Though Michael James Stone may not mention it, We here at Broadcast Christianity are praying for his speedy recovery as all of us together prepare for the 2010 launch date.
That will occur on Jewish Year 5770: sunset January 29, 2010 - nightfall January 30, 2010.
We are asking all those who seek to Proclaim, Promote, and Preach Jesus freely, to add another P to that list.
Plant.
As a New Venture, Plant a Tree and pray we may be as a planting of the Lord, Trees of Righteousness on this day forward till Jesus Return again soon. In honor of that we included a note about The “Jewish New Year” for Trees.
If you read below, you will see why we chose this as our “Starting date” as “tithing” is figured from this date. We as a ministry do not ask ever for funds but freely give what we freely receive and ALL goes to the Lord. (This also keeps us free from entanglements).
It is the reason we treasure volunteers. We provide opportunity for them to serve God as His Plantings and Seedlings, not ours. As they Follow Jesus, they do as He says. We are merely the containers.
#Michael James Stone and Last Call will be phasing in slowly as his health returns and God leads Him. We are pleased to post what we receive from Him and all volunteers. God Bless All and May He Reveal Himself to you.
-Staff
Tu B'Shevat Level: Basic |
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 L-RD. In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit. -Leviticus 19:23-25
There are four new years... the first of Shevat is the new year for trees according to the ruling of Beit Shammai; Beit Hillel, however, places it on the fifteenth of that month. -Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1
Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, is a holiday also known as the New Year for Trees. The word "Tu" is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "Iv July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals). See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about using letters as numbers and why the number 15 is written this way.
As I mentioned in Rosh Hashanah, Judaism has several different "new years." This is not as strange a concept as it sounds at first blush; in America, we have the calendar year (January-December), the school year (September-June), and many businesses have fiscal years. It's basically the same idea with the various Jewish new years.
Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. See Lev. 19:23-25, which states that fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is for G-d, and after that, you can eat the fruit. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shevat, so if you planted a tree on Shevat 14, it begins its second year the next day, but if you plant a tree two days later, on Shevat 16, it does not reach its second year until the next Tu B'Shevat.
Tu B'Shevat is not mentioned in the Torah. I have found only one reference to it in the Mishnah, and the only thing said there is that it is the new year for trees, and there is a dispute as to the proper date for the holiday (Beit Shammai said the proper day was the first of Shevat; Beit Hillel said the proper day was the 15th of Shevat.
There are few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day. Some people plant trees on this day. A lot of Jewish children go around collecting money for trees for Israel at this time of year. That's about all there is to it.
