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Monday, February 2, 2026 · Past event
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Tu BiShvat 2026
Event overview
Tu BiShvat 2026 — the Jewish 'New Year of the Trees' on the 15th of Shevat; tree planting and a kabbalistic seder with seven species of Israel.
Tu BiShvat 2026 — the Jewish "New Year of the Trees" — falling on Monday, February 2, 2026 (the 15th of Shevat). A minor but increasingly observed festival marked by tree planting, the kabbalistic Tu BiShvat seder, and consumption of the "seven species" of the Land of Israel.
Tu BiShvat literally means "the 15th of Shevat" — the date being its name. The Mishnah lists four New Years in the Jewish calendar; Tu BiShvat is the New Year for trees, the date from which the age of fruit trees was reckoned for the purposes of the agricultural laws of orlah (forbidden fruit of the first three years), neta revai (fruit of the fourth year), and tithing. By halakha, fruit blossoms set before the 15th of Shevat are credited to the previous year for these counting purposes; fruit blossoms after that date are credited to the new year.
In late antiquity Tu BiShvat was a primarily legal-administrative date with no particular ritual observance. The 16th-century Kabbalists of Safed transformed it. Influenced by the mystical revival under Isaac Luria, they introduced the Tu BiShvat seder — a four-cup ritual meal modelled on the Pesach seder, with fruits, nuts, and four glasses of wine ranging in colour from white (winter) to red (spring) to symbolise the awakening of the natural world and the unfolding of the kabbalistic Four Worlds.
In modern Israel, Tu BiShvat is closely associated with tree planting and Zionist agricultural revival. The Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael), founded in 1901, made tree planting a signature programme; school children across Israel and Jewish day schools worldwide plant saplings on Tu BiShvat. In contemporary Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism the festival has been further reframed as a Jewish environmental holiday with strong connections to broader ecological observances.
In Israel, Tu BiShvat is observed primarily as an environmental festival and a tree-planting day rather than a religious holiday. Schools close for half-day tree-planting trips; the Jewish National Fund coordinates national planting events at sites across the country, particularly in the Negev and the Galilee. The Knesset traditionally holds a tree-planting ceremony with the prime minister and cabinet members.
In the diaspora, Tu BiShvat is observed in synagogues and at home with the Tu BiShvat seder — a meal featuring the seven species of the Land of Israel mentioned in Deuteronomy: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. The seder includes four cups of wine progressing from white through pink to red, fruits in three categories (those with inedible exteriors, those with inedible interiors, and those entirely edible), and meditations on the kabbalistic Four Worlds. Jewish day schools worldwide hold Tu BiShvat seders for children with age-appropriate adaptations.
Modern environmental observances include carbon-offset purchases, tree-planting donations, vegetarian or vegan meals, and family hikes in places of natural beauty. The festival has emerged as the most explicitly environmental day in the Jewish calendar.
Hebcal and Chabad.org publish exact times. The Jewish National Fund (jnf.org) coordinates tree-planting donations and runs guided planting events in Israel. The Hazon Jewish environmental organisation publishes a comprehensive Tu BiShvat seder guide. Diaspora synagogues, Jewish day schools and JCCs run Tu BiShvat seders open to the community.
Tu BiShvat 2026 sits in the wider Jewish calendar alongside Purim 2026, Sukkot 2026, Tisha B'Av 2026 and Rosh Hashanah 2026.
When is Tu BiShvat 2026? Monday, February 2, 2026 — the 15th of Shevat. Why is Tu BiShvat the "New Year of the Trees"? The Mishnah designates the 15th of Shevat as the cutoff date for tithing and orlah counting on fruit trees in ancient Israel. What's a Tu BiShvat seder? A four-cup meal introduced by 16th-century Kabbalists; features the seven species of Israel and meditations on the kabbalistic Four Worlds. What are the seven species? Wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates — listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as the special foods of the Land of Israel.
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