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Jewish World Review Feb. 8, 2001 / 15 Shevat, 5761
L'Chaim to the trees
Tu B'Shvat, the holiday of fruit
trees, recalls the Garden of
Eden, and the human quest for
spiritual refinement.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
Happy New Year!
No, I'm not locked in a time warp. Today is Tu B'Shvat, the
15th of the Hebrew month Shvat, which is the New Year for Fruit of the
Trees.
Yes, I'm serious.
According to the mystic tradition, Tu B'Shvat is a day of great significance.
Why?
THE TORAH AND TREES
Unlike the terseness that so frequently characterizes the written Torah, a
reason is explicitly stated. The Torah tells us that human beings are like "the
trees of the field" (Deut. 20:19).
Our roots are securely embedded in terra firma. Our first experiences with
reality are physical and tangible. Then we grow beyond our roots. We
extend our branches toward the heavens as we search for connection and
meaning. We devote our lives to the production of "fruit." We yearn to leave
an enduring mark that we too were here.
A tzaddik -- a holy person -- is compared to an inverted tree. He draws his
sustenance from the heavens and gives his "fruit" to the earth itself, and to
any one who is of the earth.
We all wish for lives of substance, but we grow weary. The mystic scholars
ask: How does the tzaddik draw his strength? The answer (given in the
classic "Meor VaShemesh") is that he draws his strength from the Tree of
Life itself.
What is the Tree of Life?
THE TREE OF LIFE
The literal meaning of Eden is the "Garden of Refinement." There, the
inherent link between G-d and His creation was apparent. There was no
"shell" of coarseness -- no human superficiality or human arrogance to
conceal Him. All of nature revealed its source.
The Tree of Life was in the center of the garden. It gave us the spiritual
nurture that made us not only human, but also enabled us to be holy. It had
the power to do so because it was the mystic embodiment of the Torah,
before that holy book was put into words.
We no longer live in a world characterized by refinement. Instead of being
nurtured by the Tree of Life, we are all too conscious of the taste left by the
fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That other tree offered us
the desire for evil that is as vivid as our desire for good.
Tu B'Shvat is the day we learn once more how to cultivate ourselves. How
do we tap into the power of the day?
THE SAP IS RISING
First, this is the traditional day that G-d instructed Moses to begin the
process of explaining the Torah "very well" (Deut. 27:8). What aspect of
Moses' explanation does this refer to? Rashi teaches that the words "very
well" mean that Moses explained the Torah in 70 languages.
The depth of this teaching is that it is possible to find the truth of Torah from
any possible way of looking at life (which is of course the source of
language), as long we remain honest.
Yet our emotional agendas sometimes fool us. We think we are searching
for the Tree of Life, but we wouldn't see it if it poked a branch directly at us.
We are too busy looking at everything else. We are, after all, only human.
We have already partaken of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and
find it almost impossible at times to tell the two trees apart.
It is for this reason that the Sages of the Talmud tell us that on this day, we
should pray for a good Esrog -- one of the four species that are taken and
blessed on Sukkos (Tabernacles). Yet Sukkos has already faded into the past. Why are
we thinking of an Esrog?
The simple reason is that at this season the sap is rising, and the tree is
beginning the process of eventually giving fruit. This is true of all trees. So
why is Tu B'Shvat special to the Esrog?
Because of its shape, the Esrog represents the symbol of the heart. This is
the day we can pray for purity of the heart.
We are fragile and fail. But the power of prayer can move us it its source --
to infinity, to G-d. It can give us access to the Tree of Life.
PURITY OF HEART
On Tu B'Shvat we ask: Do we really want purity of the heart?
We demonstrate our sincerity for a pure a heart and our search for the Tree
of Life by not corrupting our physical experience. One way to do this is to
change our attitude to food, since eating is the most primal of our physical
desires.
We consume an enormous amount a food in the course of a lifetime. It is
part of G-d's plan to let us come into contact with His kindness and
generosity, and what we eat and the way that we relate to eating impacts the
way we experience life. G-d is either in the picture or out of it.
On Tu B'Shvat, we redefine how we regard the world by committing to
sanctify our eating. We try to eat less impulsively and more with higher
awareness.
This striving is articulated in many communities by sitting down together and
having a Tu B'Shvat Seder.
At such a seder, fruit is eaten. (Some have the custom of tasting 15 different
types, since this on the 15th of Shvat.)
While savoring the fruits, try to envision their root, the source of all life. Let
your self savor the spiritual essence of the Land of Israel, by eating its
produce.
Most of all, have a Happy New
By Rebbetzin Tzippora Heller
Let us begin in the Torah itself. The Torah admonishes us not to destroy
anything needlessly. Even when besieging an enemy city, fruit trees may not
be destroyed.
The answer lies in the Garden of Eden, where there were two trees -- the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. When Adam
and Eve were banished from Paradise, angels armed with fiery swords
prevented them from returning to the Tree of Life. (Genesis 2:9 and
3:22-24)
Let us look at the structure of the day in Jewish consciousness.
A rule that your grandmother may have told you (as mine did) is when you
ask for something, be sure that you want it. And if you really want
something, what are you doing about it?
Rebbetzin Tzippora Heller is a Jerusalem-based educator, author and columnist for Aish.com. Comment by clicking here.
