Today is Tu B’Shvat,
the Jewish New Year for trees. Today is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day,
marking Rev. King’s birthday.
For some, these days have tremendous meaning and significance. For others, one or both of these days might pass with little or no notice or commemoration. I think both of these days teach all of us the importance of taking the long view.
Tu B’Shvat is most relevant to the agricultural laws of fruit trees. In recent years, it has become closely associated with our connection to the fruit of Israel and planting trees. The Talmud (Ta’anit 23a) tells a classic tale about trees and taking the long view.
“For his entire life, Honi HaMe’aggel was distressed over the meaning of the verse: ‘A song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream.’ (Psalms 126:1) He said to himself: Is there really a person who can sleep and dream for seventy years? How is it possible to compare the seventy-year exile in Babylonia to a dream?
One day, Honi was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Ḥoni said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Ḥoni said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? He said to him: That man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.
Ḥoni sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gathering carobs from that tree. Ḥoni said to him: Are you the one who planted this tree? The man said to him: I am his son’s son. Ḥoni said to him: I can learn from this that I have slept for seventy years…”
Sound a little like Rip Van Winkle?
While the story has many lessons, one thing is clear: We need to take the long view. We should not expect instant gratification or an immediate return on our investment or efforts.
The same is true for the justice for which Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed, fought, and died. He said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This is also a very Jewish concept. The Torah teaches (Devarim 16:20): “Tzedek tzedek tirdofe - Justice, justice shall you pursue.”
There are many causes calling for justice. It may be the issue of bigotry or racial or socioeconomic inequality or antisemitism. The Torah literally says we chase justice. It is a race. Running isn’t always easy. It is strenuous and tough. As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.” There will be no justice unless WE run after it. It’s OK if it is hard or sometimes hurts. In a 1965 speech at Temple Israel in Hollywood, CA, Dr. King said, “We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.”
There is justice to pursue everywhere. We need to be on the lookout for what is wrong and what we can do to make it right. The Torah doesn’t tell us to catch justice; we are commanded to pursue it and seek it even if we cannot achieve it.
Martin Luther King Day is a timely reminder for each of us to open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts, put on our justice shoes, and get in the race for justice. Tu B’Shvat is a timely reminder that it may take years, but we do what we can even if we won’t live to see the race won. Today is a day to reinforce the need for tolerance, patience, and respecting differences. Some of us may spend very little time with those who are different, but all of us can work to improve and expand our acceptance of difference.
May Rev. Dr. King’s legacy continue to inspire, and may we learn from the trees the patience we will need in realizing the dream of justice.
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