Tu B’Shvat celebration – the 15th day in the Hebrew month of Shvat – is referred to as the “new year for the trees.” Although not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, Tu B’Shvat has come to represent our connection to the Land of Israel. For centuries, Jews around the world ate dried fruits from the Holy Land on this day – in the days prior to air travel, it was impossible to buy fresh fruits from Israel outside of the Land. And that custom remains – eating both fresh and dried fruit from Israel on this day and in Israel, we plant trees. Schools, cities, and communities all over Israel host tree-planting events, where young saplings are put in freshly dug soil, injecting a sense of Jewish renewal in the Promised Land. But this year, a Sabbatical year – Shemittah in Hebrew – is different. On a Sabbatical year, the Bible commands us to let the land rest, and we refrain from planting new trees.
1 – Yishar Kochkha! Some possible points of correction. 2 – Is the day not called ראש השנה לאילנות, not “of the fruit”? 3 – If I’m not mistaken, not observing shemitah for 490 years comes to 70 shemitahs, so the corresponding exile would be 7- years long.