There's a machlokes between Bais Shamai and Bais Hillel when is Rosh Hashana l’ilanos; Bais Shamai holds it's Rosh Chodesh Shevat and Bais Hillel holds Tu b'Shevat. What is the significance of Rosh Chodesh Shevat? According to Bais Shamai, most of the year's rain ended by Rosh Chodesh Shevat. All the energy the trees need to produce fruit was already received by Rosh Chodesh Shevat, so that’s why according to Bais Shamai, Rosh Hashana l’ilanos is on Rosh Chodesh. However, according to Bais Hillel, the Rosh Hashana for trees is on Tu b'Shevat because that’s the time when the trees actually blossom.
Rav Zevin says there is another machlokes between Bais Shamai and Bais Hillel where the argument is whether we focus on the potential or on the actuality. Regarding neiros Chanukah, Bais Shamai says on the first night we light eight and we diminish a candle every day. That's because Bais Shamai holds onto the time that the nes began and had potential to last for eight days. The potential was there at the beginning, so we celebrate the potential. Each night as the potential decreases (because there are less days left) we light one less candle. However, according to Bais Hillel, it's the opposite - we increase from one to eight because the nes actually increases every day. Again, the machlokes is do we focus on the potential or the actuality?
Bais Shammai holds that we celebrate Rosh Hashana for trees on Rosh Chodesh because that gave the trees the potential to bear fruit, even though there is no actual fruit yet. But we are celebrating the potential. When the majority of the season's rain has already fallen, that created the potential. According to Bais Hillel, we don't celebrate until Tu b'Shevat, until the tree actually blossoms.
When Hashem called to Moshe Rabeinu (Shemos 4), He said "Moshe, Moshe" twice. In Bereishis 22, when Hashem called to Avraham Avinu, he said, "Avraham, Avraham" twice, but there is a line in between Avraham Avraham. And by Yaakov Avinu, (Bereishis 46) there is also a line in between "Yaakov, Yaakov". The midrash points out (perek 2) and Rav Chaim Volozhin says (Ruach Chaim- perek 1) that the first name represents the tzura of a person that Hashem has in the upper realms. In other words, Hashem has an image in heaven of who the person is really supposed to be. The second time it says the name, it's referring to who the person actually is right now in this world. The question is - does the person who's presently in this world match up to the image of what he's supposed to be? Says Rav Chaim, Moshe Rabeinu realized his full potential and therefore there is no line that divides the two names of "Moshe, Moshe". That was the lofty madreiga that Moshe Rabeinu had reached and that is the avoda of every person on this earth. Our job is to lessen the gap between the potential and the actual, to try to actualize our potential and grow into the great people we were meant to be. We must utilize the tremendous kochos that Hashem gave us and try to make ourselves match the image in heaven – the image of our greatness.
There is a famous story told of the Netziv, who spoke to his talmidim at a seudah celebrating the publication of his sefer "Ha'amek Shaila". He told the story of himself as a young child, a child who was not successful in his learning. After numerous years of failing in his studies, he overheard his parents discussing their problematic son, Naftali. He heard them conclude that it would be best for him to become an apprentice to a shoemaker and learn the trade so at least his days would be filled with some productivity. Suddenly, little Naftali burst into the room and pleaded with his parents for one more chance. He was determined to give learning one last chance, and he threw himself into his studies as he never did before. Lo and behold, it was as if Hashem opened his mind and heart to finally understand Torah. He toiled for years and years with all his heart and soul, until he became the towering sage that he was. As he celebrated the completion of his sefer, the Netziv asked his students, "What would've happened had I not overheard my parents and begged for a second chance? I would've become a shoemaker. I would've worked honestly and fixed up people's shoes all day and all night. Then, when the time would come for me to leave this world, Hashem would point to these sefarim and ask me, "where are these sefarim that you were supposed to write?" He would show me throngs of talmidim and ask me, "where are all these students that you were supposed to teach?" Imagine the shame, the mortification that I would've felt as a simple shoemaker who never realized his potential.
How many of us are still fixing shoes when we could be authoring sefarim? How many of us fail to realize our tremendous potential? That's our avodah in this world, an avodah that we should be working on as we welcome in the month of Shevat, the month where we celebrate potential.
The mazel of Chodesh Shevat is d’li, a pail. A pail is empty - but it’s a vehicle of potential. That's what Shevat is all about. Let's fill our pails wisely.
