Peri Etz Hadar 1

יום ט״ו בשבט אף כי הוא מימי השובבים אין בו תענית כי הוא ראש השנה לפירו׳ האילן ובתקון המעשה אשר יעשה היום על הפירות בו נעשה תקון צדיק חי העולמים בסוד הנזכר בזוהר בראשית ביומא תליתאה עבד׳ ארעא איבין מחילא דהאי צדיק דכתיב ויאמר אלהים תדשא הארץ וגו׳ עץ פרי דא עץ הדעת טוב ורע דאיהו עביד איבין ופרין עושה פרי דא צדיק יסוד דעלמא וכו׳. ‏ Explanation for the Tikkun of Fruit¹The first ever published seder for Tu biShvat — Pri Ets Hadar (The Fruit of the Majestic Tree) — can be found in a kabbalistic text, first published as a pamphlet in Venice in 1728. (See Friedberg, Beyt ‘Eqed Sefarim, vol. 3, p.851, no.777.) Written by an unknown author, Pri Ets Hadar was included in the Sefer Ḥemdat Yamim by R’ Yisrael Yakov Ben Yom Tov Algazi (1680-1756) (the Rosh Yeshiva of Beit El in Yerushalayim, a friend of the Ḥida, and father of the Maharit Algazi). One of the great mekubalim of his time, R’ Algazi’s name added greatly to the credibility of Ḥemdat Yamim despite its attribution by Rabbi Yaakov Emden to Natan Binyamin Ghazzati (1643-1680) the 17th century mystic who greatly encouraged the aspiring messiah, Shabbtai Tzvi. Sefer Ḥemdat Yamim remains a major source of kabbalistic minhagim (customs) still practiced by followers of the Ari z”l’s school of Jewish mysticism in Jewish communities all over the world.
Although the 15th of Shevat occurs during the “days of the Shovavim,”²The six weeks during which the first six portions of the book of Exodus are read are considered a period of repentance. This is suggested by the fact that the first letter of the Hebrew name for each of these six portions spells shovavim, “wayward,” which alludes to the verse, “Return wayward children.” (Jer. 3:14). it is not a fast day, since it is the New Year’s Day for the fruit of the tree. Through the tikkun that is performed on this day with fruit, the sefirah,”Tsaddik, Life of the Worlds,” is aroused.³According to Zoharic Kabbalah, earthly arts that are performed with theurgic intention may positively affect the ten inner aspects of the Godhead called sefirot. In this case, the religious acts concerning fruit that are performed on the 15th of Shevat are said to effect the ninth sefirah, Yesod, or “foundation.” The sefirah represents the male generative principle within the divine world called Tsaddik, or “righteous one.” The sefirah is often anthropomorphically represented as a phallus. This mystery is mentioned in the Zohar, Bereshit,⁴Zohar. v. 1. 33a. Also see Zohar v.3. p.87a. The meaning is that the production of fruit depends on the union of both male and female elements. Although the female tree bears the fruit, it depends on the male for fertilization. “on the third day, the earth made fruit from the potency of that [supernal] Tsaddik. As it is written, ‘And God said, let the earth bring forth… fruit trees that produce fruit…‘⁵Gen 1:11 ‘Fruit trees‘ refers to ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil‘ that bears fruit.⁶I.e., the tenth sefirah, Malkhut, which is female. ‘That produce fruit‘ alludes to Tsaddik, the foundation of the world….”⁷I.e., the ninth sefirah, Yesod, the male.

ומנהג טוב להולכים בתמים להרבות בפירות בעצם היום הזה ולומר דברי שירות ותשבחות עליהן כאשר הנהגתי לכל החברי׳ אשר עמדי. ‏‏ It is a good custom for the faithful⁸Tamim in Hebrew. to eat many fruits on this day and to celebrate them with words of praise, just as I have instructed my companions.

