×

Man is Like a Tree כִּ֤י הָֽאָדָם֙ עֵ֣ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה

Save " Man is Like a Tree כִּ֤י הָֽאָדָם֙ עֵ֣ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה "
Man is Like a Tree כִּ֤י הָֽאָדָם֙ עֵ֣ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה
User Profile Picture
ByMason Voit
דברים כ׳:י״ט

(יט) כִּֽי־תָצ֣וּר אֶל־עִיר֩ יָמִ֨ים רַבִּ֜ים לְֽהִלָּחֵ֧ם עָלֶ֣יהָ לְתָפְשָׂ֗הּ לֹֽא־תַשְׁחִ֤ית אֶת־עֵצָהּ֙ לִנְדֹּ֤חַ עָלָיו֙ גַּרְזֶ֔ן כִּ֚י מִמֶּ֣נּוּ תֹאכֵ֔ל וְאֹת֖וֹ לֹ֣א תִכְרֹ֑ת כִּ֤י הָֽאָדָם֙ עֵ֣ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה לָבֹ֥א מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ בַּמָּצֽוֹר׃

Deuteronomy 20:19

(19) When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding an ax against them. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Is the tree of the field human, that it should be besieged?

רש"י על דברים כ׳:י״ט:ג׳

כי האדם עץ השדה. הֲרֵי כִּי מְשַׁמֵּשׁ בִּלְשׁוֹן דִּלְמָא, שֶׁמָּא הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה לְהִכָּנֵס בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּצוֹר מִפָּנֶיךָ לְהִתְיַסֵּר בְּיִסּוּרֵי רָעָב וְצָמָא כְּאַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר? לָמָּה תַּשְׁחִיתֶנּוּ?:

Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:19:3

כי האדם עץ השדה FOR IS THE TREE OF THE FIELD A MAN [THAT IT SHOULD BE BESIEGED BY THEE]? — כי has here the meaning of “possibly”, “perhaps” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 23:5) — is the tree of the field perhaps a man who is able to withdraw within the besieged city from before you, that it should be chastised by the suffering of famine and thirst like the inhabitants of the city? Why should you destroy it?

The Talmud relates a story of a man who once ate from a tree, enjoyed its shade and drank from a stream running near its roots. The man said to the tree:
תענית ה׳ ב:מ״ח

אילן אילן במה אברכך?

שיהיו פירותיך מתוקין,

הרי פירתיך מתוקין,

שיהא צילך נאה, הרי צלך נאה.

אלא יהי רצון שכל נטיעותיך יהיו כמותך

Taanit 5b:12

Tree, tree, with​ what can I bless you?

That your fruit may be sweet--it​ is already sweet; that you should give plenty of shade--th​at you also do; that a spring of water may be near you, eve​n that you have. The one thing left me which I can wish for you is, that all trees planted from your seed may be as fruitful as you are.

As we compare ourselves to trees, what are our fruits? ​​​​​​​What is the shade we give to others? What is our spring of water? What is our blessing?
The following text is an excerpt from "Netzach Yisrael", written by Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1512-1609), also known as Rabbi Loew, the Maharal of Prague, or simply the Maharal, who was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia. Netzach Yisrael discusses exile and redemption.
  1. How does this text compare man and tree?
  2. What are similarities and what are differences?
"This is true that the man is called "the tree of the field" (Deut. 20:19), it is just that the man is an upside-down tree. A tree, its roots are stuck in the ground below whereas, man, its roots are above, because his soul is his roots and it is in the sky. And the hands are the branches of the tree, and the legs are branches on branches, his body the major part of the tree. And why is he an upside-down tree, because a tree its root is below, because the tree, its liveliness is from the ground, and the man, his liveliness is from the sky. "
(Translation by Shosh Bernstein)

עץ השדה

שלום חנוך
מילים: נתן זך
לחן: שלום חנוך

כי האדם עץ השדה
כמו האדם גם העץ צומח
כמו העץ האדם נגדע
ואני לא יודע
איפה הייתי ואיפה אהיה
כמו עץ השדה


כי האדם עץ השדה
כמו העץ הוא שואף למעלה
כמו האדם הוא נשרף באש
ואני לא יודע
איפה הייתי ואיפה אהיה
כמו עץ השדה

אהבתי וגם שנאתי
טעמתי מזה ומזה
קברו אותי בחלקה של עפר
ומר לי, מר לי בפה
כמו עץ השדה

כי האדם עץ השדה
כמו העץ הוא צמא למים
כמו האדם הוא נשאר צמא
ואני לא יודע
איפה הייתי ואיפה אהיה
כמו עץ השדה

The Tree in the Field

Shalom Hanoch, Nurit Galon

Words: Natan Zach

Music: Shalom Hanoch

Album: On the Face of the Earth

1982

For the human is like the tree in a field,
like the human, the tree grows too;
like the tree, the human is chopped down,
and I don't know
where I've been and where I'll be,
like the tree in a field!

For the human is like the tree in a field,
like the tree he strives upwards;
like the human, it burns in fire,
and I don't know
where I've been and where I'll be,
like the tree in a field!


I loved, and I hated too,
I tasted this and that;
I was burried in a plot of dust,
and I feel sour - sour in my mouth,
like the tree in a field! (x2)


For the human is like the tree in a field,
like the tree he's thirsty for water;
like the human, it stays thirsty,
and I don't know
where I've been and where I'll be,
like the tree in a field!

Sun-Startled Pines
Zelda
translated from the Hebrew by Marcia Falk
Sun-startled pines
wafted a wild fragrance--
the same stunning strength
from the inmost flowering
made the world my home again
but did not reveal the core,
the divine intention
in budding and wilting plants.
And the point of my life
and the point of my death--
I will not know in this world.
I Know Nothing
Malka Heifetz Tussman
translated from the Yiddish by Marcia Falk
Piously to embrace the tree,
to rest my cheek on brown bark,
to breathe, and to be quiet.
It's sad and good
in the rustle of branches.
In the swish of leaves, I say:
Here it's still.
In the spill of blossoms,
my thoughts are mild,
tranquil.
But
whether trees praise God
with the light of white petals -
this I don't know.
I don't know when they cry,
I don't know when they laugh,
I know nothing about such things.
I Know Nothing
Malka Heifetz Tussman
translated from the Yiddish by Marcia Falk
Piously to embrace the tree,
to rest my cheek on brown bark,
to breathe, and to be quiet.
It's sad and good
in the rustle of branches.
In the swish of leaves, I say:
Here it's still.
In the spill of blossoms,
my thoughts are mild,
tranquil.
But
whether trees praise God
with the light of white petals -
this I don't know.
I don't know when they cry,
I don't know when they laugh,
I know nothing about such things.