Parshas Shoftim: MAKE LIKE A TREE, AND GROW!

I'm employed by a Rosh yeshiva and I get to witness the new crop that comes in every Elul the 12th graders that just graduated high school coming to a real yeshiva where it isn't English in the afternoons , they aren't short class periods , but a full 10-hour day of learning , where a person is by himself , he has to do his own laundry , he has to secure his

own meals and he has to really meet himself for the first time , when it's just him alone , with his Gemara . The Bacher will learn a lot about himself and the transformation that goes on between when the Bacher , when the student , arrives until when he graduates , often three years later . There's nothing to compare it to . It's like the birth of a new baby .

This past week it always makes me chuckle , the first week of Ellelsman , because everyone shows up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with their new shoes , their new haircuts , ready to make a good impression , their black sneakers , their Lululemon pants , the perfect haircut . They're all ready to go , ready to take on life and put their best foot forward .

I remember those good old days and I feel blessed to still witness them , to still be a part of them , even though I am a nearly 30-year-old , burnt-out old fellow , far away from my tight haircut and youthful vigor that I had when I came through yeshiva .

But all of this brought to my attention an idea that Rabbi Yerucham talks about in this week's parasha that I'd like to share with you . That Rabbi Yerucham talks about in this week's Parsha that I'd like to share with you . It's an idea about how a Jew grows , how a Jew steigs , the process that it takes from beginning to end , and to unpack this lesson .

I first want to tell you just how brilliant the Parsha is , how action-packed it is , and then we're going to select the topic we're going to discuss and then deliver the idea . The parasha is parashash shoftim , which outlines the appointment of judges , law enforcement , police officers . We need to make sure that nobody is bribed . There is no favoritism .

We need meticulous investigation of crimes . According to halacha , we need to go to Sanhedrin to judge cases , the great Jewish grand court . Our parasha prohibits sorcery , destruction . It commands an appointment of a melech , of a king . We get the laws of war , some laws of karbanos . We get the laws of war , some laws of Karbanos .

We learn about cities of refuge where an accidental murder can flee to Before , the very fascinating halacha of the Egl Arufa , where there is a dead body laying in between two cities and we need to figure out who is the culprit . We need to have a sense of communal responsibility towards preventing harm .

But I want to focus today about the war and the laws therein . The posse says first , offer some peace terms . The posse tells us how to respond based on how they respond . First , to offer some peace terms , the Pasuk tells us how to respond based on how they respond . There's a certain time where you need to lay siege . God will protect you , the Pasuk .

They continue how you should deal with the plunder , with the booty , and with all of the livestock and everything in the town and the spoils .

There's further guidelines about how to deal with different cities and there are certain nationalities the Canaanites , the Perizzites , the Hevites , the Jebusites that we act in war a bit differently than all the other nations Lamana , sharlo , yilam , du'eskem , lasos and all this is in order not to create a society that will possibly learn from the enemies if you allow

them to live , and possibly there'll be a cancerous , non-israelite type of root or origin to the sprouting cities in the promised land , which will not be tolerated . And then here comes our Pesach that we're looking for .

When you set siege and you have to set the siege up for a long time surrounding the city , there's a certain law that you must keep in the sieging Do not destroy its trees , wielding the axe against them . Don't destroy the trees . Save . Don't destroy the trees , save the trees , hug the trees . Why ? Ki mimenu tochal va'oso lo tichrots From these trees ?

You can eat them , but you mustn't cut them down . Why ? Why are we loving and saving the trees ? Ki ha'adam eitz hasadeh Lavo'i miponecha b'matzor . Puzzling words , for the man is a tree of the field that you should come in front of him in the besieged city . That's what that literally translates .

And if that doesn't make sense to you , that's because , yeah , that doesn't make sense the translation that we need to come up with here . We must draw upon the Rishonim to try to make sense of this Pesach . What does it mean ? That the man is a tree and therefore you should not come in front of him to kill him .

Rashi explains that you reuse the word ki ha'adam etasadeh to mean possibly or perhaps , and you read the pasuk Is the tree a man that it will be able to hide itself away when you come into battle ? You read the verse with a certain question , inquisitively . It's a bit me on Hebrew .

So the Pesach is telling us don't destroy the trees because they can't fend for themselves . And it seems like you got to take it easy on them . They can't run in to hide . It , got to play fair game .

A very interesting reading of the Pesach the Evan Ezra says you don't need this Pesach and Rashi , there's an easier way to unpack the Pesach for the simplistic approach Don't destroy the trees Because , because you reuse the word ki as the regular , because because a person is a tree of the field . What does that mean ? That we need trees to live .