ועם כי בדברי כתבי הרב זל״הה לא נמצא מנהג זה מ״מ לדעתי תקון נפלא הוא בנגלה ובנסת׳ כי הנה הובא בירושלמי פ׳ י׳ יוחסין ז״ל ישמעו ענוים וישמחו א״ר איבון עתיד אדם לתת דין וחשבון על שראה מיני מגדים ולא אכל רבי אלעזר הוה מצמצם פריטי למיכל בהון מכל מילי חדש ע״כ. Even though this custom is not mentioned in the Lurianic writings, it is nevertheless a wondrous tikkun,⁹The term tikkun has two primary connotations. First, it refers to an act of rectification in which some aspect of the damaged cosmos is restored to its desired state. However, it may also mean an act of preparation in which [a] specific cosmic aspect is made ready for some subsequent development or process. In either case, the implication here is that the custom of celebrating the 15th of Shvat through eating and praising fruit has a powerful theurgic effect. The male and female sefirot, Yesod and Malkhut, that are responsible for releasing divine abundance into the world are positively effected. The ultimate desired result is the production of fine etrogim, the peri eitz hadar, which are required for the observance of Sukkot, during the following fall.on both exoteric and esoteric levels.¹⁰It rectifies and energizes Yesod above and results in abundance in nature below. For in the Palestinian Talmud, Asarah Yuhasin,¹¹J. Kiddushin. 48b. The text in Pri Eits Hadar is garbled here. the following appears.”‘Listen, humble ones, and rejoice‘¹²Psalms 34:3 R. Hizkiyah R. Kohen said in the name of Rav, ‘In the future a person will have to account for everything that his eyes saw and he did not eat. R. Elazar was concerned about this teaching and used to save poor man’s gleanings. He would eat them, each one at its time.'”¹³Each year a special Blessing is said whenever a fruit is eaten for the first time.

וטעם הדבר שכשם שהנהנה מן העה״ז בלא ברכה נקרא גזלן מפני שע״י הברכה גורם להמשיך שפע עליון ע״י כח הברכות והשר הממונה על אותו הפרי הוא מתמלא משפע זה כדי לגדל הפרי שנית ולכן הנהנ׳ בלא ברכ׳ גזלן הוי כי אכל הבריה שהרוחניות היה שורה בה וכילה ומנע כח ההוא מן העול׳ והיה ראוי לו להמשיך ברכה מלמעלה והכח הממונה על זה בטל וריק מאותו השפע שהיה בידו ולכן נקרא גזלן. The reason is that whoever enjoys produce in this world without pronouncing a blessing is called a robber.¹⁴See B. Berakhot 35b. For by means of the blessing, one draws down shefa. The angel who is assigned to that fruit [which was eaten] is filled by the shefa so that a second fruit can replace the first. Thus one who enjoys the fruit without blessing it is a robber. For through eating an aspect of creation [without blessing it], he eliminated the spiritual element that it contained. [Thus he] prevented that divine power from being manifest in the world, when he should have drawn down a blessing from above. As a result, the angel’s power is annulled, since it no longer possesses the shefa [that it needs in order to replenish the fruit]. That is why the person is called a robber.

