Happy Tu B’Shevat. Today we celebrate the New Year of the trees.
The 15th of Shevat the trees stop nourishing themselves from the rainwater and they begin taking their nutrients from their sap in preparation to bloom again.
There are many lessons we can derive from our botanical friends and in a certain way men is very similar to them.
Just as trees need to have roots in order to maintain themselves rooted, we too need to have strong roots that give us stability. Through following the footsteps of our forefathers:Abraham, Yitzchak, and Jacob, the traditions of our great grandparents we ensure a life rooted to the right values and morals. Just as the trunk brings the nutrients to the branches, stems and leaves of the tree helping it stand strong our posture has to be always straight and upright in regard to our heritage and values imparted by the Torah. The branches reach out just as we too need to reach out, always looking to help those in need. The foliage of the tree makes it unique and instinct to its kind, just as we should always be proud of who we are. The fruit of the tree is the whole purpose of its existence and the assurance of its continuity with the seeds bringing forth new life. The fruits in men represent the good deeds he does and the children he produces in his lifetime which will assure his continuity in this world always.
Make sure to eat fruit today, specially fruit from the Land of Israel (olives, pomegranate, dates, grapes and figs) and meditate on the miracle of life and continuity that even after a long winter, when everything looks lost there is always life brewing underneath the soil.
#tubeshevat
www.livealittlehigher.com
