We are compared to a tree as it states כי האדם עץ השדה, man is a tree of the field.
In middle of winter, the trees look empty and dead. We all know that it is now that new life starts to pump through the trees as they begin to rejuvenate. The same applies to us. My Avodas Hashem may have been going through a difficult “winter” lately but this period has potential for rejuvenation.
Rosh Hashana for trees, Tu B’shevat, brings renewal to the tree. This also refers to the עץ חיים, tree of life, Torah. The Avnei Nazer explains that man’s fruit are his Chidushei Torah, his original Torah ideas and teachings. Just as on Tu B’shevat the sap rises up inside the tree, enabling a new crop of fruit, so too there is a renewal in the Chidushei Torah, in the fruit of each Jew.
In fact, The Avnei Nazer was able to tell a difference in his Torah before and after Tu B’shevat. He felt that his Chidushei Torah were enhanced due to Tu B’shevat. They were on a higher level than they were during the remainder of the year.
The Eretz Tzvi adds that since “tree” Is a reference to a person, as in כי האדם עץ השדה, the main Rosh Hashana — the main renewal — on Tu B’shevat is in fact for Chidushei Torah not for the fruit of the actual trees.
