I have had the good fortune to have a tangerine tree nearby that has been bountiful with its tangerines. Overflowing actually. I have been feeding it over the last couple of months and now the tangerines are amazingly sweet and I have been able to share them with lots of folks!
It is different to have a special relationship to a tree. One gives so freely of itself.
Jewish tradition is filled with trees. They are so important to the core of beliefs. The Torah is compared to a tree–the tree of life. But our story in the Torah begins in the Garden of Eden centered around not just the tree of life but the tree of knowledge of good and evil!
Abraham our founder lived in the oak grove of Mamre. The founder of Judaism understood the importance of trees to our well being.
The Kabbalist built their system of sephirot as leaves on the Tree of Life.
So this tangerine tree has re-awakened me to the importance of trees. And it isn’t even Tu B’shvat!
So hug a tree. Give thanks for the oxygen they produce and fruits or nuts. I know I have learned a lot in relationship to this tree.
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Beautiful post Rabbi. Tree (sounds better as “le arbre”/French). Yes, the nuts can be a pain to sweep up from the driveway this time of the year, but the foilage in the fall and shade in the summer are so amazing. My newly planted olive trees connect me to the roots of the earth. Don’t forget the mitzvah of tree planting in Israel as well. Stick with the decidous and fruit trees, and avoid the lowly palm.
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