חמשה עשר בשבט, the fifteenth day of the month of שבט, is called ראש השנה לאילנות. As the Mishnah says in the beginning of מסכת Rosh Hashanah, that בית הלל says that the fifteenth day of שבט is ראש השנה לאילן. It is the Rosh Hashanah for trees. And that's how we posken, as the Rambam says in הלכות תרומות פרק ה' הלכה י\"א, and in הלכות מעשר שני פרק א' הלכה ב'. And even though the לשון in the Mishnah is ראש השנה לאילן, but the accepted expression is that חמשה עשר בשבט is ראש השנה לאילנות. And even though it's a Rosh Hashanah for the trees, nevertheless we celebrate this Rosh Hashanah. As the Magen Avraham says in the אורח חיים סימן קל\"א סעיף קטן י\"ז, that נוהגין להרבות בו במיני פירות של אילנות, that the minhag is that we eat more fruit of the trees on that day. And especially those fruit with which נשתבחה בהם ארץ ישראל, that ארץ ישראל was praised. Some even have a minhag, especially by the Sephardim, to say certain parts of Tanach and Zohar, as it's printed in the ספר Pri Etz Hadar. And all these parts that they say are all those pesukim that express the importance of the perot of the trees. Now, since we celebrate the ראש השנה לאילנות, obviously this must be a lesson to us also. It is not that we just celebrate the Rosh Hashanah of the trees, but it is noga to us also. What is the lesson that we're supposed to take from ראש השנה לאילנות? The pasuk says in Parashat Shoftim קפיטל כ' פסוק י\"ט, כי האדם עץ השדה, that a person is like a tree of the field. Now, what does that mean? The Gemara says in Taanit דף ז' עמוד א', אם תלמיד חכם הגון הוא ממנו תאכל. That when the pasuk says that if it's a tree that gives fruit, you should eat from the tree, it means if it is a תלמיד חכם הגון, a proper תלמיד חכם, you should eat from him, which means learn from him. So we see from there that a תלמיד חכם is compared to a tree that gives fruit. And as the Gemara says in Sotah דף מ\"ו עמוד א', מאי פירות? מצוות. What are peirot? Mitzvot. And we also know what Rashi says in the beginning of Parashat Noach, taken from Bereishit Rabbah פרשה ל\"ו, that פירותיהם של צדיקים מעשים טובים. The peirot of tzadikim, the fruit of the tzadikim, are good deeds. Which means that the tree and the fruit of the tree represent Torah and mitzvot. It represents Torah, as the Gemara says that it refers to a תלמיד חכם. And since we know גדול תלמוד שמביא לידי מעשה, that the main thing of learning is in order to bring to good deeds, therefore, good deeds are also included. So the inyan of the trees, the fruit trees, represent the inyan of Torah, learning Torah and doing mitzvot. Now, since we say Chamisha Asar b'Shvat is ראש השנה לאילן or ראש השנה לאילנות, and is the Rosh Hashanah for the trees, that means that that's the day that a person is supposed to get a hit'or'rut, get an awakening, he's supposed to strengthen his learning Torah and doing mitzvot. And not only on that day, but he's supposed to strengthen that on that day for the whole year. Being that this is called Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year, that means that this affects the whole year. Just like it says in ספרים concerning Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Tishrei, that we call it Rosh Hashanah, not תחילת השנה. תחילת השנה would mean the beginning of the year, that means the first day of the year. It doesn't mean that it has any connection to the second or the third or all other days of the year. It's the beginning, and the other days are later. When we say the head of the year, that means that this has an effect to every day of the year. Because just like the head is not only the beginning of the body, but it controls the whole body, and everything that we have in the body comes from the head, so too is with Rosh Hashanah, that that is the day that controls the whole year. And the same here, since we use the לשון that this is Rosh Hashanah, so it means that what happens on this day concerning the inyan of אילנות, of trees, of fruit trees, has an effect on every day of the year. And therefore, if a person would strengthen his learning Torah and doing mitzvot on the day of Chamisha Asar b'Shvat, and take a החלטה, make a resolution on that day that from now on he will strengthen his learning Torah and doing mitzvot, this would have an effect on every day of the year.