Ki chay ben adam hu et ha-sada To live , we need the photosynthesis and the oxygen of the trees and the fruits and the wood . Mankind , human life forms , are supported by trees , so therefore take heed not to destroy the trees . Sounds like an idea of compassion or gratitude , but this Pusik is really a goldmine .

Jewish mystics , spiritual deans across the world and God-thirsty Jews see a powerful lesson in this Pusik . When you read the verse plainly , the Pusik sticks out and there's really no going back . The Pusik never reads the same way again what Rabbi Yerucham L'Vovitz , the spiritual dean , brings to our attention , and so many of the other great Torah educators .

They tell us that you need to see that hidden in this Pesach is the growth of a man . The Torah has 70 different levels of wisdom and many different ways to interpret psukim , and one of the things that's sitting out here for us to harp , for us to gather , is that ha'adam etz hasad , that a man is a tree . In the middle of this posse .

In regards to the sieging and the laws of cutting down trees , we are exposed to the way that a Jew is supposed to grow and steig and his own path to Hashem . And how is it ? It's to steig like a tree , because a man grows like a tree . Ki ha-adam , the person ets hasadah . You don't read it in the way that Rashi does in this inquisitive question field .

Is it possible for the tree to run away ? Is he like a man ? But rather ki ha-adam ets hasadah ? Man and trees are very interconnected

. In fact , their growth process mirrors each other . The way a tree grows , extends , widens , thickens , the way that it steigs we should look at and take notes from , because that's the way that we should steig , says the great Mashkiach . So how is it that you actually build a tree ?

If we can figure that out , then we could figure out , maybe some tips , how to build ourselves into towering timber trees or cedars of Babylon . Cedars of Babylon . Well , to plant a tree is a very arduous and specific process , as you may have guessed .

It takes planning , it takes preparation , it takes research to figure out the native trees and where they are well-suited to the local climate . It takes knowledge of the soil type , the sunlight conditions , it takes understanding the days and the sunlight when the dormant season hits . All of this is happening long before you even plant the seed .

And once you do plant the seed , there's untangling the roots , girdling the roots . Girdling the roots , backfilling the hole , eliminating air pockets , applying mulch organic mulch , according to some watering generously , providing slow , deep watering , encouraging the roots to grow downward . Staking is needed sometimes .

But enough about the trees , and what I want to show you is that to build a person , we need many of the same steps , but we don't need to make them up .

What's fascinating is that when you look throughout the oral and written law , you'll find countless of references to how a person in Judaism grows like a tree , and you actually get clued into how to do these steps , which is , first , you know what you do , know what you do .

After you've figured out your location , which already we are well aware that location , location , location where you choose to plant yourself as a Jew , will have long-lasting ramifications . We know that not all places are created equal . There is spiritual sunlight in some cities that shines a whole lot brighter than in other cities .

We know that if you plant yourself next to some sort of oil rig , some sort of immoral bystander , it can send spiritual cancer into the seeds that you're trying to plant . So the location that you choose , trying to plant , so the location that you choose to plant yourself , is of utmost importance .

Bava Kama 17a shows us that teaches that happy are you that sow beside all waters that send forth the feet of the ox and the donkey . The Gemara explains to us how do you do ? How do you do ? How do you do planting ? The way that you begin your process ? It sounds like you do planting , ain't Zaria Ela Tzedaka ?

The way that you begin your process , it sounds like , is . You build it on righteousness , you build it on kindness , you build it on straightness and charity . You don't need to guess the Zaria . You know how the song goes . The way that you plant also needs to be taken into account . Hazarim bedimah , berinah yikzayru . We have a mishnah , a mishnah , a posik .

You'll say it Hazarim bedina berinah berinah , berinah yikzayru . The way that you plant yourself , if you plant yourself with tears , well then you will gather what you have planted with happiness . This screams at us that when it's your first week in Elulzman and you show up bright-eyed , bushy-tailed and ready to go .

But the Zman gets hard , the times get tough , the planting process sometimes causes tears . Hazo yirim bedima . When you work yourself hard , with discipline , to put in the time , the work and the effort , that causes tears . It's painful , it's arduous . It's a construction zone , in a yeshiva or wherever you choose to plant yourself .

Don't give up and don't be discouraged from the tears because , barina Yitzhoru , when you plant it with tears , meaning you're doing it right , it's those people that will gather what they have planted with merriment , with happiness , with joy , with song .

