreme Court of Justice) and the Sanhedrin (the Senate). When we mention the 'destruction of Jerusalem' we imply the destruction of the Jewish Nation, through the eradication of its national infrastructure of political and legal governance.

1. But Yerushalayim -Jerusalem- is not merely a city. Yerushalayim is, above all, the city of the Bet haMikdash, the Holy Temple, where the presence of God (shekhina) used to reside. The Bet haMikdash makes Yerushalayim the holiest city on this planet. When you visit the Western Wall -a reminiscence of the Bet haMikdash- you can experience a tiny echo of the incomparable feeling of being in the Presence of God. A feeling that inspires thousands of Jews to pray, rejoice, and cry.

3. The Bet haMikdash is the 'soul' of Yerushalayim. This is why we still pray to God to rebuild Yerushalayim, although today Yerushalayim is already the capital of the State of Israel, and to many -me included- the most beautiful city in the world! And if this amazing Yerushalayim that we have today, is Yerushalayim without its soul, can you imagine Yerushalayim 'with its soul'?!

We long and pray for the full connection with the Almighty that a rebuilt Yerushalayim
will allow.

Must see: From Jerusalem to the world, by Aish
http://www.aish.com/v/is/49498552.html



Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

HONORING PARENTS and other relatives.

Today is the 12th day of Shebat , 5771

The Mitzva of honoring parents extends to other relatives. The main difference between our parents and any other relatives is that toward our parents we have two obligations:

1. Honor and 2. Obedience/respect of their authority (mora). While toward other relatives is limited to honoring.

1. One should honor his older siblings. For example, it is customary that a younger brother or sister will stand up when the older brother goes ('ole) to the Torah, etc.

2. In our community grandchildren stand up for their grandparents when they go to the Torah. They would also kiss their grandparents hands when they come down from an 'alia, as a sign of love and honor, and after Friday night's Kiddush. Grandparents are also honored in special occasions, like being the Sandak in a Berit Mila, etc.

3. Honoring also applies to one's in-Laws. We learn this from David haMelekh who called King Shaul : 'My father' (Shmuel I, 24, 11. David was married to Shaul's daughter, Mikhal) that one should honor his father and mother in-Law as one honors his own parents. This rules applies even if one's father or mother in-Law are of a young age. The son/daughter in law should stand up for them, etc. In Sephardic communities it is also customary not calling in-Laws by their first name, but addressing them with the honor one addresses an important person. Or calling them 'father' / 'mother' as one does with his own parents.

(Yalkut Yosef, Kibbud Ab vaEm, bet. 496-515)

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024