Why do people eat pineapple, etc. on Tu B’Shevat?

LovesHashem

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 3:34 pm

amother Tomato wrote:

It isn't about the added sugar, though. Dried fruit simply has a lot of sugar per serving, since it's so concentrated.

As far as seasonal fruit, that's okay. There is no need to eat every type of fruit for tu bishvat. I believe there is an inyan to eat the Shiva minim, so maybe davka dried fruits of the Shiva minim, if they aren't available fresh.

We get mainly fresh fruit but we did buy some cranberries and dried mango because we really enjoy those and you can't buy them fresh.

amother

Silver

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 6:11 pm

amother Pink wrote:

Yes, btw so are cranberries or craizins, huge misconception.

I learnt something new today - I thought Cranberries were like all other berries and were ha'eitz.
Thanks.

amother

Pink

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 6:15 pm

amother Silver wrote:

I learnt something new today - I thought Cranberries were like all other berries and were ha'eitz.
Thanks.

My pleasure! I keep on thinking I should post a psa about this.

Mommyflower

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 7:50 pm

For the person above who asked about carob, yes! I remember getting a little bag of fruit and nuts with bokser, which looked like dried rotten bananas. If you smelled it enough, it kind of smelled like chocolate, but was impossible to eat. Everyone left it behind. In later years, I found carob products that were like chocolate bars.

amother

Natural

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 8:04 pm

LovesHashem wrote:

But they don't grow on trees...

They grow in bushes that last from year to year u like plants that regrow every year

amother

Tomato

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 10:40 pm

amother Silver wrote:

I learnt something new today - I thought Cranberries were like all other berries and were ha'eitz.
Thanks.

Strawberries are haadama as well.

amother

Bluebell

Tue, Jan 23 2024, 10:46 pm

I'm surprised nobody said the obvious answer. Simple marketing. It's a cheap filler for a platter. And it's just another product to sell

bakingmom

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 5:57 am

Growing up, we always had a ha'adama fruit so that we can say an extra brocha.

eta - and we had fruit shaped candy for the same reason.

salt

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 6:05 am

All Israeli sources I can find say craisins is Ha'etz.
for example
https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/16330

Unless חמוציות are not the same as craisins.

salt

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 6:13 am

The only halachic implications of Tu Bishvat is when you start counting the years of orla for a tree from.
And not saying Tachanun.

All the rest is fun customs, and marketing gimmicks.
Pineapples are juicy and sweet, and quite fruit-like, so it gets added to fruit platters.
As would watermelon if it would be the right season.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 8:44 am

salt wrote:

There's a lot more. I know mekubalim and some edot hamizrach do special seudot and drink four types of wine. Kabbalah AFAIK

csstb

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 9:01 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

There's a lot more. I know mekubalim and some edot hamizrach do special seudot and drink four types of wine. Kabbalah AFAIK

There are those who do so. I believe that’s what the poster you responded to meant by “customs.” These are customs started in about the 1500s. Kabbalists would have a “Seder” of sorts. The traditions were maintained by probably a relatively small number of communities with deeper Kabbalistic influences, mainly among chasidim a couple hundred years later. A few sfardi communities also maintained traditions of special foods to eat.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, customary Tu Beshvat observances have exploded in popularity.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 9:04 am

I found in my booklet for Tu Bishvat the following: סדר ט"ו שיר המעלות
יש אוכלים ט"ו מינים ואומרים שיר המעלות אחד
על כל מין (מנ' מהרי" ץ הלוי)
It also says to say tfilat hashlah תפילת השל"ה since children are they fruits of their parents and to pray their offsprings will be kosher forever and ever. It also mentions תפילת אבות על בנים
S

amother

Candycane

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 9:19 am

salt wrote:

All Israeli sources I can find say craisins is Ha'etz.
for example
https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/16330

Unless חמוציות are not the same as craisins.

I always knew חמוציות are craisins.
In America everyone says they’re ha’adama.
Maybe חמוציות are not craisins and not made of cranberries. We would need an expert Israeli ima to comment on that.
Maybe the rav answering isn’t familiar with the way cranberries grow since they’re not grown in his part of the world.
Maybe there are different parameters for deciding whether a berry is ha’eitz or ha’adama.
?

amother

Coral

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 9:24 am

BadTichelDay wrote:

Blueberries grow on a small bush. Halachically, a tree is a plant with a wooden stem or trunk that stays alive for several years in a row at least. The size doesn't matter. By that definition, a blueberry bush is simply a very small tree.

Bananas grow on something that looks a lot like a palm tree, but the trunk isn't made of real wood, it's fibrous green stuff, and it regrows every year anew. Therefore bananas are ha-adama.

Papayas grow on another palm like plant, grow tall very fast, but they are very short lived. They've got most of their fruits in the first 2-3 years and then get weaker and weaker until they die. If one would count orlah on them, one would hardly get any fruits ever. However, the trunk can live for 4 or 5 years. So it is a machloket.

So interesting, thank you for sharing.

amother

Tomato

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 9:28 am

amother Candycane wrote:

It's a machloket of course.

amother

Coral

Wed, Jan 24 2024, 9:33 am

To answer the original question, I think it’s part of the spirit of the day. Remember that it’s all custom, not Halacha.

Growing up, we used to have dates and figs which I thought were gross. Now I actually like figs, but I’d rather have a fruit platter with fresh looking fruit and dried fruit that my kids love, even if technically they don’t qualify. (Though tbh I never thought about the fact that pineapples are ha’adama.)

Thanks for the reminder to go out and buy some fruit, I forgot all about it!