JCC of Southern Nevada - Jewish University "Ancient Rituals - Modern Debate" Tu B'Shvat and the Jewish Responsibility to maintain a Global Environment Lior Sibony 01/25/2016 ט"ו בשבט התשע"ו

(1) And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made. (4) These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. (5) No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground; (6) but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. (7) Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (8) And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. (9) And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ..(15) And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; (17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ (18) And the LORD God said: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.’

(23) And when you come into the land, and planted all types of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden; for three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. (24) And in the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to Ad-nai. (25) But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that they may yield to you more richly: I am Ad-nai your God.

(1) The four new years are: On the first of Nisan, the new year for the kings and for the festivals; On the first of Elul, the new year for the tithing of animals; Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say, in the first of Tishrei. On the first of Tishrei, the new year for years, for the Sabbatical years and for the Jubilee years and for the planting and for the vegetables. On the first of Shevat, the new year for the trees, these are the words of the House of Shammai; The House of Hillel says, on the fifteenth thereof.

(19) When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you will eat from them, but you shall not cut them down - for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you? (20) Only the trees of which you know that are not trees for food, them you may destroy and cut down, so that you build bulwarks against the city that makes war with thee, until it fall.

To love that which is good and worthwhile and to cling it, so that good becomes a part of us and we will avoid all bad and all destructive things. This is the way of the pious and people of action...not destroying even a grain of mustard in this world...if possible they will prevent any destruction thy can. Not so are the wicked..., who rejoice in the destruction of the world, and they are destroyers...​

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For a person is the tree of the field. Behold "ki" serves as a language of perhaps: is a tree a person such that one should enter to a siege to afflict it with famine and drought like city residents? Why should you destroy it?

(1) Happy is the man that has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the Torah of Ad-nai; and on His law he meditates day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; and in whatsoever he does he shall prosper. (4) Not so the wicked who are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

(8) For [the person who trusts God] shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, and its foliage shall be luxuriant; and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall he cease from yielding fruit.

(17) Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. (18) She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, And happy is every one that holds fast to her.

and 6a

When they were about to part, [R. Nahman] said: Please, Rabbi, bless me. He replied: Let me tell you a parable — To what may this [our encounter] be compared? To a man who was journeying in the desert; he was hungry, weary and thirsty and he came upon a tree with sweet fruit, pleasant shade, and a stream of water flowing beneath it. He ate of its fruits, drank of the water, and rested under its shade. When he was about to continue his journey, he said: Tree, O Tree, with what shall I bless you? Shall I say to you, ‘May thy fruits be sweet’? They are sweet already; that your shade be pleasant? It is already pleasant; that a stream of water may flow beneath you? Look, a stream of water flows already beneath you; therefore [I say], ‘May it be God's will that all your shoots shall be just like you. So too you - with what shall I bless you? If with Torah - you already know Torah! If with wealth - you already have wealth! If with children - you already have children! Rather, may it be God's will that your descendants shall be like you.

And it was taught: Any city that does not have in it these ten things, it is not appropriate for a Sage to live within it. A court that [punishes] with lashes and punishes [with penalties], a charity fund, collected by two and distributed by three, a synagogue, a bathhouse, a restroom, a doctor [for circumcision], a bookkeeper, a notary [for writing scrolls], a butcher, and a teacher of children. In the name of Rabbi Akiva, they said, even types of tree fruits because there types of fruit help eyesight.

One day, he (Honi) was walking on the road and saw a certain man that was planting a carob tree. He said to him, 'How many years until this [tree] will be laden [with fruit]?' He said to him, 'Until seventy years.' He said to him, 'Is it obvious to you that you will live [another] seventy years?' He said to him, 'That man found the world with carob trees. In the same way as my fathers planted for me, I will also plant for my children.' He sat and wrapped bread (ate his meal). Sleep came to him and he fell asleep. A boulder encircled him and he was shielded from the eye [of others] and he fell asleep for seventy years. When he got up, he saw a certain man that was plucking [the fruits of the carob tree]. He said to him, 'Are you the one that planted it?' He said to him, 'I am the son of his son.' He said to him, 'It is understood from this that I fell asleep for seventy years.' He saw that his donkey had given birth to several generations. He went to his home and he said to them, Is the son of Choni the Circle-maker alive? They said to him, 'His son is not, but the son of his son is.' He said to them, 'I am Choni the Circle-maker.' They did not believe him. He went to the study hall and he heard the rabbis who were saying. 'Our discussions are as clear as in the years of Choni the Circle-maker. Since when he would come to the study hall, he would answer all the questions that the rabbis had.' He said to them, 'I am he.' They did not believe him and they did not give him the respect that was appropriate. His feelings were upset and he prayed for mercy and died." Said Rava, "That is what [is meant by that which] people say, 'Either companionship or death.'" Give me havruta or give me death

[abbi Elazar ben Azariah says: If there is no Torah, there is no worldly occupation; if there is no worldly occupation, there is no Torah. If there is no wisdom, there is no fear; if there is no fear, there is no wisdom. If there is no understanding, there is no knowledge; if there is no knowledge, there is no understanding. If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour] e would say: Anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, to what is he compared? To a tree whose branches are many but whose roots are few; then the winds comes and uproots it and turns it upside down; as it is said; "And he shall be like a lonely juniper tree in the wasteland and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness, a salty land that is uninhabitable." [Jeremiah 17:6]. But one whose deeds exceed his wisdom, what is he like? Like a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are many; since even if all the winds of the world come and blow upon it, they do not move it from its place, as it is said; "He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not perceive when heat comes, but its leaf shall remain fresh; and it will not be troubled in the year of drought, nor will it cease to bear fruit." [Jeremiah 17:8].