וגם אמר כאילו גוזל אביו ואמו כי האוכל בכוונת הברכה של ברכת הנהנין מתקן ניצוצי נשמתו והנצוצות הנוגעים בנשמת אביו ואמו בסוד והוצאתי את בלעו מפי״ו כטעם חיל בלע ויקיאנו ואם נהנה בלא ברכה הוא כאילו גוזל אביו ואמו מניצוצו׳ השייכו׳ לנשמת׳ והוא חבר לאיש משחי׳ לפי שכל כוונת המשחי׳ לגזול נצוצו׳ ולקולט׳ ולא להחזיר׳ אל הקדוש׳ אשר זהו סוד כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ה׳ וכו׳ שהיא סוד הברכה המוציא׳ מהטומא׳ להקדוש׳ ונברר׳ ע״י פי ה׳ בלעיס׳ ל״ב שיני׳ אשר המה לעומ׳ ל״ב פעמים אלהים הנאמרי׳ במעש׳ בראשי׳ כמו שביארנו בארוכה בתקון הסעודה בחלק הקודם ע״ש. ‏ He also said that it is as if he robbed from his father and mother.¹⁵I.e., Rabbi Hanina bar Papa in the passage from Berakhot 35b associates enjoying something from this world without a blessing with robbing one’s father and mother. For through the kavvanah¹⁶The mystical or theurgic intention that to contemplated when one uners the blessing. of the blessing recited when eating fruit, a person who eats rectifies the sparks of his own soul as well as the sparks that pertain to the souls of his parents. This is the esoteric meaning of, “I will make him disgorge what he has swallowed,”¹⁷Jer. 51:44. which is related to [the secret of the verse], “the riches he swallowed, he vomits, [God empties it out of his stomach],”¹⁸Job 20:15. So if one enjoys the fruit without a blessing, it is as if he robbed his parents of the divine sparks that pertain to their souls.¹⁹In the teaching cited from B. Berakhot 35b, the father is identified as the Blessed Holy One and the mother is the Community of Israel. Thus the kabbalistic meaning would seem to allude to sparks pertaining to Tiferet and Malkhut or to the partzufim, Ze’ir ‘Anpin and Nuqba. “He is a comrade of the Destroyer.“²⁰Pro. 28:24 For the Destroyer’s only intention is to rob the divine sparks and to absorb them [in the realm of evil] and to [prevent them from] returning to [their source] in holiness. That is the esoteric meaning of “for a person does not live on bread alone, but on all that goes forth from the mouth of YHVH.”²¹Deut. 8:3. [All use of ‘Lord’ in Rabbi Krassen’s quotations of scripture, have been replaced with ‘YHVH’ unless they translate ‘ADoNaY‘. — Aharon Varady] This alludes to the secret of the blessing, which retrieves [the sparks] from impurity to holiness.²²The blessing prevents the divine sparks in the food from being appropriated by the evil forces and recycles them to the forces of holiness. It is brought about through the “mouth of YHVH,” i.e., by means of the chewing of the thirty-two teeth which correspond to the thirty-two times that Elohim is mentioned in the Story of Creation,²³The divine name Elohim appears thirty-two times in the first section of Genesis that details the stages of Creation. The thirty-two teeth which chew the food that has been blessed and return the divine sparks to holiness correspond to these thirty-two divine names. Thus they are alluded to by the ‘mouth of YHVH,’ mentioned in Deut. 8:3. as we have explained at length in the previous section concerning the tikkun of the meal.²⁴This is not found in the previous chapter of Hemdat Yamim. Location of this tikkun would aid in identifying the source of Peri Eitz Hadar.

ועונשים הללו גם המה ישנן למי שרואה מיני‎‏ פירות ומגדים ומצטמק ורע לו ולא אכל ומנע טוב מבעליו ולא בירך עליהם אשר הכח הממונ׳ עליהן בטל ורק מצדו משפע עליון הבא על ידי הברכה ואף גם גוזל אביו ואמו כי הואיל ולא אכל מהן לא הוציא ניצצות דשייכי לנשמתם כאמור ועל כן מטעם זה ר״א הוה מצמצם בפריטי למיכל בהון כל מיני פירו׳ חדשות להרבו׳ ברכות ולעשות התקון תכף ומיד ושלא להחמיץ המצוה. ‏ The punishments [for these transgressions] also apply to someone who sees species of fine fruit and allows them to dry up and go bad without eating them. [By not eating them], he prevented the angels of the fruit from receiving [their share of] divine goodness. Since he did not say a blessing over the fruit, the angel’s power is annulled and it is bereft of the shefa that depends on the blessing. He also robs his parents. For since he did not eat the fruit, he also neglected to eat the sparks that pertain to their souls, as has been explained. Accordingly, R. Eleazar used to save poor man’s gleanings of all kinds of new fruit to eat. [For he wanted] to increase blessings and perform the tikkun immediately, so as not to miss the [opportunity for fulfilling] the mitzvot.

ולתקון הדבר הזה יאותה לנו בעצם היום הזה לאכול כל מיני פירות ולברך עליהן בכוונה זו כי חביבה מצוה בשעתה.‏ In order to effect this tikkun, it is fitting for us to eat all kinds of fruit on this very day and to bless them with this intention. For a mitzvah is best when performed at the proper time.

