Shabbos Parashas Shoftim - 5775

Shabbos Parashas Shoftim - 5775

Rabbi Hal Miller

You shall not plant for yourself an asheirah, any tree, near the Altar of Hashem your

G-d, that you shall make for yourself. [Devarim 16:21]

I love trees. I love forests. I want to build a wooden house. Am I doing something wrong?

I can understand the prohibition of planting a tree that was worshipped by the idolators.

We see that kind of commandment in many places, such as the prohibition of cutting

ourselves as a sign of mourning. The Torah wants to separate us from idolatrous

practices. But our verse says, "any tree".

A few chapters later, still in our parshah, the Torah tells us not to destroy trees as part of

a war, specifying that this applies to fruit trees [20:19-20]. In verse 19, it gives us a

confusing phrase. Literally translated, it says, "for the tree of the field is man", but Rashi

tells us to understand it as a question, "is the tree of the field a man?" Ibn Ezra says

that it means, "for the tree is man's life."

Why is the Torah teaching us about trees?

We can understand the later verses. In war, when we have need of resources, we may

use them, but with some restrictions. We may not use food trees as we will need them

later. We may not wantonly destroy trees merely to be antagonistic to the enemy we

already have surrounded in a besieged city. The lesson here is to think longer term,

not to waste resources now without regard to future impact. Use what you need, but do

not waste.

But why trees? Why "any tree"?

Certainly the literal wording of the verse "for the tree of the field is man" cries out for some

explanation. Rashi's question is that the tree is not an enemy. When you lay siege to

the people in the city, it is because you have reason to make war against them. Rashi

wants to know why we are making war against a tree, that it didn't do anything to qualify

as an enemy under the rules the Torah gives us for wars.

Ibn Ezra disagrees, and emphasizes the value of the tree as food, or in his words, "the

tree is man's life." Rav Hirsch expands this by explaining, "the life of man is only from

the tree."

Nechama Leibowitz delineates the difference between these views: "According to the first

explanation, the ordinance is inspired by compassion for whatever G-d has created...

According to the second explanation, the ordinance is motivated by considerations of

human welfare." She continues that these verses use the tree as "merely an example, a

prototype." We are being commanded not to destroy anything of benefit to mankind. This

does not mean that we are "precluded from making use of G-d's creations--indeed we

are bidden to subdue that which G-d has placed at our disposal. But it is wilfull destruction

of the gifts of nature that we are warned against."

It appears I can build my wooden house, and even plant trees around it. It appears that

I can help with reforestation of the world, in fact it may even be a Torah commandment

to do so. The two things I cannot do are to use anything, tree or otherwise, for idolatry; and

to waste resources, tree or otherwise. Now that the Shemittah year is nearing it's conclusion,

I am anxious to prepare for Tu b'Shevat.