Man and Tree

Rabbi Yisrael Ḥayyim Friedman (1868-1922) quotes the first Rebbe of Vishnitz, who related the comment of his father-in-law, Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhyn; that the custom of ẓadikim was to wear holiday clothes on Tu biShvat, the “New Year for trees,” since “Man is the tree of the field.” [Deuteronomy 20:19]

The Talmud [Ta’anit 7a] wonders “Is man truly the tree of the fields?” The late Lubavitcher Rebbe comments that the Talmud’s intention is that the comparison between man and tree is not merely a partial or secondary description of what man is, but an expression of man’s essence – “Man is the tree of the field.” It is this equivalence between man and tree which brings us to celebrate the New Year for trees.

However, it is necessary to understand the connection between man, who is not only of the animal world, but a speaker as well, and therefore two levels above trees, which belong to the vegetative world. The Rebbe explains that in the vegetative world, plants must always have their roots connected to the source of their nurture, the soil. Should a plant be disconnected from its source it will cease growing. In contrast to plants, members of the animal world, all the more so of the speaking world, are not always connected to their source and continue to grow and develop independently. Within the plant world, the uniqueness of trees is that their existence is not ended when they yield fruit and that they are able to survive the change of seasons, continuing to exist winter and summer. This attribute of trees indicates the strength of their connection to their life source, which allows them to survive the seasonal changes and grow and thrive from year to year.

Based upon the Rebbe’s comments, we can understand that one of the practical lessons of the comparison between trees and man is that we must constantly remain connected to the sources of our spiritual lives, Torah and mitzvot, and, if you will, to the holy soil of the Land of Israel out of which the nation was hewn.

Based upon the verse “For like the days of the tree are the days of My people” [Isaiah 65:22], Rabbi Adin Even-Yisrael (Steinsaltz) focuses the point, noting that the comparison between man and tree applies primarily to the nation of Israel, God’s chosen nation.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe notes an additional aspect of the distinction between trees and grain: “In planting grain, what grows is of the same essence as the seeds which were planted, only greater in quantity; one who plants hands-full reaps bushels-full.” However, in planting trees, “what grows is vastly greater than the seed which was planted.” With the growth of fruits of the tree, “in addition to the increase in quantity there is a new quality.”

For us to be truly comparable to trees, it is incumbent that we strive to improve ourselves not only quantitatively, but qualitatively; that is in the spiritual realm.