2022/5782

This week's Parashah, Parashat Bo, talks about the last of the three Makkot, and also speaks about all of Bnei Yisrael being given many Mitzvot, notably, their first as a nation. Parashat Bo this year falls in the week of Beit Shammai’s “Tu BeShvat”, Rosh Chodesh Shvat. This cannot be a coincidence, there must be some sort of significance behind this common denominator. What is the reason Parashat Bo falls out at this specific time? 

In order to figure out the reason, we need to analyze the essence of Tu BeShvat, why it was instituted, and how it connects to Parashat Bo. Tu BeShvat is not just “the tree's birthday”, it means something so much more. The Mishnah in Rosh HaShanah is the first source we have of Tu BeShvat. The first Mishnah in Rosh HaShanah (1:1) states “Be’Echad BeShvat Rosh HaShanah Le’Ilan KeDivrei Beit Shammai, Beit Hillel Omerim BeChamishah Asar Bo,” “The new year for the trees (when you cannot mix Ma'aser from before that date with Ma'aser after that date) is on the first of Shvat according to Beit Shammai, and according to Beit Hillel it is on the fifteenth. We end up holding like Beit Hillel, which is why it is called “Tu BeShvat.” Tu BeShvat is the start of a new beginning, it is the start of a new year of Ma'aser. Moreover, Tu BeShvat shows appreciation for all of the new trees that grow during the new year, the beginning of new life. 

From a logical standpoint, one knows that we cannot live without trees. They provide the world with necessary resources needed to sustain life, with fruit and with money (agriculture was the primary source of income in the pre-modern world). Do trees really represent life and sustain life? The answer to that question can be found in the negative commandment of cutting down fruit trees. The Pasuk (Devarim 20:19-20) states that when there is a siege on a city we are permitted only to cut down trees that do not have fruit. Ibn Ezra  explains that we cannot destroy a fruit tree because it sustains human life. Rabbeinu Bachya explains that not only should you not destroy these trees, you should preserve them, and even benefit from their fruit. He quotes the Gemara (Ta'anit 7a) that says the words of this Pasuk hint to the Torah of Talmidei Chachamim (because the Torah of Talmidei Chachamim can be compared to fruit). Why does the Gemara make this comparison? The Gemara earlier (4a) says that a Talmid Chacham is like a seed; once a seed sprouts, it keeps on growing. I think the Gemara makes this comparison because a plant starts from a little seed, is nourished by water, grows roots in the ground, and propels itself towards the surface. After this, the plant sprouts and grows more and more gradually, ultimately, resulting in something beautiful: fruit. Similarly, a Talmid Chacham does not become a Talmid Chacham naturally, it requires hard work, growth, and nourishment. The fruit of his labor is the brilliant Torah that he will end up teaching. One can see from here that trees are a symbol for Torah. 

How, though, does this connect to Parashat Bo? The connection between Tu BeShvat and Parashat Bo is evident as Parashat Bo is the start of Bnei Yisrael’s new life, and the beginning of their gradual growth towards becoming a nation. Bo is the start of our new life as we are taken out of the hands of the Egyptians and brought towards Har Sinai and Eretz Yisrael. In addition, it is also a path to Torah, the path to Bnei Yisrael receiving the Torah at Har Sinai.

When we are taken out of Mitzrayim we are essentially a new nation, starting from a new beginning, with a new purpose. We are a seed beginning to grow roots. This is the reason that the first Mitzvah we were given as a nation was Kiddush HaChodesh. Kiddush HaChodesh is mainly for the purpose of celebrating holidays at the proper times. However, it can also be about praising Hashem for renewing the moon. The moon begins a new cycle each month that helps us determine the beginnings of each month. This may correspond to the renewal of Bnei Yisrael as a nation after leaving Mitzrayim. That is why in the Bracha we say when doing Kiddush Levanah we say “to the moon Hashem said that it should renew itself as a crown of splendor for Bnei Yisrael, those who are destined to renew themselves like it.” We say this to connect Bnei Yisrael being renewed as a nation when taken out of Egypt to the moon renewing itself each month, and also to us being renewed in the future when Mashiach comes. This represents the beginning of our long journey of growth.

After this Mitzvah we are given Korban Pesach, and many smaller Mitzvot pertaining to Korban Pesach. Also, we are given the negative commandment of not eating Chametz on Pesach, and the different smaller commandments with regard to Chametz. What is the basis of these commandments? According to the Sefer HaChinuch the root of these Mitzvot is to remember the miracles Hashem did for us leading up to and during Yetzi’at Mitzrayim. In other words, we need to focus on our roots, they are essential to our growth. Without them, we would not be who we are today. 

Finally, we begin to grow steadily and arrive closer to the final product of our growth: the fruit, the Torah. As a nation we begin venturing through the desert to Har Sinai in order to receive the Torah. We started small as a nation, like a seed. Hashem began watering us with Mitzvot, creating new roots, and adding on to the foundation of our nation, the final product, the Torah. Once Hashem causes us to grow a little more, we are finally prepared to receive what we have grown so much for, the Torah. 

That is how Tu BeShvat is connected to Parashat Bo, they are both about renewal. Tu BeShvat is about the renewal of fruits and trees, while Bo is about the renewal of Klal Yisrael as a nation. Fruit trees start off as a seed, grow roots, sprout, grow into trees, and produce fruit. Bnei Yisrael started off as a new nation, got commandments, which are their roots, then got the final product and foundation of their religion, the Torah. Just as trees are nurtured by getting watered, we were nurtured by being given Mitzvot. That is why the Pasuk in Mishlei (3:18) says “Eitz Chayim Hi LaMachazikim Bah,” “Torah is a tree of life for those who grasp it”. Torah can be a tree of life for people because if you work hard on it and grow, it can really cause you to change.

As the real Tu BeShvat approaches, perhaps we can take advantage of this time to work on our own self growth in order to renew ourselves. Good Shabbos.