Tu B’Shvat was this week, but the dramatic change in how we commemorate it happened in the 17
th century. Tu B’Shvat underwent a metamorphosis because of the publication of a new mystical and kabbalistic work. The work was called Chemdas Yamim and its origins are somewhat obscure. It was printed anonymously and it was the publication of this Sefer that caused the Tu B’Shvat revolution.
[By the way, according to Rav Yisroel Belsky zt”l, it is pronounced Tu B’shvat where the shva is a short e sound as in the first e in the word “between” rather than as an i as in “bitcoin.”]
Janglo