After you've planted yourself , you've figured out where you're to call home where you're going to plant your spiritual edifice . You've picked your location , you've also put in the effort to start planting yourself and now takes step number two .

You need Kalita , you need absorption , you need this very unique process where the seed begins to undergo a critical process which involves the sprouting of the seed after a period of dormancy .

There is a process of some complex steps triggered by what scientists call specific environmental cues , by what scientists call specific environmental cues , which is short for Hakadosh Baruch Hu , the Holy One . Blessed Be he , the Omnipresent . But this klita process is when those first buds start to show . Tzadik katomer yifrach the righteous .

They bloom like a date palm . Tzadik katomer yifrach the righteous , they bloom like a date palm . Ke'eres , balvonon , yizke , tehillim 92.14 . They thrive like a cedar in Lebanon . The germination has begun . Shesulim beveis , hashem . Shesulim means germination , that's how the great ones explain it .

You start to flourish in the courts of our God , you begin to keep yourself in the right place and your heart begins to not despise having to wake up early to go to find your seat , to go to find your Gemara , but begins

a whole new chapter of where you can kind of see some light , some clarity . You kind of start to enjoy things . The seeds have begun to percolate , percolate and sprout . Your soul has begun to germinate . Steiging is happening . These Mishalim , these Demionim , these parables that Ha'adam Eitz HaSadda , that man grows like a tree .

It isn't just for one man , but also for man and collectively , as a Jewish nation , we also sprout . We grow like a tree and Hashem gives us trees to learn from , to build our Jewish nation . We build strong roots and we build on righteousness . Shir Hashirim , the Jewish people .

We learn all about how Avroham , yitzchak and Yaakov they had foresight in building the Jewish people and where they selected to travel and to live and where , with divine providence , did Hashem send them ? Shir Hashirim , imchoimohi Nivneh Oleh HaTiras Kesev . If she were a wall , we would build upon it a silver battlement .

We learn all about how the roots of the Jewish people . They have a strong root and foundation . Their walls are ironclad because we are built on a foundation of kindness , of rum , of truth . That would be Yaakov , that would be our wholesomeness , that would be Ishtam , our truth , and Yitzchak , our gevura , our strength .

The Jewish people build skyscrapers these days . They build skyscrapers and the learning sprouting that you see around the world , the spiritual massive structures . They all stand healthily because of our forefathers , because of what they created and the deep roots and foundation stones that they planted . Jeremiah 17.8 continues the whole parable .

He shall be like a tree planted by water , sending forth its roots by a stream , not weary of the coming heat . Its leaves are ever fresh . Aren't Cutler ever fresh building seeds of Tyre in America that could so easily flourish ? Because it's built upon a long-standing legacy and foundation of such organic , thick , healthy soil .

That's all built by Avram , yitzhak and Yaakov . It's organic soil , built of truth , strength and kindness . Balak saw this parable and Balak saw this truth . My apologies , balak heard this truth , but Balaam preached it . Balaam , the rotten Balaam , when he was tasked , hired to curse the Jews and he failed . Well , he actually succeeded , if you ask us .

But 23.9 , he says . You ask us , but 23.9 , he says . I see them from the mountaintops , gaze onto them from the heights . There is a people that dwells apart , not reckoned among

the nations . If you put the Shweki song aside and look down and see Rashi , what is it that Balaam saw that he was gazing upon ? I look at their origin , their rations and the beginning of their root , their descent , their inception . I see them strongly founded as yonder rocks , like large mountains .

They were planted strongly founded by their ancestors and ancestresses , by Avram Yitzchak , yaakov , sarah , rivka , rachel and Leah . This is a Medrash Tanchuma in Balak 12 Balaam saw this , that Kiha'adam Eitz Asada , the way health , fruit , peros and the Jewish people and a Jew for that matter . Any person grows .

It happens like a tree that you need proper seeding , proper germination and absorption of the materials and the elements and minerals that you need , and on that you start to build roots . Roots is what comes next . Roots are what Avram , yitzchak and Yaakov built , that we get to have the peros and further blossoming now .

But roots is what I want to talk about , is what we need to create in our lives . The final step in our parable For mankind . A person Is hailing the righteous and enjoying seeing that he should eat the fruits of their work . That's what the prophet said . How does that happen ? Well , we have to build strong roots . It's a Mishnah .

We need to build strong roots . It's a Mishnah . We need to build strong a foundation . We need to burrow deep in the ground so we're unshakable , no matter what spiritual winds will blow . It's a Mishnah . In Avosper , gimel , pasach , yetzayim Hu , hayah Omer . You'll see something novel here and a new way to see clearly how to plant strong roots .

