‘He passed away because of cutting down a fig tree’: The similarity between people and trees in Jewish symbolism, mysticism and halakhic practice

Abraham Ofir Shemesh

doi:10.4102/hts.v76i4.5998

Abstract

Comparing people to trees is a customary and common practice in Jewish tradition. The current article examines the roots and the development of the image of people as trees in Jewish sources, from biblical times to recent generations (Bible, classical rabbinical literature, medieval to modern rabbinic literature and popular culture), as related to the prohibition against destroying fruit trees. The similarity between humans and trees in the Jewish religion and culture was firstly suggested in biblical literature as a conceptual-symbolic element. However, since the Amoraic period (3rd–5th centuries CE), this similarity was transformed to a resemblance bearing mystical and Halakhic (Jewish Law) implications. Various sources in rabbinical literature describe trees as humans that may be spoken to or yelled at to produce fruit. Cutting down a tree was perceived by the rabbis of the Talmud (3rd–5th centuries CE) not only as an unethical act or vandalism, but also as a hazard: the death of the tree corresponds to the death of the person who resembles it. All societies, cultures and religions have a system of values and practices that are aimed at shaping people, society and the environment according to a certain worldview.Contribution: The discussion in this article on the relationship between religion-culture and nature (plants) indicates how the Jewish religion shaped believers’ attitude to the world of flora over the generations by transforming the man-tree comparison into one with binding and even threatening practical religious meaning.

Highlights

Jewish sources (Bible, Talmud and rabbinic law) include a considerable number of references to ecological issues, such as environmental concerns, organising the urban and agricultural environment as a convenient functional living space for humans, removing hazards from the urban space and others
This article focused on presenting the religious-ecological prohibition against cutting down trees as a practical manifestation of the tree–human similarity
New research directions were revealed, indicating embodiment of the human–plant similarity, marriage and fertility customs documented in Jewish literature from the Mishna and Talmud period and so on

Summary

Introduction

Jewish sources (Bible, Talmud and rabbinic law) include a considerable number of references to ecological issues, such as environmental concerns (protecting natural vegetation from excessive grazing), organising the urban and agricultural environment as a convenient functional living space for humans, removing hazards from the urban space and others (see, e.g., Freudenstien 1970; Gerstenfeld 1998; Har Shefer 1994; Rakover 1993; Seidenberg 2015; Shemesh 2018a; Tirosh-Samuelson 2002; Zichel 1990). Rabbi Bacharach determines that if there is a need to cut down the tree, it is not considered destruction, for example, if the tree is detrimental to the growth of a more important fruit tree (following the approach of the Maimonides above), all the more so when the crown prevents the entrance of light or blocks the window In any case, he says that it is preferable to trim the tree’s branches from time to time, despite the problem involved, rather than to cut down the entire tree, as cutting down a tree is a biblical prohibition and a hazardous act (Bacharach 1896:siman 195). To reconnect the soul with the body, the Ba’al Shem Tov recommended ‘attaching’ the candle to the tree and reviving the sick human’s life

Summary and discussion

Conclusion

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