Aitzim in the Torah

During the month of Shevat we have focused our attention on the word Aitz (tree) since it is the word formed by the consecutive letters for last month (Ayin) and this month (Tzadi). Our celebration of Tu B'Shevat, the new year of trees on the 15th of this month connects us even more with trees. As the month of Shevat comes to a close we look at what we have learned about the letter Tzadi and about trees.

We raised a number of questions about trees and their connection to ideas and words that are associated with them, namely Torah (called Aitz Chaim), human beings, righteous people (tzadikkim) and the word tzelem (image of) which has the same gematria, or
numerical equivalent, as aitz (tree).

Trees and the Environmental Movement

In the secular world people have only recently become conscious of our relationship with the environment as a whole and with trees in particular. Saving rain forests and re-cycling to reduce the number of trees harvested for paper reflect modern sensibilities and awareness of the holistic and interdependent relationship we have with trees and with our environment. Judaism, however, has always had this sensitivity because of what the Torah teaches us about trees.

Protecting Fruit Trees

The Torah is especially concerned with fruit trees, and has laws to protect them: "When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its (fruit) trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to withdraw before you into the besieged city?" (Deuteronomy 20:19) This law forms the basis for the general prohibition against wasting without purpose. Perhaps the example used in the Torah of fruit trees (when any type of tree could serve as an example of wanton destruction) is to imply that one may need to look to the future of a tree that is not bearing its fruit in the moment to appreciate the enormity of cutting it down. The Torah is sensitizing us to seeing (the letter Ayin-meaning eye) what will sprout forth (Tzadi) in the tree (Aitz:Ayin-Tzadi) and what will emerge from the destruction of the tree- our own destruction!

Trees in the Garden of Eden

Trees are referred to three times in the Creation story. We know from the Torah that originally fruit-bearing trees were to be our source of food. " Hashem, G-d, took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to guard it. And Hashem,G-d, commanded the man, saying,'of every tree of the garden you may freely eat..." (Bereshit 1:15). These trees had already been described earlier as "every tree that has seed yielding fruit; it shall be yours for food." (Bereshit 1:29) The third mention of trees comes later -- "And Hashem G-d caused to sprout from the ground every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food; also the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." (Bereshit 2:9)

To eat from fruit trees in the Garden of Eden symbolizes three things. First, fruit-bearing trees in the Garden of Eden indicate the kind of life human beings were originally intended to have. Imagine a life where we would simply pluck fruit off the nearest tree, ready to eat, whenever we were hungry. The time we would have spent preparing food and therefore being involved in the
physical world, would have been minimal. We would have been freer to pursue a spiritual life.

Second, eating from fruit trees also symbolizes being in a direct relationship with G-d. If we truly understood fruit trees, we would understand that they are a metaphor for our entire relationship with G-d. All of creation is for our benefit and is a gift. Sometimes it is difficult to perceive that. Fruit trees, however, remind us. The fruit from a tree serves the tree itself no purpose. It is clearly there to be received and enjoyed by another. It is a gift that keeps on giving. The fact that trees are described as being "pleasing to the sight and good for food" tells us that the fruit trees were created for our benefit and enjoyment. Unlike grains or animal products, which require huge investments in time, money, and effort, fruit is simple and direct. It requires no preparation, it satisfies all of our senses, and it is good for us.

After the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, our relationship with the physical world, and specifically with food changes. "...Through suffering shall you eat of it (the ground) all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, from which you were taken: For you are dust, and to dust shall you return." (Bereshit 3:17-19) No longer would our nourishment come simply or quickly. Time and effort would now be required to get food to eat. We would now be more involved with the physical world.

Third, fruit trees are also symbolic of abundance and potential. According to a Midrash there were 800,000 trees in the Garden of Eden. One characteristic of fruit trees is that the fruit provides nourishment as well as seeds to grow more trees. Their potential is almost unlimited. Perhaps this explains the saying of Rabbi Eliezer who said, "When a fruit tree is cut down, its voice goes from one end of the world to the other." (Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer 34) Not only is that particular tree gone, but so are all the potential trees that could have come from it.

