45 Days from Tu BiShvat to Rosh Chodesh Nisan

The Special Significance of Tu BiShvat

Few people know that Tu BiShvat is not merely the New Year of the Trees, but also the most special day of the year. This day marks the beginning of the «binyan shalem shel ha-yamim» (the complete building of the days) leading up to the beginning of time. Rosh Chodesh Nisan is considered the “beginning of time,” as the Torah says: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months”—as it were, the New Year for time, the starting point for counting time. In Judaism, «binyan shalem»—a complete structure—is represented by the number 45. Why? The gematria of the word «adam» (human being) is 45. The human being is the center and purpose of all creation. In Kabbalah, the number 45 is also considered a complete structure. For example, Tu BiAv—the 15th of Av—is exactly 45 days before Rosh Hashanah, the New Year and Day of Judgment. Tu BiShvat is 45 days before the “beginning of time,” when «tekufat hitchadshut»—the period of renewal—begins. The month of Nisan marks the period of nissim, open miracles. And the 45 days before that are a period of renewal. In other words, if a person has a problem that has “trapped” them, they need to renew themselves—to look at the existing problem from a different perspective and find another solution. The most suitable time for this is beginning on Shabbat, the 15th of Shevat.   (Based on a lesson by Rabbanit Esther Ofengenden)