Rav Chaim Palagi writes in his sefer , Moed L’Kol Chai (Ch. 30, Letter 2), that the entire month of Shevat is infused with the middah of Hod, glory — the principle trait of Aharon HaKohen. Therefore, he says, in this month, our spiritual mission is to focus on emulating Aharon HaKohen by loving and pursuing peace, which includes seeking to foster peace between people who have grievances against each other, and between spouses who are not living in harmony. While these are praiseworthy pursuits always, during Shevat they take on added importance. The name Shevat, says Rav Pilagi, contains a hint to this concept. It is spelled shin-beis-tes . The shin stands for shalom, peace ; this brings bet , for berachah, blessing; and tes, for tovah, goodness. As we know, Hashem has said that He has no vessel that is better for holding blessing other than peace. No blessing we have — health, wealth, success, family, friends — can be appreciated if our life is churning with machlokes and anger. Because Tu B’Shvat is the 15th of the month, when the moon is at its fullest, it is the fullest expression of peace between man and his fellow. This is further alluded to as follows: The word Shevat can also be understood as shevet, tribe; and tu — tes vav — is the numerical equivalent of 15, which is likewise the sum of Hashem's Name of Yud and Hei . That is why ( Tehillim 122:4), the Shevatim are called Shivteh Kah — the tribes of God . Rashi explains ( Bamidbar 26:5), that we are called “the tribes of God” because when God counted the Jewish people, He added His Name to ours. For example, He said, “ Mishpachas H achanoch i ” — the family of Chanoch — placing a hei in front of the family name and a yud at the end of it. In doing so, His message was, “I am imprinting upon the Jewish people My name of Yud and Hei to testify to the purity of their families.” The Maharsha ( Kiddushin 70B) explains that when a husband and wife have peace between them, God's Name of Yud and Hei dwells with them. Man — ish — is spelled alef - yud-shin. A woman is an ishah — alef-shin-hei. Both words consist of the letters alef and shin, which together spell aish, fire. However, when they bring Hashem into their life, the man has the Yud from God's Name, and his wife has the Hei from God's Name; thus, the fire is mitigated. The Yud and Hei represent Hashem’s Name of Shalom ; hence the term shalom bayis. Tu B’Shvat, the fifteenth of the month, symbolizes this concept of peace. In his sefer, the Ben Ish Chai ( Parashas Nasso ), offers further insights on the number 15 and its connection to shalom : · It is the number of words in Birkas Kohanim, which culminates in a blessing of shalom . · Additionally, he explains, a hand has fourteen joints, three on each of the four fingers and two on the thumb. For the hand to represent shalom, it needs one more component. Therefore, Chazal instructed us that when we make a berachah on a cup of wine, we should hold the cup in the palm of the hand; in this position, it is called the Kos shel Berachah, the cup of blessing. The palm becomes the hand’s fifteenth component, thus symbolizing shalom . · He connects this idea to the Chazal ( Berachos 64a) “Talmidei chachamim marbim shalom, Torah scholars increase peace.” This is because the rabbis have increased the occasions for employing a kos shel berachah. These include Kiddush on Shabbos and Yom Tov, Havdalah , Birkas HaMazon , weddings, bris milah, and the night of Pesach. These are all times in which we place the kos in our palm, calling into service the fifteenth component of our hand, thus symbolizing the Name of Shalom . · During the six weekdays, we wash for bread twice a day, twelve times in all. On Shabbos, we have three meals, which brings the week’s total to fifteen. Shabbos is a day of peace because of the fifteenth meal, Seudas Shelishis, which brings shalom . Furthermore, the Ben Ish Chai teaches that Tu b’Shevat is the most opportune time to pray for Arba Minim, the Four Species we bless during Succos. As we learned in our discussion on Succos, the four species symbolize unity among the four types of Jewish people. Why do we pray regarding these four species on Tu b’Shevat? The rabbis explain that if we look at the trees on Tu B’Shvat, we see that they are bare. Tu b’Shevat marks the day on which, according to the Gemara , the sap starts running within the tree. Then, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, we can begin making Birkas Ilanos, the blessing we say upon seeing the tree’s buds start to blossom. The seasons progress until finally, we arrive at Succos, when we harvest the fruit. Thus, the progression toward Succos begins on Tu b’Shevat, when we pray for the necessary shalom of the Shivtei Kah, which finally expresses itself on the festival of Succos with the Arba Minim. Shevat is the month, and Tu b’Shevat the day, uniquely primed for our efforts to foster the middah of shalom and ahavas Yisrael.