ובזוהר פרשת שמות דף ט״ו ז״ל אמר ר׳ יהודה מ״ד גם זה לעומת זה עשה האלהים כגוונא דרקיעא עבד קב״ה בארעא וכולהו רמיזא למה דלעילא דכד הוה חמי רבי אבא חד אילנא דאיביה אתעביד עופא דפרח הוה בכי ואמר אי הוו ידעין בני נשא למאי רמיזאן וכו׳ דא״ר יוסי א׳לנין אינון דאתחזי מינהון וחכמתא כגון חרובא דקל פסתוקא וכדומה לון כולהו בחד רתיכא אתרכיבו כל אינון דעבדין פירין ואינון רברבין בר מתפוחים רזא חדא אינון בר משבילין וכו׳ דכל חד מאינון זוטרי בר מאזובא מאימ׳ חדא אתילידו כל עשבין דארעא דאתמני עליהון רברבין תקיפין בשמיא כל חד וחד רזא בלחודיי כגוונא דלעילא וכו׳. ‏ According to the Zohar, “R. Yehudah said, why is it written, ‘even this God made corresponding to that?‘²⁵Eccle. 7:14.God made the earth to correspond to the firmament. Everything [below] alludes to what is above. For when R. Abba would see a certain tree whose fruit would change into a bird that flew from it, he would weep and say, ‘if human beings only knew to what this alludes….’ As R. Yose said, these trees from which wisdom can be learned,²⁶I.e., their nature alludes to some characteristic of the divine world of the sefirot. such as the carob, palm, pistachio, and the like were all borne in one chariot.²⁷or, “were all compounded in one compounding.” All those [trees] that bear fruit, except the apple tree, allude to one supernal mystery…. And all the small ones, except for the hyssop, are the offspring of one mother. In heaven, powerful intermediaries are placed over each of the earth’s plants, and each has its own mystery, just as above.”²⁸Zohar, Shemot, 15b.

‏‎‏‏‎‎‏הנה משם תתבונן כי אף על גב שהבורא ית׳ שם‎‏͏‎‏‎‎‏ משטרו בארץ ועל כל אחד מלאך ממונה עליו מכל מקום העיקר של כל א׳ וא׳ נאחז במדות העליונות ובמ״ש שם בזוהר ז״ל מ״ד אל גינת אגוז ירדתי א״ל ת״ח האי גנתא נפקא מעדן ודא היא שכינתא אגוז דא היא רתיכא קדישא דאינון ארבע רישין דנהרין ומתפרשין מגנתא כהאי אגוזא וכו׳ אשר ממנו נקח כי בכל עשב יהיה מותר מחברו בשורש שלו למעלה. ‏ From this you can understand that although the blessed Creator rules over the earth and everything has an angel assigned to it, nevertheless of greatest importance is the fact that everything is connected to the supernal attributes.²⁹I.e., the sefirot. As they said there in the Zohar: “why is it written, ‘I went down to my walnut garden‘?³⁰Song of Songs, 6:11. He said to him, come and see. This is the garden that went forth from Eden and it is the Shekhinah.³¹The tenth sefirah, Malkhut. It is often called Shekhinah, the divine presence, ‘Walnut’ refers to the Holy Chariot,³²The chariot is described in Ezekiel’s vision. It is located under the tenth sefirah. the four tributaries that spread out from the garden like a nut . . .”³³Zohar, ibid. From this we can infer that herbs can be distinguished by the pre-eminence of their divine roots above.

ומהרח״ו זלה״ה ביאר שיש ל׳ מיני פירות האילן ובעולם הבריאה עשרה מהן לעומ׳ י׳ ספירות שלה ומפני שהם רחוקי׳ מן הטומאה וקרוב לאצילות אין להם קלי׳ לא בפנים ולא בחוץ ונאכלין כמו שהן. ואלו הן ענבים תאנים תפוחים אתרוגים לימוני״ם אגסים חבושום תותים שורב״אש חרובין. R. Hayyim Vital explained that there are thirty kinds of fruit trees. Ten [have their divine roots] in the World of Creation, corresponding to the ten sefirot of that world. Since their roots are far removed from tuma’ah ³⁴Literally, “impurity.” Here, the meaning is “forces of evil,” represented by the kelippot (shells). and close to the purely divine World of Emanation, they have no shell, either within or without.³⁵The cosmology assumed by the author consists of four worlds that are hierarchically arranged between the divine source, which is completely holy, and the forces of evil, which are completely impure. The thirty species of fruit have their roots in the second, third, and fourth worlds, called Creation, Formation, and Making. They are classified according to the nature of their shells, which symbolize the type of protection required, due to the extent that evil is present in that world. The fruit, which correspond to the World of Creation, have no shells because their roots are so far from the force of evil that no protection is required. They may be eaten as they are.³⁶They may be eaten in their entirety. There is no shell or kernel to discard. They include the following: grapes, figs, apples, citrons, lemons, pears, quince, strawberries, sorbs, and carob.