Due to G-d's mercy, we still have fruit trees even though we are not in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps they are here to vividly remind us of the life we could have had and the life we can return to. They symbolize a life that is not so caught up in the physical world, where nourishment and satisfaction are only a hand-reach away. They help us reconnect to the possibility of a life that is in simple and direct relationship with G-d. Fruit trees are a tangible reminder of potential being realized.

These three aspects of fruit trees help us understand why the word tree can be read as "eye of the righteous" (Ayin - eye and Tzadi - righteous). A righteous person lives in harmony with what a fruit tree represents: living a life more devoted to the spiritual; perceiving that G-d is in direct relationship with us; and recognizing the abundant blessing and potential that exists in the
world.

The Tzadik is Like a Date Palm Tree

Specifically, tzadikkim, the righteous, are considered to be like flourishing date palm trees. Yehudis Fishman contributes this thought from the Midrash which says that the tzadik is compared to a date palm tree, rather than a cedar because as majestic as a cedar appears, a tamar (Hebrew for date palm) is more fruitful. The virture of a tzadik is his/her infludence. Although the date palm tree takes 6-10 years to bear fruit, once it does, it is among the sweetest fruit there is. It is the date "honey" that is referred to in the description of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, as a land " flowing with milk and honey." Date palms primarily
propogate by sending suckers after 6 years. This can again allude to the idea of the benefit of the tzadik being his/her ability to influence, and therefore create, more righteous people.

Eating - The Spiritual Sense for the Month of Shevat

It is probably not a surprise that the spiritual sense for the month of Shevat is eating. We've made many references to ideas about eating fruit and the holiday of Tu b'Shvat features very focused eating of a variety of fruits. Eating is such a physical action -- how do we make it spiritual? We know that we have all the laws of kashrut to guide us in selection, preparation, and actual eating of food. What else can we learn about eating spiritually? There is a saying that "the righteous (tzadik) eats to the satiation of his soul." Our relationship with food is connected to our spiritual sensitivity. Our goal may be to return to eating, and therefore relating to the physical world, as we did in Eden, where we only ate fruit from trees that were "pleasing to the eye," rather than by the "sweat of our brow."

Except for the manna that G-d fed us with during the 40 years in the Midbar, fruit is the only food that comes completely prepared and ready to eat directly from G-d. Vegetables may need to be cooked, grains need to be harvested, threshed, ground, and baked; meat needs to be slaughtered, prepared, etc. Fruit comes conveniently packaged in attractive wrapping, is nutritious, and has all the sensory attributes that delight our souls. Fragrance, sight, touch, taste. This unity of all senses also speaks to the
clarity that existed in the Garden of Eden, where that which looked good, smelled good, and tasted good, WAS good. In the world today, things are more complex and confusing. There are many experiences that look good, smell good and taste good and in the end are destructive. Ever since Eve and Adam ate of the fruit there has been a potential for confusion. How are we to know what is good (in consonance with our spiritual natures) and what is destructive. Having been banished from the Garden the Tree of Life is now accesible to us through the Torah. It is the guide that sweetens the bitter waters and makes clear what the path of life is, and conversely, defines the path of destruction.

During the month of Shevat it is opportune to reflect on our relationship with food. Is our eating life-enhancing or destructive? Is it merely a coincindence that as we deafen ourselves to the cries of the trees, and desensitize ourselves to the destruction of the garden that G-d has given to us as a trust, we also see an ever increasing morbidity due to self-destructive eating. How conscious is our eating as opposed to compulsive or unexamined? How confused are we about our spiritual path and how can our relationship to food be a guide to us to discover more about our spiritual growth?

Following all of these branches of thought about trees brings us to the conclusion that trees, and especially fruit-bearing trees, are a wonderful metaphor for how to live spiritually. Our goal is to "eat" or partake of the world as a tzadik does, "to the satiation of his/her soul," while recognizing that originally human beings were to spend more time "being" than "doing" and devoting excessive time and effort to eating to the satiation of our bodies, rather than of our souls, is a distortion of our primary purpose.

Since creation our lives have been so intimately connected to trees that we can appreciate the otherwise perplexing staement of our Rabbis, "If you are planting a tree and someone comes and says 'The Mashiach is coming!' - then plant!" (Avot d'Rabbi Natan).