The Bnai Yissaschar tells us that the mazal of Klal Yisrael is the mazal of Shvat, which is the mazal of dli, a bucket. The connection of the bucket, or pail of water, to Bnai Yisrael goes back to אליעזר עבד אברהם, who was called דמשק אליעזר שהיה דולה ומשקה ומתורת אברהם אבינו. Eliezer wasn’t just a servant of Avraham Avinu; he was the one who drew from the wellsprings of Avraham Avinu’s Torah and watered other thirsty souls. Lastly, the month of Shvat, as the passuk in the beginning of Parshas Devarim tells us, was the day Moshe began to review the entire Torah with the Jewish people for the next 40 days. בעשתי עשר חודש ... הואיל משה באר את התורה, Moshe began clarifying the Torah. The word באר also means a well, which again connects the month of Shvat and water to each other.
As the Bnai Yissachar explains, water in the eyes of Chazal represents Torah – אין מים אלא תורה – the month of Shvat is a time of renewal. The Toshe Rebbe zt”l explains beautifully that just like the winter (especially in Israel) fades away at this time and the trees come back to life (as the Gemara in Rosh Hashana explains (see Rashi), the sap in the tree goes up the branches and begins the process of budding), so too, Bnai Yisrael have a new opportunity to refresh and start anew. It’s a time when a person can renew his commitment and subjugation to Hashem’s words, and one of the best places is with Mishnayos.
When a person subjugates himself to the Torah, he elevates himself above the mazalos and enters a new spiritual hemisphere that doesn’t abide by natural rules. The Toshe Rebbe adds a very interesting idea: Tu Bishvat is 30 days before Purim, which means that an aspect of Purim exists on Tu B’Shvat. That means we enter a sphere of miracles, and that sphere expands because Purim is connected to Pesach where the miracles become more revealed.
Let’s take advantage of these amazing days ahead of us to be able to merit the ultimate miracles of the final redemption, bimhera beyameinu.
by Rabbi Daniel Coren
