Chag Tu’B’Shvat Samayach-What Does Man and Nature Share in Common
Chag Tu’B’Shvat Samayach-What Does Man and Nature Share in Common
Please note: Man-is directed to the human species. Man, Adam was “male and female HE created them.”[i]
In the many different parshiot in the Torah we see references to nature. To share examples, in Parshat Korach the verse states “The earth swallowed them and their house.” In addition, we see in Parshat Noach-“the dove came back to him in the evening- and behold! An olive leaf…” moreover, we see at the receiving of the Torah in this week’s parsha, the verse states “all of mount Sinai was smoking…and the entire mountain shuddered exceedingly.”
Nature continuously is seen as an integral part to many narratives within the Torah. It is almost as if it, nature, was serving as a witness, an essential player, within oppositional circumstances. As Moshe’s leadership was near expiration, he pleads for the Jewish people to remember his teachings—for each and every generation, he uses the most powerful of all oaths and calls on the most consistent of all physicality; “I appoint heaven and earth to bear witness against you…”[ii]
Nature contains organisms which are thousands of years old. There are trees that could be dated back to temple times and further, nature has served as the great witness throughout time. It remembers each war, each genocide, and every hammock from people on every continent. Surely we must remember that G-d created the world for man, implying that everything in the world is solely here to guide us to connect and reconnect with G-d continuously. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."[iii] It is we who toil and control nature, it is we who allow for nature to exist (also we who allow for nature to be destroyed, unfortunately).
Emerson’s approach to Mother Nature speculates that nature is infinite. Since G-d has no beginning, middle or end, and “was, is and will be,” HE is infinite. With the creation of nature taking place after G-ds tzimtum[iv], nature was brought into the world as a part of G-d’s creation. Nature is our greatest tool for connecting to G-d. We see that time and time again nature reveals to us the secrets of the world. Today, Tu’Bshvat is the Rosh HaShana of the Trees!
Open your hearts…
1) We only need one seed to create a forest. We only need one person to plant that one seed to create that forest. We only need one mind to believe that a forest can and will come from one seed. Our efforts to grow and change have not gone unnoticed, and Jewish guilt has never made us stronger but rather, weaker. Let us believe that our smallest of -intellectually honest- efforts goes a long way.
2) We celebrate today by eating many different fruits. These fruits can be compared to our many different personalities. Some fruits are sour on the outside, but sweet on the inside. Some have spikes on the outside but are most amazing. Some fruits peel easy while others have a strong and concrete like shell, and some, some are sweet on the inside and sweet on the outside! We all have our strengths and weaknesses, Just because we think others flaws are more apparent than others, it does not mean we are perfect or better off, more likely, blind to our own flaws. We too have a shell.
3) In the great words of my friend David Kopolovich “That’s what living things do, they grow.” Even the atheist whom does not believe in a Creator but just a big bang will still agree that the universe is constantly expanding and constantly growing. What grows more, something which is watered once a week, or something which is watered and pruned daily? If one thinks they have mastered their lives, than they might as well be dead, for life without growing is truly not living.
4) The verse states “Because Man is the tree of the field”[v] How are we comparable to a tree in a field? Just how a tree gives off oxygen (life), we too are capable of giving off light. Just as a tree has strong roots in order to stand firm and strong, so too we need to constantly make sure our roots are strong. And finally, just like a trees roots can range to the same height of the trunk and branches, so too our judgments’ of others may be done without knowing how much they struggle with, how deep they truly are and can be on the inside.
5) Last but not least. It is supposed to snow tonight. Those who have any concept of the winter would say, its gloomy all the trees are bare and everything is dead. Rosh HaShana of the trees?! We must remember that even when we think that the trees are dead we must remember it awaits the freedom of spring, of Passover. We must remember that even that which appears dead is still connected to the life force of G-d. In the words of Zach Salzberg “Winter must come before spring, do you know what I mean?”
This week I will try to: read this carefully and try to work on at least one thing from the above.
Chag Samayach!
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