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“There are four New Years: On the first of the month of Nisan is the New Year for kings and for festivals; on the first of Elul is the New Year for the tithe of animal, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say the first of Tishrei (is the New Year for animals); on the first of Tishrei is the New Year for the (counting of the) years, for Shmitta (sabbatical years), for the Jubilee, for planting and for vegetables; and on the first of Sh’vat is the New Year for Trees, according to the view of the School of Shammai. But the School of Hillel say, on the fifteenth of that month (Sh’vat).”
(Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 1)
“When in your war against a city you have to besiege it for a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its fruit trees, wielding an ax against them. You may eat of them, but you may not cut them down. Are the trees of the city human to withdraw from you into the besieged city? Only trees which you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siege works against the city that is waging war on you until it has been captured.”
(Deuteronomy 20:19-20)
It is forbidden to live in a city that does not have a garden or greenery.
(Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12)
“The Holy One said to Israel, ‘Even though you will find the land full of goodness, do not say: We will sit and not plant. Rather, be careful to plant trees. Just as you found trees which others had planted, so you should plant for your children. No one should say I am old. How many more years shall I live? Why should I be troubled for the sake of others? Just as he found trees, he should add more by planting even if one is old.” (Midrash Tanchuma, Kedoshim 8)
“I will make the fruits of your trees and the crops of your fields abundant, and people shall say, ‘That land, once desolate, has become like the Garden of Eden; and cities once ruined, desolate and ravaged are now populated and fortified.’ The trees of the field shall yield their fruit and the land shall yield its produce.”
(Ezekiel 34)
“I will set cypresses in the desert, box trees and elms as well, that all may see and know, consider and comprehend that the hand of god has created this.”
(Isaiah 41)
“Why is Torah (our Tree of Life) compared to a fig? Because nearly every fruit has some part which cannot be eaten: dates have pits, grapes have seeds, and pomegranates have skin. But every part of the fig is good to eat.”
(Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua 1)
Of all the trees that grow in the Land of Israel, the cedar is singled out for its majesty, exemplified by its strength, height, fragrance and hardiness.
When a Jew dies, it is customary to bury him or her in a simple pine coffin, the most inexpensive of woods, symbolizing the essential equality of all creatures in God’s eyes.
In biblical poetry, palms symbolize beauty, grace and fruitfulness. The psalmist compares the righteous person to a flourishing palm.