ועשרה מיני פירו׳ הם העולם היצירה והן סוד י״ס דיצירה שהם בנונים בין עולם הבריאה ובין עולם העשיה שאינן קרובות לטומאה כמו עולם העשיה ולא רחוקים כמו עולם הבריא׳. ‏ There are ten types of fruit [whose roots are] in the World of Formation. Esoterically, they correspond to the ten sefirot of Formation, which are intermediate, between the World of Creation and the World of Making. They are neither as close to the forces of evil as [the sefirot] of the World of Making nor as distant as the [sefirot] of the World of Creation.

ולכן גרעיני הזרע בתוך הפרי אינו נאכל לפי שאינן רכים כגרעינים שבתוך הפירות דבריאה. ואלי הן זתים תמרי׳ גודגוניו׳ שופאייפ״אש פרישקו״ש זירגואי״לאש משמישי״ש גינדא״ש אקאאני״ש נישפ״ולאש. Consequently, the seed kernels within the fruit are not eaten, since they are not soft like the seeds within the fruit that correspond to the World of Creation. They include: olives, dates, cherries, jujubes, persimmons, plums, apricots, hackberries, lotus fruit, uzerar.³⁷Or uzerad, a kind of crabapple, mentioned in the Mishnah, Demai 1:1.

ועוד י׳ מיני פירו׳ יש בעול׳ העשי׳ לעומת י״ס ולכן נאכל מה שבפני׳ ונזרק מה שבחוץ שקליפת הפרי היא מחיצה בינו ובין עולם התמורות כדי שלא יקבל טומאה וז״ס היצר הרע והקליפה דבוקה בנפש ואלו הן רמונים אגוזים שקדים ערמונים לוזים הנקרא אלביאנ״אש אלונים הנקרא אלביו״טאש בלעז פריסין פניוני״ש פסתו״קיש מאוזי״ז. ‏ There are ten other kinds of fruit [whose roots are] in the World of Making, corresponding to the ten sefirot[of that world]. Consequently, we eat what is within and discard what is without. For the fruit’s shell is a barrier between it and the World of Delights,³⁸The World of Making is bordered by the realm of evil forces that is characterized by lust or pleasures entirely separated from holiness. so that it will not take on the impurity [of the evil forces].³⁹The spiritual battle that must be waged between good and evil, or holiness and impurity, is confronted directly in the World of Making. Consequently, the fruit that correspond to that world require a hard outer shell. The fruit that symbolize the World of Formation have only a hard inner kernel, because that world is not directly assailable by the forces of evil, but may only be penetrated by evil/impurity. This is the esoteric meaning of the evil urge and ‘the kelippah‘ cleave to the nefesh.⁴⁰The human soul potentially contains a series of grade or parts that hierarchically correspond to the series of worlds. The lowest grade, nefesh, like the World of Making, is directly assailable by the forces of evil. The following correspond to sefirot of the World of Making: pomegranates, walnuts, almonds, pistachio, chestnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, coconut, pine nuts, peanuts.

