Anyone up for some grapes, figs, dates, pomegranates and olives? For 24 hours starting Sunday night, Jan. 16, Jews worldwide will be eating these fruits (and drinking four types of wine) to celebrate the “Birthday of All Trees.”

This holiday, called “Tu b’Shevat” in Hebrew, translates as “the 15th of the month of Shevat.” It is not mentioned in the Bible, but began with the farmers of Israel asking how they could carry out faithfully the Bible’s commandments. Leviticus 19:23 says, “When you enter the Land and plant any tree for food, for three years its fruit shall be forbidden to you, not to be eaten.” The farmers, who planted hundreds of trees each year, asked, how could they know exactly when three years had passed after each tree’s planting? The rabbis settled the matter, declaring that the 15th of Shevat would be the ‘Birthday for All Trees,” no matter when they were planted.

The holiday has evolved into a way to educate people about the benefits of trees: absorption of carbon dioxide; delivery of oxygen; temperature moderation and energy savings for renters and homeowners; removal of toxins from the air, soil and water; neighborhood beautification; and many more. When we plant, we are providing our neighbors and future generations with many good things. And when we damage a tree, we are cutting off the very branches we are perched upon as a society.

In 2022, Tu b’Shevat will fall on the same day we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This coincidence should remind us that we ourselves are, in a way, trees whose limbs, like Dr. King, can bear good deeds – the “fruits” of our labors.

You can “act locally” by having trees planted in the City of Newburgh, which is down nearly 4,000 trees from the number we had just a few decades ago. Simply make a check of any amount payable to the City of Newburgh, with “tree donation” in the memo line, and mail it to: Comptroller, 83 B’way, Newburgh, NY 12550.

Happy Tu b’Shevat, everyone!