LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION celebrating the Jewish holiday of Tu b'Shevat,
the New Year for Trees, to be observed on Monday, January 25, 2016

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to celebrate the Jewish
holiday of Tu b'Shevat, the New Year for Trees, to be observed on
Monday, January 25, 2016; and
WHEREAS, Tu b'Shevat, the 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar is the
day which marks the beginning of a new year for trees; this is the
season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge
from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle; and
WHEREAS, The Jewish religion marks the day of Tu b'Shevat by eating
fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in
its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates,
olives and dates; and
WHEREAS, If tasting any of these fruit for the first time this season,
worshippers remember to recite the Shehecheyanu blessing, a blessing
recited on joyous occasions, thanking God for sustaining them and enabl-
ing them to reach this occasion; and
WHEREAS, On this day, Jewish people remember that man is a tree of the
field and reflects on the lessons they derive from their botanical
analogue; and
WHEREAS, According to Biblical law, there is a seven year agricultural
cycle, concluding with the Sabbatical year; when the Holy Temple stood
in Jerusalem, on years one, two, four and five of this cycle, farmers
were required to separate a 10th of their produce and eat it in Jerusa-
lem; and
WHEREAS, This tithe is called Maaser Sheni, the Second Tithe, because
it is in addition to the (two percent which must be given to the Kohain,
and the) 10 percent which is given to the Levite; and
WHEREAS, On the third and sixth years of the cycle, instead of the
owners eating the Maaser Sheni in Jerusalem, they gave this second tithe
to the poor, who were permitted to consume it wherever they wished; and
WHEREAS, It takes approximately four months for the rains of the new
year to saturate the soil and trees, and produce fruit; on the Sabbat-
ical year, no tithes are separated and all produce which grows during
this year is ownerless and free for anyone to take; and
WHEREAS, It was therefore of vital importance to ascertain when the
new year started for produce; Rabbis established that a fruit which
blossomed before the 15th of Shevat is produce of the previous year; if
it blossomed afterwards, it is produce of the new year; and
WHEREAS, By comparison, grains, vegetables, and legumes have the same
New Year as humans, the 1st of Tishrei; this is because in the Mediter-
ranean region, the rainy season begins with the festival of Sukkot; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when customs of
such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our attention, they
should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of this great
Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
celebrate the Jewish holiday of Tu b'Shevat, the New Year for Trees, to
be observed on Monday, January 25, 2016.