The Tree and Me

While still blanketed by snow and frost, the dormant trees are starting to wake up from their winter slumber. Within their dry, gnarled trunks, sap is beginning to flow. Tiny, premature buds are swelling on their branches. Spring is approaching and within a few short months, the trees will blossom. The seeds will sprout, the saplings will take root, and all of nature will be renewed.

The fifteenth day of Shevat, otherwise known as Tu B’shevat, celebrates this awakening. Since the Torah compares man to a tree in the field, we can explore the nature of trees to find personal insight and inspiration.

The paradigm of a healthy tree is one that has abundant, leafy foliage, and many deep roots. The Mishna associates the tree’s verdant branches with man’s wisdom. Wisdom is like a crown that glorifies and exalts its wearer. People appreciate wisdom and view it as splendor. Additionally, just as a tree is constantly adding more branches and leaves, a person’s thoughts and understanding are constantly being developed and expanded. Although branches and leaves are important, the Mishna cautions that without strong roots, the tree is frail.

Strong roots are good deeds. Although good deeds may not show personal distinction in the way that wisdom does, positive action is most essential for a healthy being. It is action that sets the course for growth, just as it is the roots that nurture the rest of the tree. A tree with strong roots stands firm, and no wind in the world can topple it.

By training ourselves to be good starting with simple, reflexive actions, we will eventually affect our wisdom and thought processes to be positive as well. Then, we will be likened to the tree that the prophet Jeremiah speaks about, "He shall be as a tree planted upon water, who spreads his roots by the river; who fears not when comes heat, whose leaf is ever lush; who worries not in a year of drought, and ceases not to yield fruit".