07 May PARASHAT KEDOSHIM: PLANTING OUR SPIRITUAL TREES

The Torah in
Parashat Kedoshim
(Vayikra 19:23)
commands that
when Beneh Yisrael enter the land
and plant trees, they must refrain
from eating a tree’s fruits during the
first three years after it is planted.
During these three years, the fruits
are called “Orla” and are forbidden
for consumption and for any sort of
benefit.
The Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh (Rav
Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) offers
a remarkable interpretation of
this verse, explaining that beyond
introducing the prohibition of Orla,
the Torah here also teaches us about
the importance of producing children
who are committed to Torah. The
Torah tells us that when we go to
Eretz Yisrael, our priority must be to
“plant trees” – referring to producing
students and scholars of Torah. The
Or Ha’haim brings a number of
sources where producing scholars
is compared to planting a tree. For

example, the Gemara (Shabbat 118b)
cites Rabbi Yossi’s remark that he
“planted five saplings,” referring to
his five sons, who grew to become
Torah scholars. Similarly, Yeshayahu
(65:22) compares his fellow sages
to trees (“Ki’ymeh Ha’etz Yemeh
Ami”).
The Or Ha’haim proceeds to explain
that those who study Torah are called
“trees” because they sustain the souls
of the Jewish Nation. To demonstrate
this point, the Or Ha’haim references
the famous story told of Rabbi Akiba,
who once came across a man who was
unclothed, his skin charred, carrying
large amounts of wood. The man
explained to Rabbi Akiba that he had
died and been sentenced to Gehinam
because of the evils he perpetrated
during his lifetime. His punishment,
he said, was to collect wood each
day, which is then used to burn his
soul. The only way he could be
extricated from Gehinam and end his
suffering, the man told Rabbi Akiba,
is if he had a son reciting Barechu

or Kaddish in the
synagogue. This man
had died when his
wife was pregnant,
and he did not know
whether or not she
had a son. Rabbi
Akiba immediately
proceeded to inquire
about this fellow,
and determined that
indeed, he had a son,
but this son had not
even received a Berit
Mila, let alone a religious education.
Immediately, Rabbi Akiba gave the
young man a Berit Mila, and sat
and taught him Torah. When the
young man was ready, Rabbi Akiba
brought him to the synagogue to
recite Barechu. That night, the father
appeared to Rabbi Akiba in a dream
to inform him that he had been
released from Gehinam.
The Or Ha’haim brings this story
to show how producing youngsters
who study and practice Torah

resemble the planting of trees which
produce nourishing fruit. Building
a generation of men and women
devoted to Torah is the way we
sustain our nation, even the souls of
the deceased.
May Hashem grant us His assistance
in our efforts to “plant” beautiful
“trees,” to produce the next
generation of devoted students of
Torah, that will provide our nation
with the spiritual sustenance that it
needs to continue its sacred mission.