והנה העשר מיני פירות דבריאה נתברר מהם‏‎‎ כל הפסול׳ ונשארו כולן טוב ואילן סרק הוא להפך שהוא הכל רע שהכל הוא קליפה וכנגד י׳ מיני פירו׳ דיצירה שהמוח מלבר והקליפ׳ מבפנים שהוא הגרעין שבתוכם כנגד זה בקליפה כשנצוץ הקדושה שנפל הוא גדול ולא יכלה הקליפה לסבול כל אותו האור בקרבה נכנסה הקליפה תוך הקדושה ונעשית הקדושה מקיף אליה. Now the ten kinds of fruit [that represent the World] of Creation have been purified of everything that relates to the forces of evil (pesolet)⁴¹Literally, “of all refuse.” and are left completely good. But a barren tree [represents] the opposite. It corresponds to pure evil, containing nothing but the kelippah. Just as the ten kinds of fruit [that correspond to the World] of Formation have an edible exterior and a hard interior, the kernel within, so it is with the kelippah.⁴²It bears no edible fruit. Thus it contains no divine sparks. When a fallen holy spark is great, the kelippah is not able to contain all of that light within itself. So [the kelippah] enters within the holiness and the holiness surrounds it.

וכנגד י׳ מיני פירות דעשיה שהמוח הוא מלגאו והקליפ׳ חופפת עליו מבחוץ כנגדן בקליפה כשלוקחת ניצוץ הקדושה בתוכה לחיות אליה והיא חופפת עליו מבחוץ כקליפ׳ אל המוח ע״כ. ‏‏ The ten kinds of fruit [that correspond to] the World of Making have a soft interior surrounded by a hard shell. This is like the kelippah, when it takes a holy spark within itself, in order to be enlivened by it. It surrounds the spark just as a shell encompasses the fruit.

צא ולמד כי אין דבר גשמי פה למטה שאין דוגמתו למעלה כי גבוה מעל גבוה שומר וגבוהים עליהם ואשר המה בעולמות התחתונים המה צל העליונים כי אם לא היה מצל לא היה צל. ‏ Consequently, we learn that there is no physical thing here below that does not correspond to something above. “For one is protected by another on a higher level, and both of these by still higher ones.”⁴³Eccle. 5:7. As things are below, so they are above. For there would be no shadow if there were no one to cast it.

ואבי ראה גם ראה נועם שיח סוד לשון הזהב אשר בחכמה דברו לאמר ראש השנה לפירות האיל״ן ולא אמרו לפירות האילנות רמזו בחכמה לאילנא קדישא אילנא דחיי וכמו שביארו גורי האר״י שכן אילן בגי׳ יאהדונה״י כמו שבא במכתבם בביאור מאמר הזוהר פרשת אחרי מות ההוא אילנא רבא ותקיפא וכו׳ אילנא דנטע שורשוי באינון חיים ע״ש וכן בכתבי רבינו הקדוש האר״י אילן במלואו גי׳ י״ב צירופי הי״ת רמז על הת״ת אילנא דחיי שכולל בו י״ב צירופי הוי״ה כמ״ש בפרשת בשלח תריסר תחומין וכולי סליקו באילנא קדישא רבא וכן עוד שם במאמר ויבאו אלימה וכו׳ ואת תקף אילנא קדישא בי״ב תחומין וכו׳. ‏ My father perceived the esoteric wisdom [alluded to by the] wording of the Mishnah, which says,”New Year’s Day for fruit of the tree,” rather than “for fruit of the trees.” The [sages of the Mishnah] were alluding to the Holy Tree, the Tree of Life,⁴⁴I.e., they were alluding to the sefirah, Tiferet, which is symbolized by the “Tree of Life.” as Isaac Luria’s disciples explained. For tree (ilan) has the same numerical value as the holy name, YAHDVNHY,⁴⁵The letters that spell ilan have the numerical value of 91. This equals the value of the sum of the two divine names, YHVH and ADoNaY. The combination of these two names, YAHD-VNHY represents the union of the sefirot, Tiferet, and Malkhut, respectively, i.e., the sacred union of the male and female principle within the Godhead. as they wrote in their explanation of the following passage from the Zohar, Aḥarei Mot.”That great and mighty tree [which contains nourishment for all is called the Tree of Life], the tree that planted its roots in these living ones.”⁴⁶Zohar, v. 3, 58a. Also, the Lurianic writings state that when the word tree (ilan) is spelled out fully, its numerical value is the same as twelve permutations of the name YHVH.⁴⁷When ilan is spelled ALP YVD LMD NVN, it equals 311 plus one for the word itself, total 312. Twelve permutations of YHVH equal 312. Thus [tree] alludes to Tiferet, the Tree of Life, which contains twelve permutations of YHVH, as stated in Zohar, Beshalaḥ, “twelve [supernal, engraved] regions ascended [in the scale], in the great and powerful holy Tree.”⁴⁸Zohar 2, 66b. Also see the passage,”‘And they came to Elim and there were twelve springs of water there and seventy date palms…‘⁴⁹Exod. 15:27. and the Holy Tree grew strong in twelve regions . . .”⁵⁰Zohar 2, 62b.

