The Seeds of Success
One of my favorite and most inspiring lessons has always been from the holiday of Tu B’Shvat. Nowadays, Tu B’Shvat has become a simple celebration of and appreciation for nature, which is of course important, but it misses the point of why it is that we celebrate this holiday in what seems to be more winter-like weather. Wouldn’t it be more natural to celebrate the beauty and brilliance of nature in the middle of a warm, sunny summer day? Within the answer lies the key to unlocking the power of one’s potential and success in any endeavour, and especially the important ones.
True, the summer is a beautiful time of year to appreciate nature, as trees, flowers and grass are bursting with abundant colour and beauty, but in reality the growth that we see in front of us only exists because of the work that was done beneath the ground months before. The strength of a tree is determined by the strength of its roots and the fruit that is so sweet exists only because of the toil and tending that went into cultivating it.
I was thinking that this is definitely true on communal level, as the success of a community is because of all of the effort and the hours that are dedicated by people that often go unnoticed.
Nowhere do we see this as clearly as in this week’s parsha, Beshalach. Bnai Yisrael leave Egypt to begin their journey toward nationhood but are stopped at the banks of the Yam Suf and begin to panic. Our Sages teach that one man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, trusting that Hashem had not brought them this far only to abandon them at the last moment, walked into the sea all the way up to his neck, and only then did the waters part, enabling the rest of the nation to safely cross. The potential was there, waiting for someone to actualize it. The beginning of a nation had begun to sprout.
May this year’s Tu B’Shvat inspire us all to plant the necessary seeds to see the growth that we all want to see in the year ahead!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Lipner