Tu B'Shevat: Humans, Trees and Fruits

0:00This Torah class is brought to you by Torahanytime.com At the 15th day of Shvat, we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the new year for the trees. If you think about it, wouldn't it make more sense to celebrate the new year for the trees in the middle of spring or the middle of summer when the trees are full of fruit and flourishing and blossoming in all their glory? So why is it that the tuba shvat always falls in the dead of winter? When the trees are barren, stripped of their leaves, and seemingly bereft of any signs of life? So Khazal tell us that when this special day of tuba shvat arrives, something extraordinary begins to happen. A kind of Khis Amasim takes place. Deep beneath the surface of the earth, a life giving sap begins to stir. Slowly and silently and visibly, it makes its way upward through the trunk and branches of the tree, infusing it with renewed vitality. This sap eventually expresses itself in buds and flowers, and ultimately in the luscious fruits that will appear in the coming spring and summer.

1:06In Pasha Shoft in the Pasek says, For man is like the tree of the field. The Torah compares man to a tree. And what way are they similar? So I saw a beautiful idea in the name of the Khidah. A tree, even when it's not producing fruit, is still alive. It is still functioning. It is still growing. Vegetables, however, when they are not in season, die completely. An apple tree remains alive, even though it produces apples only during a particular season. A potato patch is lifeless when it's out of season. A banana plant dries out completely when it season passes. And that is why a man is compared to a tree. A man is always producing. Even when it seems as if nothing is happening on the surface. The satmarabha explains that when the mission says that Tubashvat is the roshashana for the fruits of the tree, it is alluding not only to physical fruit, but to our fruits, our children. He says that on Tubashvat, we are judged in how we are raising our children.

2:08Are we giving them enough shade? Are we supplying them with enough water? Are we providing them with the tools to blossom and grow? Are we giving them the tension and affection they need in order to prosper and flourish? The morale explains that just as the trees, leaves and fruits are directly proportional to the toil and effort investing and planting and nurturing it, so too, the effort and energy we invest in raising our children, determines the extent to which they will thrive and grow. So why do we celebrate Tubashvat in the middle of the winter when the trees are the void of leaves and fruits? Because on Tubashvat, we celebrate potential. We celebrate what cannot yet be seen. At times, it seems as though all of our energy and our toil we invest in our children are all in vain. And we become frustrated, we become discouraged. We think that our influence on them is nonexistent. Our words are not having any impact, but this is a huge mistake. Deepen the recesses of their hearts, seeds are taking root.

3:11Sottle changes are quietly forming, waiting for the right moment to burst forth and blossom into profound spiritual growth. And this brings the mind a beautiful idea from the Khadu Shahi Rim. In the Khadu Shahi Rim, we say, And these words that I command you today shall be placed on your heart, and she'll teach them to your children. The Khadu Shahi Rim asks, why does the Tariya say, all of our love on your heart? Shouldn't it say, build our love in your heart? And he says something super fun. Very often, we reason with our children. We explain, we demonstrate, we implore. And it appears as though all of our efforts are falling on deaf ears. The road to their heart seems blacked. Nothing penetrates the Aryan walls they have built around themselves. So the Pastic teaches us, do not give up hope. Take your words and place them on their hearts. Keep teaching. Keep persevering.

4:12Keep parling your words on their hearts. Keep imploring. Keep your nigg. Because one day, their hearts will open up. And all that you have taught them, all your guidance, all your motivation, will flow right into their hearts and bear magnificent fruit. And now, we know, have a wonderful day.