Like a Tree, A Student of Life Should Always Be Growing

There is a Mishna in Pirkei Avot (3:9) that is difficult to understand, especially in light of our celebration earlier this Shabbat of Tu B’Shevat:

“Rabbi Yaakov said, ‘One who is walking on his way and is learning Torah and breaks off his study to exclaim, ‘How beautiful is this tree!’ or ‘How fine is that field!’ is regarded as if he has sinned against his soul.”

We all know that Bitul Torah, wasting time from learning Torah, is a sin that should be avoided. But what’s so wrong with “stopping to smell the roses”? What is the big problem with appreciating G-d’s natural world?

            

An answer is suggested in the name of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. The mistake that R’ Yaakov is speaking about is that the person feels that in order to appreciate nature, he must break from his studies. He does not realize that appreciating the world around him is a fulfillment of getting to know G-d, just like learning Torah is. According to this approach it wasn’t what the person did that was so terrible, rather it was his attitude. He did not realize that “stopping to smell the roses” and appreciating nature, can- and must- be part of our religious identity and our relationship with Hashem.

            

Rabbi Yaakov is teaching us that no matter what we are doing, we must never consider it as a ‘break” from our Torah study/ Avodat Hashem (service to G-d). Everything that we do should be viewed as spiritually uplifting and an element of our religious life.

Let us emulate trees. Just as the tree is constantly growing, let us resolve to find opportunities for growth in everything that we do and every situation in which we find ourselves.