The Calendar עִנְיְנֵי דְּיוֹמָא
What is Tu Bishvat? “Tu” stands for ט”ו, which has the numerical value of 15. So Tu Bishvat is the 15th day of Shevat.
According to the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:1), we mark a רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (Rosh Hashanah, New Year) for different things throughout the year. Tu Bishvat is the Rosh Hashanah for trees because it’s the date when we mark the age of fruit that grows on trees.
Why do we need to know the age of fruit?
You can look here for all the details! One reason is that fruit growing on a tree three years old or younger is called עָרְלָה (orlah) and isn’t allowed to be eaten. Tu Bishvat is the cutoff date for calculating when fruit is considered orlah. Another reason is that people need to give a percentage of their fruit as תְּרוּמָה (terumah, donation) and מַעֲשֵׂר (ma’aser, a tenth). These are gifts for כֹּהֲנִים (kohanim, priests), Levi’im, and poor people. Tu Bishvat is the cut-off date for calculating how much of these to give each year.
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