27 Jan SOUL FOOD

This past Sunday brought a fierce winter
storm across much of the U.S. We got hit
with a whopper. An Arctic blast, frigid
temperature, strong winds and a sizable
snowfall, topped off with sleet and freezing
rain.
At the same time, it is Chodesh Shevat, the
month we celebrate Tu B’Shevat, Rosh
HaShana L’ilanos, the New Year for Trees.
This leaves us with a question – why
celebrate the rebirth of trees in midst of
winter? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate in
the springtime, when all is abloom?
The Talmud teaches that Tu B’Shevat is
when the sap that lays beneath the ground
starts to rise, entering the tree. It brings new
life to the barren trees, giving them the ability
to blossom and eventually produce fruit. We
don’t see it happening, but it is real. Tu
B’Shevat is a time to celebrate the process of
renewal, the rebirth of the bare tree to one
that is blessed with fruit. Tu B’Shevat teaches
us to value unseen growth—spiritual and
personal—even when the world looks frozen.
As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-

1888) so eloquently wrote, “Though still in
the middle of the bleak embrace of winter,
the gentle murmur of the awakening spring
begins its hidden work. In the core and the
atrial network of the trees, silently and softly
hidden from view, the new sap flows,
announcing the coming of spring.” Rabbi
Hirsch highlights the contrast between the
external, harsh reality of winter and the
hidden, inner stirring of life that promises
future growth, a metaphor for the resilience
and spiritual potential of the Jewish people.
The Torah compares man’s life to that of a
tree. “Ki Ha’adam eitz ha’sodeh…, For man
is like a tree of the field…” (Devarim 20:19).
In winter, the trees stand alone, their dry
branches reaching upward. The ground is
hard, cold, at times even frozen. Winds come,
and the branches sway this way and that way.
Yet, there is hope. There is rebirth. The tree
will bear fruit once again.
Like a tree, at times we go through the harsh,
cold winter of life. Like the withering
branches that turn upward, we turn to
HaShem and ask for His brachos. Just as the
winds blow the tree, we have our “shaky”
days, feeling vulnerable. We ask HaShem for
the gift of new beginnings. That our “inner

sap” will rise and give us strength. As Rabbi
Hirsch writes, Tu B’Shevat teaches us that
just as a tree holds life within its core during
winter, the Jewish spirit remains alive and
active even during the coldest, bleakest times
of history.
Since October 7, this message has taken on
extra meaning. As a nation, we have gone
through a stormy winter. Like the empty,
forlorn branches, we have been abandoned,
standing alone amongst the nations. The
winds of anti-Semitism have hit us hard.
From the college campuses here at home to
the tragic Chanukah massacre in Bondi
Beach, to – just this week – the vile
desecration of Jewish graves at a cemetery
in Barcelona – and so many more. Yet, we
hold onto the belief that “springtime” is on
the way, the buds and blossoms will reappear,
and we will even see the lush fruits of
accomplishments and blessings.
Tu B’Shevat is a day to remember that each
fruit is a creation of HaShem, each one a gift
from Above.
A story is told of Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz
who regularly learned together with his
rebbi, Rav Zundel Kroizer zt”l, in his home.
One day, as they sat down to learn, a bowl
filled with fruits was brought to the table.
An orange fell onto the table and rolled off
to the floor. Rav Kroizer, who was well into
his 80s, instinctively bent down – with
much effort – to pick up the orange. Rav
Rabinowitz (who was 25 years his junior)
said that he would have picked it up, so why
did his rebbi leap to retrieve the orange?
Rav Kroizer replied that an orange is a
davar sheh’b’kedusha, a holy creation of
HaShem. How could he not bend down and
pick it up. Just think of the z’chus of picking
up HaShem’s creation.
What a lesson. To look at each fruit as an
object of kedusha. Let’s take it a step
further. Man is compared to “the tree of the
field”. If Rav Kroizer was able to see the
holiness of an orange, imagine the sanctity
within each and every man, for each of us is
a creation of HaShem.
On Tu B’Shevat, many of the Chassidic
rebbes have a custom to conduct a tisch, a
Tu B’Shevat table, where the rebbe
distributes fruits to those assembled. The
tisch is not only a time to partake in fruits,
but to hear words of Torah from the “Eitz
Chaim”, the Tree of Life, our beloved
Torah.
It is told about Rav Yitzchok Izak of
Zidichov (1805-1873), that one year he had
an unusually large crowd attending his Tu
B’Shevat tisch. Unfortunately, there were
insufficient fruits to distribute. The rebbe
stood up and delivered a powerful message,

more meaningful that any fruit.
“I will tell you where fruits are available. The
Mishna teaches, ‘These are the mitzvos
whose fruits a person enjoys in this world but
whose principle remains intact for him in the
World to Come’. The Mishna ends with ‘And
the study of Torah is as great as all the others
put together’. Go and study Torah, and you
will find an abundance of fruit, besides the
reward that awaits you in the World to
Come.”
There are many beautiful Tu B’Shevat
customs. One is to eat from the Shivas
Ha’minim, the Seven Species that are
mentioned in the Torah, as foods that Eretz
Yisroel is praised for. Rav Aharon of Belz
would begin his Tu B’Shevat seuda with
bread made from wheat, then drink beer
made from barley, wine from grapes, and
then enjoy some figs, pomegranates, olives
and dates. The Ben Ish Chai teaches that Tu
B’Shevat is a propitious time to daven for the
various agricultural items that are used for
mitzvos – grapes for kiddush and havdala,
esrog and lulav for arba minim, wheat for our
Shabbos challa and Pesach matzah.
There is a story about a man in need of a
major refuah who approached HaRav
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, seeking
advice on how to beseech HaShem to have
mercy upon him.
“I will tell you what I would do in such a
situation”, said Rav Shlomo Zalman. “I
would strengthen myself in the reciting of
brachos, making sure to enunciate each word
carefully, clearly, and with proper
concentration. If I were to succeed in that,
that would be for me a great accomplishment.”
(Meah Berachos K’Hilchasa)
My mother a”h would say that we eat healthy
to nourish our body, but what do we do to
nourish our soul? Say brachos with meaning.
Each bracha brings a spark of light to our
neshama.
This Tu B’Shevat, as we enjoy our fruits and
say our brachos, let’s try to concentrate a
little harder on the words, and really thank
HaShem for His kindness.