Tu B’Shvat is a Jewish holiday that’s considered the New Year of the Trees. Tu stands for the number 15, and Shvat is the name of the month in which the holiday falls. The fifteenth of Shvat, which falls in the winter, is the official date of this New Year—one of four new years on the Jewish calendar!

Tu B’Shvat, also called the “birthday of trees,” takes place in the dead of winter. You might think that the spring, when the trees blossom and bloom, would be a much more appropriate time. Or maybe even autumn, when the trees display their brilliant colors. But winter, when we celebrate the life of the trees, is a time when the trees seem least alive. Many are completely bare and look all but dead. To understand why Tu B’Shvat is the New Year for Trees, we have to look beneath the surface…

In this episode, Fellowship President and CEO Yael Eckstein shares about the celebration of Tu B’Shvat, and the lessons we can learn from this joyous ancient observance.

Listen now—then see what you know about this Jewish celebration of God’s Creation!

And listen to more of Yael’s Bible teachings on her daily podcast, The Chosen People.