The Sara Litton z”l Monthly Emunah Essay | This Shvat 2025: We’re More Like Trees Than We Realized

In the month of Shvat, as the sap begins to rise in the trees and almond trees start to blossom, we often recall how we are likened to trees. Verses describe being rooted along a brook, yielding fruit in the proper season (Tehillim 1:3), for a person is likened to a fruit tree in the field (Devarim 20:19-20). Our Sages would bless one another to have saplings (offspring) like themselves (Rav Yitzchak in Taanit 5b).

This year, we have more insight into how similar we truly are to trees. The mental and emotional turmoil of our nation in the last year and a half has taken a toll on us all. Fittingly, we have some inspiration we can draw from nature.

 

The Way of Emunah

Blessed is one who trusts in Hashem, as a tree with deep roots who will not fear in times of drought (Yirmiyahu 17:7-8). It is our deep roots which connect us to our emunah, to our belief in The Creator, and seeing God’s Hand throughout the history of our people, even when things don’t make sense.

Agam Berger’s phone home screen had a message from Tehillim (119:30) which carried her through the unbelievably challenging, tormenting experience of being held captive by Hamas for 482 days. As many of us have seen, this was the message that she wrote on the white board in the helicopter upon finally returning home: I have chosen the path of emunah — דֶּרֶךְ אֱמוּנָה בָחָרְתִּי — and I return with the path of faith.

The Malbim aptly explains on the continuation of that verse that part of emunah is believing that ultimately, there is justice. Even when one observes an evildoer succeeding or a righteous person suffering and justice may not be readily evident, there is a broader picture that we are often not privy to understanding in this world. Let’s deepen our roots by learning our ancestors’ stories and the inspiring stories of Divine intervention in our times so we too can choose the path of emunah.

 

Side to Side and Upside Down

We all experience sadness and frustration occasionally; this is inherent to the human condition and in this challenging time, it’s even more prevalent. What can make these setbacks debilitating is having rigid expectations of the ideal outcome which we anticipate would resolve our emotional unrest. Learning to be a little flexible is how trees manage through a storm. By bending without breaking, trees can handle powerful winds. When we let go of trying to control others or circumstances out of our power, we can be better equipped to navigate the turbulent times.

A shift in mindset can also alleviate some of the pain of loneliness. Many people can relate to the experience of being in the presence of others yet feeling utterly alone. The Tree of Life is depicted in Kabbalah as an upside-down tree where the roots represent the divine Infinite Source (Ein Sof), and the trunk and branches symbolize the descending spiritual worlds filtered into a physical reality. Divine roots nourish our existence, and true sustenance comes from acknowledging that genuine spiritual connection. When suffering from pangs of loneliness, sometimes the greatest salve can be connecting more deeply to ourselves, and the Godly soul within. When we can truly feel Hashem’s Presence with us, the pain of loneliness can shift to empowering solitude. When we strengthen our  relationship with ourselves, conscious of what is and is not in our domain of control, we can be like strong trees with formidable and limber trunks, lightly swaying in the wind.

 

Survive and Thrive

A tree that loses a limb goes through a healing process where new growth is generated in different areas. This can be from intentional pruning or after a traumatic loss. The tree creates specialized cells to protect the wound and then redirects its energy to strengthen existing branches, eventually creating new growth elsewhere ensuring its survival and continued thriving.

So too, many precious people have learned to survive, adapt and thrive after losing a limb in the last year and a half. IDF soldier Ari Spitz has become an inspiring example of such resilience, working hard to rehabilitate and adapt to using prosthetics for both legs and a hand after suffering critical injury while serving in Gaza. Emily Damari, finally released after being cruelly abducted from her home in Kfar Azza on Oct. 7^th, has created a symbol of victory, love, and bravery with her now iconic left hand held up, missing two digits. These are only two examples of the many who are struggling with loss, going through emotional and physical healing, and learning to grow in new ways. Their astounding positive attitudes and focus on new goals exemplify this ability to survive and thrive.

 

Community Networks

Trees communicate and support each other in an amazing collaboration of mycorrhizal networks, where fungi have a symbiotic relationship with roots and help trees share water and nutrients as well as communicate distress signals. Beneath the surface of the soil, there is a profound labyrinth of connection and communication.

We are similarly deeply connected to one another whether we realize it or not. The spirit of Am Yisrael is rooted in the Living God; only the bodies are separated (Tanya Part I, 32:2). How many times have names of wounded, of hostages, or chayalim been whispered in prayer on the lips of a fellow Jew they’ve never met, thousands of miles away? The silent calls of distress reach our hearts from the darkest tunnels and an entire People longs to see everyone home. How much collaboration has happened to allow countless supplies of military gear and food to be transported to chayalim through the amazing networks in the Jewish people? The People of Israel are interconnected in heartfelt and significant ways.

 

Hope for the Future

As Tu B’Shvat approaches we can look around at the wintry trees that seem to have lost their luster and marvel at how they miraculously bring new life, color and energy to the world.

Watching our chayalim return from the trauma of war with a vigor for life is achingly beautiful.  Seeing those we’ve prayed for, our returned hostages, starving and tormented yet somehow able to  smile and show the world that they too miraculously want to bring new life, color and energy to the world is beyond words.

We hope for every Jew to walk tall and proud, as a noble enduring tree, to our land (Vayikra 26:13, komemiyut l’artzenu, see blessing keriyat Shema and Birkat Hamazon) and look forward to the day where all the trees of the forest will rejoice, for the world will know that Hashem is King and the world will be ruled through justice (Tehillim 96:10-13).