From Seed to Fruit - Tu B'Shvat, Yitro 5785

Something magical happens when a seed is planted in the ground. If you think about the process, it seems counterintuitive. (Please note: The following is based on the teachings of Chassidus. I know that these are not the words of biology, which describes the process differently. While it may seem to be a contradiction, I believe Torah and science often use different words and a different set of terms. I am presenting my understanding of what is taught in Chassidus. I’m sure that with time the two will come together.)

The seed decostructs - Chassidus refers to this process as the “rotting” and decomposing of the seed. Then a new tree grows, that will eventually produce thousands of fruits with many thousands of seeds. There is not a progression, a seed first expanding and then slowly growing. There is a complete breakdown of the original seed and then the new tree, or whatever it is we planted, grows.

This is one of the lessons we learn on Tu B’Shvat, the “New Year” for trees, which is on the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, today, Thursday February 13. There are many explanations for why we celebrate this day, what is the meaning of a “New Year” for trees and its lessons for us. The basic explanation is that farmers in Israel were obligated to bring tithes from their produce to the Temple, and to give to the Kohanim, Levites and the poor. The tithes had to be given each year separately. The cutoff for fruits was on the 15th of Shevat. But there is more, of course.

The Torah says that “a human is like a tree of the field.” (Devarim 20:19.) Chassidus has many beautiful explanations of the many ways we are like a tree. Today I want to focus on the analogy of the decomposing seed. In order to have something completely new develop, rather than just an addition to the old, we need to completely let go of the old.

To grow a new tree, the tiny seed has to become nothing. To build a new, solid house, you need to first remove the old structure and crumbling foundation. The same applies to human development. If a person is stuck in a pattern of destructive behavior and wants to truly change, it's not enough to just take small steps to change. (When was the last time you looked at your smart-phone?) We need to completely pull ourselves away from the behavior and open a new chapter in our lives.

This is also true in connecting to Torah, and especially relevant this week, when we read the Parsha of Yitro, the Giving of the Torah. The Talmud tells us that when Hashem spoke the words of the ten Commandments, at each word the people’s “souls flew away,” and Hashem revived them. Why did they die at each word? Because accepting the Torah was not just about gaining wisdom and learning a set of rules. It was about a complete transformation from ordinary people to partners with Hashem to bring the physical and the spiritual together.

The very world itself was transformed at that moment, from a place of complete concealment of Hashem’s light, to a place where we humans can harness the world and all it contains to become vehicles for light and goodness. For such a complete transformation to happen, there needed to be a breakdown of the life that existed and the creation of a completely new life.

This concept also is a foundation of true Torah learning in general, and perhaps one of the primary reasons that we connect with Tu B’shvat as a personal holiday. No matter how great a person’s intellect may be, no matter how much knowledge we may accumulate, we are limited human beings trapped in limited physical bodies using limited physical brains and faculties. If we try to approach Torah as gaining wisdom and knowledge, we may add to our intellectual prowess, but it will be in context of the parameters of our own limitations.

Torah is Hashem’s infinite wisdom. Rather than thinking of Torah as the wisdom of the world, the Talmud describes the Torah as the blueprint of the universe. An infinite wisdom cannot fit into a finite mind, but Hashem, who is omnipotent, has given us the ability to infuse our brain with His infinite Torah. This is the greatest gift a human can receive. It lifts us above our limited experience and connects us to the eternal. But the only way we can achieve this breakout and connect with a whole new experience, to completely transcend our limited human experience, we need to completely set ourselves aside, like the decomposing seeds.

To really “acquire Torah,” as opposed to just learning it, we need to set aside our own self-generated understanding of things. Rather than approaching Torah to see what I think it might mean, I need to humbly learn what Hashem’s will is and what the Torah is teaching me. Then I will enjoy the many beautiful fruits of this learning and observance, far beyond the limits of my personal abilities.

The above idea also applies to what we are going through in the world today. There seems to be a complete breakdown of the norms of society. People have lost faith in leadership, in formerly revered institutions like government, institutions of “higher learning” that have turned into cesspools of antisemitism and craziness, and so much more. Much of the religious “establishment” is foundering, family life has suffered, young paopla love to “disrupt,” and basically all of what was considered the societal norms have broken down. It is also safe to say that the world is not enjoying its holiest moment, yet we say that we are at the threshold of redemption.

This is something the Rebbe spoke about, quoting a great Chassidic leader of the 18th century, Rabbi Hillel of Paritch. He said that in order the world can be transformed into a place of light, where the physical doesn't hide the spiritual but reveals it, when knowledge of Hashem is universal under the true, of Moshiach, the old world order must completely decompose. So yes, the world feels like it’s decomposing, but that is just another step to it’s transformation to the time of Moshiach.