It's not what you think . Anyone whose wisdom is larger weighs more than his actions . What is he similar to ? What is he similar to Le'ilon sh'anof of meruben ? V'sharash of mu'atim you are somebody that has anof of meruben , tons of branches , endless leafy , fruity branches , v'sharash of ma'atin , but you don't have actions .

Then you have very small , flimsy , pathetic-looking roots V'haruach bo'av oykartoy Small , flimsy , pathetic-looking roots . And the wind will come and knock it over and flip it over on its head . Anyone whose actions , whose maisav are more they outweigh your wisdom , l'ma hudaymet . What is this ? Compared to Le'ilon sha'anof av mu'otim ?

V'sharash av merubin , you are like a tree that has small fruits , because you don't have much wisdom , but you have deeply burrowing , healthy , happy , robust roots because you have actions . And when you have actions , you have roots . And I feel you call our Ruchos Sheba Olam Bo'os . V'no Shavos Bo'o .

Any winds that will come your way , ein mei zizan , oso mi mekomo . You will not budge . We see a powerful new idea here that your roots are not your predetermined ideas .

Your roots , the very roots of the Jewish people , weren't just the concepts of chesed and the ideologies of truth of Abraham , isaac and Jacob , but the actions that they committed , the actions that they engaged in , it was the maisov , their actions that created the foundation . And for us , we see that it doesn't take wisdom .

You don't need to be bright to build strong roots , you need to do . It's a remarkable piece of chachma , don't you think that wisdom is less rooting , less grounding than action ? It seems that action is what we're after . Action is the goal . The succulent fruits will all come when you start to do what you need to do .

You start even with a heart that is turned off to Judaism , not very interested , but you choose a good locale , you start to open up to ideas and then you start to engage in practices of mitzvos .

You're building something that is a deeply rooted and will be a healthy , prosperous bastion of Torah , growth and spirituality that will give off delicious , effervescent , succulent , fresh fruit . And the roots it's from action . Isn't that fascinating . There are so many branches no pun intended of this idea . This big seems like discipline .

A whole sefer of Chachma about trees . A whole sefer of chachma about trees . That's all beneath the surface , planted in this pasuk Ki ha'adam etz hasadah that we grow like a tree ,

this goldmine here , that action , roots and not wisdom , unbelievable . It's remarkable how Hashem made the human body and he interconnected it with our souls and that if you want to create something , you don't need to be smart , you just need to do . You start running to Sheol even though you have no interest in Sheol .

Eventually , eventually good will come Because you're building strong roots , even if you aren't interested in what the rabbi is discussing , a Torah concept that seems complex , but if you put in the actions , you put in the work to go after it , you have strong roots . You have strong actions and you're ready to build on that .

Mysav Actions is what we're after Deeds and every person needs strong roots Because the winds powerful winds , impure winds they blow , Life , humbles .

If you have strong actions , then , even if God forbid war should come your way , if you have strong actions , even if poverty or divorce should come your way , you can remain solid in what's important and you can rework and re-decide how to go forward and you won't just get totally pulled out of the ground and uprooted .

And you won't just get totally pulled out of the ground and uprooted , but everything comes when you have strong roots , and roots are made by action .

So the call to action , this Elul , is to engage in actions that , even if you do not feel great about and your heart is still turned off to them , but do not give up on those actions and continue to go about your obligations . If the daf yomi doesn't light your heart up yet , keep going . If your learning schedule with your chavrusa doesn't excite you yet .

You're building roots and it's paying into . Hazayrim bedima Barina yitzayru . You're putting in the work . Hazayrim bedima Barina yitzayru . You're putting in the work . You're burrowing towards the surface and you're about to burst through the top and have gushing geysers of H2O , well of wood and trunks and branches and holiness and fruits and peros .

So keep going , k'yadam et keep going . A profound takeaway that the growth that we so badly crave and need . Hashem has put a million examples of them in the world and they're called trees . When you walk past it , re-notice them .

Let it be a reminder to you that Zaria Klita , building of Shuroshim and eventually Peros , the seeding , the absorption , the germination , the sprouting , the burrowing of roots . We grow the same way . Grow smartly , grow with foresight , put in the necessary

work early , keep banging on the job and keep beating on your craft and eventually , we too will have large standing cedars of Babylon , cedars of Lebanon , with deliciously plump fruits .

What an important lesson and fascinating takeaway from an unassuming Pasig about the laws of war Never forget , always remember and build smartly , because Ki Ha'adam Eitz Ha'Sadeh , man grows and stags like a tree .