To Be a Jew - Part III

The Hidden Potential of Winter

By Ashirah Yosefah

From To Be a Jew – Part II:

… The Exodus is the spiritual dynamic for Redemption and Redemption is an ongoing process unfolding over time to its ultimate climax, may it be in our days.  Just as the Children of Israel soon found themselves surrounded by the stark reality of the desert, the same journey is often paralleled in our lives.  As the winter months drew near, I wandered into the “desert” and was caught unawares that the “topography” had changed.  I had become very comfy with my Jerusalemite existence so close to Har haBeit.  It was obviously time for a test of emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust), and it was the right time of the year for it. …

Let us begin …

The constricted, yet infinite, Essence of HaKadosh Baruch Hu is so unified within every fiber, every molecule of the world in which we live that nothing is without its spiritual lessons.  One of the first differences I noticed about life as a Jew was the manner in which the chagim (the Jewish holidays) now impacted me.  I had been trying to keep these holidays for close to a decade in one form or another, but never, never, had I experienced them like I do now.  It took a bit of time to realize what was happening.  Last year the weeks between Purim and Pesach were positively grueling.  I felt like I had been run over by a truck, repeatedly.  I limped along through the Sefirat haOmer until Shavuot, when I realized what was going on.  I was living the spiritual realities of these “appointed times” of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.  These are not only times of celebration; they are lessons to be learned.  Each chag has its own unique spiritual energy available to instruct, correct and strengthen Israel.

This year, Tu b’Shvat fell February 3^rd, coinciding with Shabbat.  It marks the mid-point of what I like to call “the long dark winter season of the soul”, that period of time from Chanukah to Pesach.  On Tu b’Shvat we are at the very height of the winter season in Israel, and the rain and cold temperatures that accompanied it bore evidence to the fact.  Paradoxically, the Sages teach that at Tu b’Shvat the fullness of potential for the fruit forming within the trees is at its highest levels.  From Tu b’Shvat on, this potential begins to manifest itself outward.  First as a bud nestled against the branch, then as a blossom which wilts to beckon the swelling of the miniature fruit, then as the spring and summer months go by, this fruit develops and ripens to greet the autumn harvest at Rosh HaShanah, the time of year when the baskets of first-fruits were offered at the Temple.

To develop a human parallel to the above, the Torah tells us, “Ki haAdam etz hasede” (Parsha Shoftim ~ Devarim 20:19)  A simple translation of this Hebrew phrase would be “Man is like the tree of the field.”  As with the fruit trees here in Israel, at the height of winter when so much seems cold and dark, the spiritual potential to be developed within us is also at its peak.  The wisdom of HaKadosh Baruch Hu has pruned and nurtured this potential through the cold, dark germination period of winter.  It is no mistake that the festivals of Chanukah and Purim occur during the winter months.  These holidays celebrate miraculous victories over two of Israel’s greatest enemies, the Greek Empire (the exaltation of the human intellect over Divine Source and inspiration) and the Persian Empire (excessive materialism).

On Tu b’Shvat we celebrate the potential of the fruit that lies within the trees by feasting on an abundance of fruit.  We are instructed to turn our thoughts back to Gan Eden when Adam and Chava willfully partook of fruit forbidden to them.  The Sages tell us that it was not just that the fruit was forbidden, but the manner in which our ancestral parents partook of the fruit was also wrong.  Their kavanah (intention) was a selfish one filled with egotistical aspirations and a dangerous over-confidence in their own wisdom.  Urged on by the nachash (serpent, sneak), they allowed themselves to be duped into thinking that they could become “as God”. 

In her annual Tu b’Shvat teaching, Sarah Yehudit Schneider wrote that Rav Tsadok haCohen explains that “the Tree of Knowledge was not one fruit as opposed to another.  He says that, in fact, the Tree of Knowledge was not a tree or a food or a thing at all.  Rather it was a “way” of eating.  Whenever a person grabs pleasure from the world, he falls in that moment from G-d consciousness and eats from the Tree of Knowledge.”

The key word here is “grabs.”  The word implies a loss of recognition that all we have, all we are and all we will be in the future comes from Hashem.  The Sages instruct us that we are to have great kavanah when we say the Brachot (blessings) before eating each type of fruit on Tu b’Shvat, as well as when we give thanks after the meal, so as to effect a tikkun for the sin of Gan Eden and those times when we also partake of the Tree of Knowledge and fall from God consciousness.  Let’s be honest…  How often do we allow the clamor of what the world tells us we need drown out the Still Small Voice of reason (and Providence) within?

As I stumbled about the cold winter season of the soul between Chanukah and Tu b’Shvat, personal hopes and mounting frustrations almost blinded me to my own identity as a Jew, something that came at such a cost.  For the alluring promise of security and a more comfortable way of life, I nearly let go of myself and became someone else.  I would still have been a Jew, but not the Jew I believe Hashem brought me such a long and turbulent journey to become and a Jew that is still very much in a process of formation. 

The teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov cut to the very heart of human existence.  He openly addresses our failings, our sorrows, our times of despair and confusion, and he repeatedly stresses to never give up hope, that there is always a path of return.  Rebbe Nachman cautions us that our lives will be filled with many tests and that Hashem arranges and designs the events of our lives to present us with exactly the challenges that target our strengths, our weaknesses, our very soul-roots.  We will be tested in exactly those areas we have the greatest difficulty, areas we have failed in before.  This is because true teshuvah only comes when we face a situation wherein we have failed before, but this time we overcome it.  Then our repentance is complete.

HaKadosh Baruch Hu divided the world into seventy nations and His Torah is the unrivaled song of the Universe.  All of mankind has a “note” to sing in that song and we each have own unique purpose for which Hashem gave us life.  We may spend most of our lives finding that purpose, but once we do begin to sense it, we need to hold fast and sing that note for all we are worth.  But don’t expect life to become easier; to the contrary, your dedication to finding the Divine Purpose for your life will be tested time and again, in order to allow you the incredible opportunity to draw closer to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and to elevate your life and the world around you.

In To Be a Jew – Part IV, with God’s help, we will discuss the Jewish responsibility to share the Universal Torah commandments. 

Until next time ~