We see also that ראש השנה לאילנות is the fifteenth day of the month. We see that there are other ימים טובים also on the fifteenth day of the month. We see that Pesach is on the fifteenth day of Nisan, Sukkot is on the fifteenth day of Tishrei. So we see that there must be a special connection between this concept of ראש השנה לאילנות, which means, as we said before, a day that a Yid is able to take to strengthen in learning Torah and doing mitzvot, there's some connection between this and the fifteenth day of the month. Now, we know b'klal the maalah of the fifteenth day of the month is that that's the day that קיימא קיימא סיהרא באשלמותא. It's the day that the moon is b'shleimut, is complete, as it says in Zohar חלק א׳ דף קנ״ג עמוד א׳ and דף רכ״ה עמוד ב׳, דף רמ״ט עמוד ב׳, and חלק ב׳, in many places. And also Midrash in Shemot Rabbah, פרשת ט״ו אות כ״ו, it also seems to be saying the same thing: that on the חמשה עשר of the month, the 15th day of the month, that's the day that קיימא סיהרא באשלמותא, that the moon is full. Which means that since we know that the Yidden are compared to the moon, as the Gemara says in Sukkah דף כ״ט עמוד א׳, and also brought down in Bereishit Rabbah פרשה ו׳ ג׳, and we know that Yidden count to the moon, as the Gemara says there in Sukkah, that our calendar is a lunar calendar because we follow the calendar, the cycle of the moon. And the reason is because שהם עתידים להתחדש כמותה, as we say in the brachah of Kiddush Levanah, which is taken from the Gemara, actually, Sanhedrin דף מ״ב עמוד א׳, that the Yidden will be renewed like the לבנה. Just like the לבנה goes down, and then, when it comes to the 15th day of the month, it is full, it's renewed, the Yidden will also be renewed. But in any event, the 15th day of the month represents the completion of the levels of the Yidden, because since the Yidden are compared to the moon and count by the moon, so the completion of the moon represents the completion of the Yidden. And that's the reason why Pesach is on the 15th day of the month, and Sukkot is on the 15th day of the month. Every time a Yom Tov comes, it means that there is a special revelation of the Shechinah in the world, which gives the Yidden ability to reach very high madregot. Because we know that whatever happened the first time repeats itself every year. As the pasuk says in the מגילה, הימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים, that these days are remembered and done. So the Arizal says what it means is that if the Yomim Tovim are remembered, then it is done. It means that the same thing that happened the first time happens again. It's self-understood that the first time the event took place, there was a great revelation of the Shechinah. Every year when that day comes around, the same thing happens. For instance, by Pesach, when the Yidden went out of Mitzrayim, there was נגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא, השם Himself revealed Himself to them. So there was a revelation of the Shechinah at that time. Every year when Pesach comes around, there is another revelation of the same level. Sukkos, the first time it happened, there was a revelation of the Shechinah. Every year it happens over again, and the revelation takes place again. Now, in order for great revelations to take place, it has to be on the 15th day of the month, because the 15th day of the month, that's the shleimus of the avodah of the Yidden, that's when the Yidden are bishleimus, are complete. So that's when this great revelation could take place. And the same is concerning Chamishah Asar b'Shevat. Being that we said that Chamishah Asar b'Shevat is a day that is mesugal to get a hisorerus and a hachlatah to make a resolution concerning strengthening the learning Torah and doing mitzvot, this is on the 15th day of the month, because that's the day that represents the shleimus of the avodah of the Bnei Yisrael.

