Take lessons from trees in these dispiriting times
A spiritual lesson is that "a person is like a tree of
the field." When fortune has turned for someone,
and they have lost all hope and are despairing,
then they should ponder a tree in winter. Its leaves
have fallen, its moisture has dried up, it is almost a
dead stump in the ground. Then suddenly, it
begins to revive and to draw moisture from the
earth. Slowly it blossoms, then brings forth fruits.
People should learn from this not to despair, but to
take hope and have courage, for they, too, are like a
tree.
January 16, 2014 is Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for
Trees. It celebrates the rebirthing of trees in the
midst of winter, the Kabbalistic reawakening of
divine energy with God as the tree of life.
This holiday is the first Earth Day. The Talmud
declares: "If you have a sapling, and someone says
that the Messiah has come, complete the planting,
and then go welcome the Messiah."
The idea of the importance of having faith and
moving forward, as well as being stewards of the
earth, is as old as Judaism itself.
Rabbi Arthur Segal
Jewish Renewal www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism, Spiritual Renewal
facebook.com/RabbiArthurSegalJewishSpiritualRenewal
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
