Tu B’Shevat: Celebrating the Potential

On Tu B’Shevat, the 15th of Shevat, we celebrate the New Year for Trees. It falls in the middle of the winter, when the sap is just beginning to flow. If the fruit is not yet growing, why do we celebrate the occasion by eating fruit? By enjoying fruit on Tu B’Shevat, we celebrate the potential within the tree. We also commit ourselves to bring out this potential by nurturing the tree through the spring and summer, until it brings its fruit. The human being is compared to a tree. We must recognize the wonderful potential within every person and every event, and we must commit ourselves to bringing out that potential.