But emes we find something even greater in Chamishah Asar b'Shevat than we find even in the Chamishah Asar, in the 15th day of Nisan, which is Pesach, and the 15th day of Tishrei, which is Sukkos. Which is also hinted in the fact that, what it says in sefarim, that the months of the winter are parallel to the months of the summer. Now the 15th day of the fifth month of the summer is חמשה עשר באב, is the 15th day of אב. The 15th day of the fifth month of the winter is חמשה עשר בשבט, and they are parallel. And we see a comparison between the two, a similarity. We see that on the 15th day of אב is a יום טוב in connection to wood, to eitz, because one of the reasons why we celebrate the 15th day of אב, because then they stopped chopping down wood for the mizbeach, for the Beis HaMikdash. And the 15th day of Shevat is also a Yom Tov in connection to eitz, because this is the ראש השנה לאילן. Just like concerning חמשה עשר באב, it says in the גמרא, לא היו ימים טובים לישראל כחמשה עשר באב וכיום הכפורים, there were no Yomim Tovim by Yidden as great as חמשה עשר באב and Yom Kippur. Which means that חמשה עשר באב was even greater than חמשה עשר of Nisan, which is Pesach, and חמשה עשר of Tishrei, which is Sukkos. And since we say that the months of the winter are parallel to the months of the summer, there is something special in the חמשה עשר of Shevat even greater than the חמשה עשר of Nisan, which is Pesach, and חמשה עשר of Tishrei, which is Sukkos. In which way do we see that חמשה עשר בשבט has something even greater than the others? And not Chas v'shalom we're trying to minimize the other Yomim Tovim, but whenever we speak about a certain Yom Tov, we always try to stress the maalah of that Yom Tov over all other Yomim Tovim. What is the maalah we see in חמשה עשר בשבט over even Pesach or Sukkos?

We said before that חמשה עשר represents the shleimus, the completion. Lichorah, the inyan of ראש השנה לאילנות is a contradiction to the concept of shleimus of complete. Because the inyan of ראש השנה ל לאילנות means that that's the renewal of the כח הצומח, the renewal of the power of it growing. Growing shows that it's not finished yet, it's not complete yet. Here we're saying that it's a חמשה עשר, that means that it shows for shleimus, it shows completion. And at the same time we're saying it's completion of what? Of ראש השנה לאילנות, which means that it's the התחדשות of the כח הצומח, it's the renewal of the כח of growing, which means it still has to grow, that it's not completed. But the Pshat is that it's not a contradiction at all, because the Bnei Yisrael are connected to Hashem, who is Ein Sof, who is unlimited, so the real completion of a Yid is a completion of Ein Sof of unlimited, which means that as great as he is, and as complete as he is, he is always able to reach higher and higher. A Yid, when he comes to a real Shleimut, then starts feeling that he is able to go higher and higher, and he is still missing, he's not finished yet, he still has to grow. When a person is not in such a great Madregah, then he might feel that he is complete. But the fact that he feels that he is complete shows that he's not really in the high Madregah. When a person is in a very high Madregah, then he really feels that he is missing, and he still has to grow. So the Shleimut that we have on Chamishah Asar b'Shvat, which is in connection to the Koach of growing, shows a very, very high Madregah, even greater than the Madregah of the 15th day of Nisan and the 15th day of Tishrei. The 15th day of every month, including of Tishrei and of Nisan, represents the Shleimut, it represents that the Yidden are in a high Madregah. But it doesn't stress the point that they're still missing, that they feel that they still have to grow. חמשה עשר בשבט, which is ראש השנה לאילנות, there we see the stress of the fact that there is a feeling that you still have to grow higher and higher. Now the truth is that in every חמשה עשר of the month, every 15th day of the month, we see that point too, because what happens right after the 15th day of the month? When קיימא סיהרא באשלמותא, when the moon is full, then it starts getting smaller and smaller. What does that mean? That after you come to the Shleimut, you realize that now you are really nothing. So this brings about a Bitul, a self-nullification in the person. So the real Shleimut brings Bitul, and that's why after קיימא סיהרא באשלמותא, after the full moon, it starts getting smaller, which represents the fact that he realizes that he has nothing and he has to grow. But this is only hinted in every 15th day of the month. On the 15th day of the month of Shvat, when we celebrate the concept of צמיחה, the concept of growth, so here we see it even stronger that the Inyan, the true Shleimut is when you feel that you still have to grow higher and higher.

