Roots and Wings

Dear Friends,

The first commandment that God gave to the Israelites, according to the biblical story, was to establish a new calendar. A calendar is a symbol of independence, the ability to set one’s own schedule and live by one’s own rules. For the ancient Israelites, those rules were the Torah; for the modern State of Israel, they were shaped by democratic institutions, foremost among them the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, which was established on Tu Bishvat, the holiday celebrated this Monday, in 1949.

When the State of Israel was founded nearly 78 years ago, it was clear that systems needed to be created. The state was in a period of growth, and institutions were built to support a developing society. Tu Bishvat, which has come to be known as the holiday of the trees, is also a time that symbolizes growth.

Growth begins with planting roots. Those roots may take the form of the legal foundations of the Knesset or the trees many people plant on Tu Bishvat. Roots grow deep into the ground and often encounter obstacles that challenge progress. Yet it is precisely those roots that ground the tree, the individual, and the community. Without them, growth cannot be sustained.

Beyond laws and institutions, a society is also built through culture. Culture connects people to the land, physically through agriculture and settlement, and spiritually through language, stories, music, and shared memory. Just as trees draw nourishment from the soil, a society draws strength from its cultural roots. Culture also allows for expression, imagination, and renewal, helping a community grow upward and outward.

The Israeli author Amnon Shamosh captured this balance between stability and freedom, between belonging and aspiration, in his poem about roots and wings.

So, on this Tu Bishvat, we are reminded how important the systems that build our society truly are, how vital our connection is to the past, and how essential it is to find our wings.

Roots and Wings 

by Amnon Shamosh

I want to be a person both with roots and with wings.

Why should one give​up the roots, if his heart desires wings?…

The roots are missing so much when they are stuck deep

in the ground, and cannot fly and see the tremendous top of the tree that

they are part of, and the great forest that the whole tree is partof.

And the birds on the tree, who are lucky to have wings, are missing the

grip on the ground, and their nests are dependent on the mercy of the

storm, and the strength of the tree under whose wings they take shelter.

Therefore, I concluded, when I grow up I want to be a man with roots and wings.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Moriah SimonHazani