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The Torah of the Trees

Estee Fleischmann

u BiShvat was, quite literally, a Overwhelmed with pain and suffering, connected to Torah. The metaphor is of the
dried-up holiday of my Diaspora Iyov highlights the strengths bestowed human being who is strong, resilient, and
youth. It meant apricots, apple upon the tree in comparison to man: unbreakable, who provides a canopy of
Trings and raisins – none of which “For there is hope for the tree. If it is cut support and the stability of sustenance to
I enjoyed, but symbolically were supposed down, it may still sprout again, and its those around him. It speaks of the person
to remind me that somewhere else in the shoots will not cease; if its root ages in who is defined by his deeds and not his
world the thaw had begun and there the ground, and its stump dies in the dust, days.
was a blossoming of a fresh season. This it will bud from the scent of water, and It is Yishayahu who expands this con-
changed for me when we were privileged, produce boughs like a new plant. But a cept from the life of the individual to the
after patience and longing, to harvest the man dies and wastes away; and when man
pomegranate tree in our Efrat garden has perished, where is he? As the water realization of our national mission: “For
the days of my people shall be as long as
in the fourth year after it was planted. evaporates from a lake, and a river drains the days of the tree; my chosen ones shall
With that, the new year of the trees came away and dries up, so a man lies down and outlive the work of their hands” (65:22).
to represent a living halachic reality in a does not get up” (14:7–12). Our national identity is as strong, as last-
homeland we dreamed of for thousands Iyov’s despair is palpable and familiar to ing, and as powerful as the trees, but our
of years of exile. us. Why do plants and trees renew, while legacy is through our deeds and our con-
Tu BiShvat in the State of Israel is a day man cannot? Man’s death is so final, yet tributions to the world.
that recalls the deeply interconnected arboreal growth and vegetation, less devel- In this unique year, I pray that the holiday
relationship between the Jewish people oped and sophisticated than humanity, of Tu BiShvat takes on a greater signif-
and the Land upon which we reside; our have capabilities that elude us. icance for all Jews as we feel bonded to
ability to nurture and grow the desert into In two other books of Tanach we find the the Land and the people of Israel as we
paradise and the living fulfillment of the same comparison, but with a different never have before. Through our labor of
words of the prophets. In this unique year, emphasis. Both Yirmiyahu (17:7–8) and love to support farmers in need – either
it is profound to note that more Jews than Tehillim (1:3), in nearly identical lan- in person or from afar – the unity of the
ever have felt this connection. When in the guage, describe how man “shall be like a Jewish people will prevail. And now more
course of history were this many Jewish tree planted by the water, which casts its than ever, that must be our legacy.
hands involved in agricultural efforts? roots by the river, does not notice when
When have Jews of all ages and profes- it is hot, and has green leaves. It is a tree
sions, of all nationalities and associations that is not worried in a year of drought
come together in great numbers to assist and does not cease producing fruit.” In
the planting, growing, harvesting and both cases, man is represented as a tree;
preparation of the fruits of the Land of strong, sustained by water, and able to
Israel? offer lush green shade and continual fruit

Though the holiday highlights our connec- even under the most difficult of circum-
tion to the Land, it is particularly focused stances. Here, in contrast to Iyov, it is the Estee Fleischmann
on the trees. What must we learn from image of man that represents hope, rather is Co-Director of Camp Stone with her
the trees and how, particularly now, can than the tree. husband Yakov. They made Aliyah to
trees inspire us? A series of verses from While Iyov is focused on the fleeting Efrat nine years ago with their five
Tanach raise concerns that resonate with nature of man’s life, both Yirmiyahu and children from Cleveland, OH. They spend
us deeply and can also provide answers Tehillim see the expanse of eternity. Yirmi- summers in Sugar Grove, PA and the
that can give us clarity and strength yahu relates to the believing man, and rest of the time nurturing, supporting
and growing the Camp Stone family.
during this difficult time. the author of Tehillim to the one who is

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