But there is one specific thing, specific lesson that we take Chamishah Asar b'Shvat concerning this Inyan of growing higher and higher, that there is one specific Inyan in which you have to grow, which we take out for Chamishah Asar b'Shvat. We said Chamishah Asar b'Shvat is ראש השנה לאילנות, and therefore the Minhag is to eat fruit of the tree. So we celebrate Rosh Hashanah in connection to fruit, especially the fruit in which Eretz Yisrael was praised, which is גפן, תאנה, רימון, זית שמן, and דבש, only specifically to fruit. Not concerning חיטה or שעורה, חיטה wheat or שעורה barley, which is תבואה. The Rosh Hashanah for תבואה is not Chamisha Asar B'Shvat, that is אחד בתשרי, the first day of Tishrei, as the Mishnah says in Rosh Hashanah. So Chamisha Asar B'Shvat is connected specifically to fruit. What is the difference between fruit and תבואה, grain? Grain, a person needs pashut to exist. A person needs bread to live on. But fruit usually is eaten for pleasure. As the famous pshat that is written in the Tur and in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim סימן ר\"ז, in the bracha of בורא נפשות, where we mention חסרונם and על כל מה שבראת להחיות בהם. חסרונם means what's missing, so he says that חסרונם refers to those things which are missing by the person and are needed for the person pashut for his existence, שאי אפשר להם להתקיים בלא זה, they can't live without them. For instance, bread and water. So bread, which is made of grain, is something that's needed, a person must have it. Then when it says על כל מה שבראת להחיות בהם, that you created to live on, that refers to, the Tur says, שאר דברים שבראם להתענג בהם, other things that Hashem created to have pleasure with. And he adds, כגון מיני פירות, for instance fruit. So we see that fruit represents pleasure, not what is needed לצורך קיום הגוף that a person must have to live on. Since we said in the beginning that the trees and the fruit represent Torah u'mitzvot, and therefore Chamisha Asar B'Shvat is a day we have to strengthen our keeping of Torah u'mitzvot, but being that we celebrate the concept of fruit, obviously it is specifically נוגע to the inyan of pleasure. When we apply that to Torah u'mitzvot, that means like this: there are certain things in Torah u'mitzvot which you must have, must do. And that is the halachot, a person must keep the halachot of Torah. Then we have the extra, that is called lifnim mishurat hadin. These are things which you don't really have to do, you could get away without doing it, but if you do it, Hashem is happy with. That is going beyond the call of the halacha. And that would be similar to the inyan of ta'anug. Bread, חיטה or שעורה, that would be compared to those things that you have to do, just like these are things that you must have to live on. But lifnim mishurat hadin, that would be compared to fruit, which is the ta'anug, which is extra. And since we celebrate the Yom Tov of the fruit, and as we said before, we celebrate the concept that you have to grow, if you put these two things together, so the main lesson that we have to take on Chamishah Asar Bishvat is the growth in the ענין of the ta'anug, which means the growth in the ענין of lifnim mishurat hadin. That means on a Chamishah Asar Bishvat we said before that a person has to make a החלטה to strengthen his learning Torah and doing מצוות. And on that day you feel that you have to still grow. In which ענין does that have to be done mainly? In the ענין of lifnim mishurat hadin. In the fact that you have to keep what Hashem wants you to do, what you must do, there is no חידוש in that. But the חידוש here is that you have to strengthen lifnim mishurat hadin, to utilize the concept of growth in the ענין of lifnim mishurat hadin. And אם ירצה השם, in the next shiur we will explain the connection between this ענין of growth דוקא to the month of שבט.