והענין כי כמו שהיום ראש השנה לפירות האילן לענין המעשרות דחשבינן להו שנה מט״ו בשבט דהואיל וירדו רוב גשמי שנה ועלה השרף באילנות ונמצאו פירות חונטים מעתה כן דוגמתו למעלה ראש השנה לפירות האילן העליון להשפיע את שפעו הקדיש לפירותיו הם הם העולמו׳ אשר מהם ישתלשל וירד פה למטה באילנות ועל משטרם. ‏ The meaning is that the 15th of Shevat is the New Year’s Day for tithing the fruit of trees. For most of the year’s rain has already fallen. The sap has begun to ascend through the trees, and fruit begin to take form on the trees from this time. Similarly, in the divine realm, it is the New Year’s Day for the fruit of the supernal tree which bestows its holy abundance on its fruit, the [upper worlds]. From them the shefa descends until it reaches the trees in our world below and the powers that oversee them.

ומעשה ידינו כוננהו בכח סגולת התקון הזה הנעשה בעצם היום הזה בכח הברכו׳ ואשר ילוה אליהם הגות סוד שורשן תתעוררנא בקומתם וצביונ׳ למעלה. ‏ “And establish for us, the work of our hands.“⁵¹Ps. 90:17. Through the special power of this tikkun, performed on this very day, through the power of the blessings and contemplation of the mystery of the fruit’s divine roots, an effect will be produced in their structure and character above.

ונוסף גם הוא כי בשפר התקון הלז מעוות לו יוכל לתקון את פגם הברית אשר לא נאמנה בבריתו והיה בעשותו התקון לעץ פרי מחץ מכתו ירפא בפגם הצדיק עושה פרי בצרוף סגולת הימים ההם הנזכרי׳ ונעשים לתקון פגם הברית כמו שנתבאר בפרק א׳. ‏ Moreover the person performing the tikkun can also be affected. For through the beauty of this tikkun, he can correct what he distorted (me’uvat lo yukhal litkon)⁵²A pun on Eccle. 1:15: “That which is crooked cannot be made straight (me’uvat lo yukhat litkon).” in damaging the [sign of the] covenant through inchastity.⁵³Although various forms of male sexual incontinence may be alluded to here, it is possible that the author has masturbation specifically in mind. The Zohar views ejaculation that does not occur during “normal” intercourse with women as an especially serious sin that cannot be rectified. If this is indeed the meaning, Peri Eitz Hadar would have to be considered an earlier tikkun for shikvat zera le-vatalah than the Tikkun ha-Kelali of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav. See Yehuda Lieves, “Ha-Tikkun Ha-Kelali of R. Nahman of Bratslav and Its Sabbatian Links,” in Studies in Jewish Myth and Jewish Messianism (SUNY, 1993), pp. 115-50. By virtue of performing this tikkun for the fruit tree, he will heal his part⁵⁴Literally, “his wound.” in the flawing of Tsaddik who makes fruit.⁵⁵See above. Sexual irregularities, the “flaw of the covenant,” have a negative effect on the ninth sefirah, Yesod, the Tsaddik, which represents the divine phallus. Since the 15th of Shvat tikkun affects this sefirah and deals with supernal potency, it can also correct the damage caused in that region by aberrant sexuality. It is interesting to note the implied magical relationship between human sexuality and fecundity of nature. Male irregularities in this area damage the divine quality that is ultimately responsible for the quality of the year’s fruit. There is the added benefit of the penitential period, mentioned above.⁵⁶See note on shovavim, above. Thus a tikkun for the flaw of the covenant is performed….