Man is a Tree of the Field

Man is a Tree of the Field This is a verse that compares man to a tree of the field, a similarity mentioned many times in Kabbalah and Chassidus.

In Chassidus

In the holy Zohar, it explains that the nature of the root of a person's soul is like a tree "of that field which Hashem blessed," and this concept is explained in Chassidic texts and commentaries.

The Higher It Is, The Lower It Falls

The Alter Rebbe compares this to a fruit-bearing tree, which has fruits close to the ground and fruits high above. The fruits that are higher, despite being more elevated, when they fall due to wind uprooting them, they fall farther from the tree than those growing lower. Even when the lower fruits fall to the ground, they don't fall as far away. This is like the saying, "From a high roof to a deep pit," or "According to one's greatness was his downfall."

So it is regarding the fruits of the Tree of Life, which are souls. For Israel arose in thought, and the more elevated something is at its root, the greater its fall becomes after descent through sins and the like. Similarly, regarding the breaking of the vessels in the world of Tohu, the higher the source, the greater the fall. That is why the vegetative force gives strength and nourishes animals, and both together nourish humans.

For this reason, when a Torah scholar damages by not fulfilling mitzvos, his sin is greater than a practical transgression of "turn from evil." Consequently, his teshuvah in "do good" must also be greater.

In this way, the Baal Shem Tov said: If I were to take my mind off the Creator of the world for one moment, it would be worse than a simple person committing the sin of forbidden relations.

Similarly, man is compared to a tree of the field regarding "beating," meaning that if the light of Yiddishkeit doesn't enter him, a person must "beat" his yetzer hara, subjugate it, and humble it.

The Power of Growth in Man

Man is a tree of the field, as angels and humans are compared to trees of the field. Just as trees grow from smallness to greatness, starting small until becoming a great tree, so too with the angels above. Although the angel Michael, for example, is from the attribute of chesed and love, nevertheless, before he says song or before being sent on a mission, this attribute is in smallness. When they send him or when he says song, the love grows with powerful strength. Therefore, during his mission, an angel can call himself by the name of the one who sent him, as written "by Me I have sworn, says Hashem." That is, during the mission he is so nullified to the sender that his entire being is called by the name of the sender—his attributes have grown beyond what they were, like the growth of a plant.

So too is the parable of man to a tree of the field: the attributes in a person are compared to plants. Just as a growing tree grows from smallness to greatness, so too the attributes in a person before contemplating the Creator's greatness are small. When he contemplates and deepens his knowledge of the Creator's greatness, the attribute grows with powerful strength of love, even more intensely than before. However, the physical tree that is compared to the attributes of man and angels is only a parable for the aspect of love in angels and souls, but is not comparable at all, except like the comparison of a parable to the intellect.

Similarly, just as a tree constantly grows from its birth until reaching its complete growth, so too man grows from birth until age 20. This means the tzelem (divine image) in man—the inner minds symbolized by the letter tzaddi in tzelem—grows from formation in the mother's womb and then from birth. Physical growth depends on spiritual growth, which is why physical growth stops at age 20 when spiritual growth reaches completion (while the intellect of the lamed and mem of tzelem, which are encompassing intellects, do not affect the essential spiritual existence of the person, so this is not evident physically). Just as physical growth comes specifically through water, so too the spiritual growth of a person comes specifically through the five chasadim of Abba, which are the aspect of water that grows the child, meaning the power of wisdom within him.

Just as the power of growth is only revealed through the tree, so too Torah and mitzvos are only revealed and actualized through the person who fulfills them.

In the Future Era

In the future era, man will be in the aspect of "his wood and his fruit" being equal, because the tree is a metaphor for the body and the fruit for the soul. In the future era, the body will also feel G-dliness just like the soul (see entries Avnei Chefetz and Avnei Ekdach).

External Links

• Nitzutzei Rebbi, Behind the Parable of the Tree and Man - A collection of the Rebbe's statements, in the Hitkashrus weekly magazine, Erev Tu B'Shvat 5777