By Rabbi Michael Skobac
In the first mishnah of tractate Rosh HaShanah,
the School of Hillel asserts that the “New Year” for trees is on the
15 th day of the month of Shvat. The significance of this
date is to determine when the year begins for assessing
the tithes and other agricultural obligations for fruit
trees. Basing themselves upon the famous Biblical passage
that “man is like the tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19),
Chassidic masters suggest that this day also has a Rosh
HaShanah significance for humans as well.
My first encounter with the idea of a linkage between
people and trees occurred shortly before getting engaged
to my wife Chashi. We went to meet with Rabbi Chaim Lipshutz,
a renowned Israeli educator, protégé of Piaget
and graphologist. Rabbi Lipshutz asked us each to submit
a short paragraph of our handwriting and to draw a picture
of a tree. He was able to get a very accurate bead on our
personalities, and I began to think about why a walk in
the forest can be like a visit with relatives.
Our entanglement with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil caused humanity's first exile. But the Midrash observes
that Adam and Eve were not the only ones to sin in the
Garden of Eden – the trees themselves sinned first. G-d
commanded the earth to bring forth fruit trees (where the
tree itself would be edible) that would also produce fruit.
The earth and trees “rebelled” and didn't produce trees
that were edible, so G-d cursed the earth (Genesis Rabbah
5:9).
We are close in death as well. Pirke De Rebbi Eliezer
teaches that when a person dies, and when a fruit tree
is cut down, “their voices go from one end of the world
to the other, and their voices are inaudible” (Chapter
34).
And we have similar issues. An insightful Midrash relates
that when iron was first created, the trees began to shake
with fear. The iron rebuked them and said, “Why are you
so afraid? If you don't allow your wood to be used by me
(as an ax handle), no harm can come to you!” (Genesis Rabbah
5:10) Like trees, we are often our own worst enemies.
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Mankind
was given a dual mandate in relating to the world of
trees and the environment in general. Adam was placed
in the Garden of Eden and charged “to work it and to
protect it” (Genesis 2:15). Even though humanity was
given permission to “exercise dominion” over the world
into which they were placed (Genesis 1:26) and to “subdue” it
by harnessing its resources (Genesis 1:28), the Torah
warns us not to wantonly destroy or waste the earth's
bounty (Deuteronomy 20:19-20, Sefer HaChinuch Mitzvah
529). The Midrash relates that G-d led Adam through the
Garden of Eden and said, “Look
at all of my creations and how beautiful and wonderful
they are. I have created everything for your benefit. Consider
this and be careful not to damage or destroy My world.
For if you damage it, there will be no one to restore it
after you.” (Koheles Rabbah 7:28)
Our lives are guided
by a similar polarity. Our primary task is to develop ourselves,
perfect our characters and actualize our spiritual potential
by nurturing a relationship with the Almighty (Vilna Gaon's
Even Shleima 1:1-2, Mesillas Yesharim Chapter 1, Deuteronomy
6:5). At the same time, we are to carefully protect ourselves
and safeguard our health (Deuteronomy 4:9,15; 22:8).
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A Rosh HaShanah is an opportunity to reflect on G-d's
first question to us all: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
On Tu B'Shvat we are challenged to evaluate the quality
of our interactions with the natural world. Do we really
appreciate the reality that the world ultimately belongs
to G-d? (Psalm 24:1) Are we sensitive to the voice of G-d
that speaks to us through the natural world? Isaiah writes, “…the
whole world is filled with His glory” (6:3). We can also
read this verse: “…the fullness of the world is His glory!” The
Rambam tells us that contemplating the grandeur of the
natural world is the most powerful catalyst to fostering
love for the Creator (Yesodei HaTorah 2:2).
The late Rabbi Avigdor Miller related that the highest
spiritual experience he ever had in his life took place
during a hike in the Lithuanian hills near the Slabodka
Yeshivah where he was learning. He sat for an hour, staring
at a flower and deeply contemplating its structure and
beauty. He felt a closeness to G-d that he claimed approached
the intensity of a prophetic experience! (Rabbi Mordechai
Dolinsky's “Walking With Rabbi M iller” page 89).
Tu B'Shvat should also prompt us to address any shortcomings
we may have as individuals and as a society in failing
to act as responsible stewards over the environment. Rabbi
Avraham Yitzchak Kook taught that mankind's tendency to
focus almost exclusively on goals rather than means is
related to the “rebellion” of the earth and trees in the
Garden of Eden (“Lights of Repentance” Chapter 6).
The brokenness of this world is reflected in our singular
focus on the sweet tasting fruits and rejection of the
tasteless trees that we see merely as a means to their
prizes. This quirk may explain our rampant shortsightedness
in frequently failing to consider the long-term affects
of pollution and wasteful consumption.
Our Rosh HaShanah calls out to us with the blast of a
shofar. This Tu B'Shvat, let's listen to the voice of the
trees – trees that are on fire with the light of Divinity.
And let's do our part to ensure that the trees will not
be consumed!
