Today is the 15th day of Shebat , 5771
But then comes Tu B’Shvat. In the midst of the cold winter days, when all vegetation seems frozen or dead, the sap of the tree starts to flow beneath the surface bark. Rising slowly from roots buried in the hardened soil, the sap pushes its way up, pumping new life into outstretched branches that reach towards the heavens.
In life, we too often go through cycles of growth. Periods of renewal and growth may alternate with times of stagnation or dormancy. Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe cites that this cycle is part of man’s nature. He adds that a person must not become disillusioned when spiritual growth seems halted; the “low” period will usually be followed by a “high” period that will yield new opportunities for growth.
That is the message of Tu B’Shvat: Even when we feel lethargic, and seem to have lost the drive to achieve, we must not despair. Just as winter is an annual pause in the life-cycle of trees, so periods of lethargy and unproductivity are necessary phases in the human cycle. Just as with the coming of spring, life-giving sap moves imperceptibly through the trees to branches stretching to the sky, so we too will have renewed energy from deep within our spiritual reservoirs, so long as we set our goal heavenward.
Planting trees in Israel is one of the best ways to celebrate the 15th of Shebat!
Click here for more information http://support.jnf.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1020&pxfid=3211
Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024
