[Avodah] Belated Tu-Bishvat Post

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Feb 08, 2007 at 10:23:33AM +0200, Simon Montagu wrote:
: Having said that, I'm not sure I understand the point of your
: question. Is there anyone more than 25 centuries ago who refers to Yad
: beAdar as anything more than the date when one begins to expound
: hilchot Pesahh? Or (admittedly more controversially) is there anyone
: more than 6 decades ago who refers to He beIyyar as anything more than
: the date when one begins to expound hilchot Atzeret?

.... or anyone who discusses keeping a cheshbon hanefesh before Rabbeinu
Bachya? If you're going to pick late inventons, you might as well write
with knowledge of who you're asking.

Ta'anis Esther is a poor example, as we had a sanhedrin capable of
making derabanans. If you're going to pick holiday practices, Simchas
Torah is uncontraversial and too late to be a derabannan.

But who said my point was to disparage following these practices? Rather,
I am interested for historical reasons; how quickly can these things
snowball. Personally, I think much of the current rise of Tu beShevat
has the same origins as Israel's agrarian foundations. Found also in
Dr Nathan Birnbaum's G-ttesVolk; he left political Zionism for the
Agudah and haOlim, but DNB didn't lose his romantic notions of agrarian
life. (Unfortunately, the abridged translation at gottesvolk.us is gone,
replaced by a domain name squatter.)

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             In the days of our sages, man didn't sin unless
micha at aishdas.org        he was overcome with a spirit of foolishness.
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