TU BISHVAT
EP 23 – 2010-01-31
Tu Bishvat
In Deuteronomy 20:19, it states "For man is a tree of the field,". In acknowledgement of this, the Jewish calendar reserves one day each year to celebrate the New Year for Trees – Tu Bishvat. This becomes a time for us to contemplate our affinity with our botanical analogue and what it can teach us about our own lives.
When we communicate with others, we employ many devices to make our message attractive. We buttress it with intellectual sophistication, steep it in emotional sauce, dress it in colourful words and images. But we should bear in mind that this is only the packaging--the fruit that contains the seed.
The spiritual life of man also includes roots, a body, and fruit. The roots represent faith, our source of nurture and perseverance. The trunk, branches and leaves are the body of our spiritual lives -- our intellectual, emotional and practical achievements. The fruit is our power of spiritual procreation -- the power to influence others, to plant a seed in a fellow human being and see it sprout, grow and bear fruit.
It is in our faith, our supra-rational commitment to G-d, that we find the foundation of our entire tree. From it stems the trunk of our understanding, from which branch out our feelings, motivations and deeds. And while the body of the tree also provides some of its spiritual nurture, the bulk of our spiritual sustenance derives from its roots, from our faith in and commitment to our Creator.
Next Episode
Return to Programme Line-up
