Tu Bishvat the New Year for Trees one of the most significant days in the calendar.

It is the New
Year for calculating the age of trees for the purpose of preserving their fruit.
Since 1901 the blue coin boxes of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) have been universal in every Jewish
home with the aim of raising funds for the planting of forests and other environmental works in
order to restore and maintain the fertility of the Land of Israel.
When you come to the land and you plant any tree, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three
years it will be forbidden and not eaten. In the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be sanctified to praise
the Lord. In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit. (Leviticus 19:23-25)
The Torah emerged when God gave a thorough description of creation to indicate not only the work
that built into the world's creation, but the love and care as well. Thus the Midrash says: "When God
created the first human, He showed him all the trees in the Garden of Eden ... and said to him, 'See
My handiwork, how beautiful and choice they are ... be careful not to ruin and destroy my world, for
if you do, there is no one to repair it'" (Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes 7:13).
The Bible sets forth as a foremost priority to care for the land by properly seeding and planting it.
"When you will come into the land, and you will plant any tree for food..." (Leviticus 19:23). Planting
trees is regarded as the first step to building an ecologically sound environment.
The Bible insists that newly planted trees must be properly protected so they may thrive: "For three
years [the fruit] shall be restricted to you, it shall not be eaten" (Leviticus 19:23).
Even in times of war, when human lives are at stake, the Bible forbids wanton destruction. Jewish
armies were strictly ordered from destroying the fruit-bearing trees of cities under siege: "When you
lay siege to a city for many days to wage war against it and capture it, you must not destroy its trees
by wielding an ax against them" (Deuteronomy 20:19). The rabbis warned ominously, that when a
tree is harvested its cry extends from one end of the world to another! (Am Loez)
The medieval Jewish scholar, Maimonides, claims that the biblical text of Deuteronomy 20:19 refers
not just to fruit trees in times of war, but to any wanton, unnecessary destruction, such as breaking
vessels and blocking water sources.
The Bible taught the importance of making use of all aspects of creation. For instance, commenting
on the description of the date palm the rabbis declare: "No part of the palm tree is wasted. The
dates are for eating; the Lulav branches are for waving in praise on Sukkot; the dried thatch is for
roofing; the fibers are for ropes; the leaves are for sieves; and the trunk is for house beams"
(Numbers Rabbah 3:1).
The environment is sustained by trees, which cleanse the air and stabilise the earth, and the
references in Jewish sources to the importance of protecting them are meant to be guidelines for
caring for the planet in general. It is our individual roles as guardians of the earth by supporting
environmental initiatives.