On the verse in Parshas Kedoshim (Vayikra 19:23): “When you come into the land and plant fruit trees,” Midrash Tanchuma (8) comments:
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Even though you find it full of all bounty, you shall not say, ‘Let us settle down and not plant.’ Rather, be careful in planting, as stated, ‘and plant any tree for food.’ Just as you came in and found plantings which others had planted, so you shall plant for your children.” … There is a story about the emperor Hadrian; that he was going to war … Now he found a certain old man who was planting fig saplings. Hadrian said to him, “You are an old man. [Why are you] persisting in taking the trouble to toil for others?” He said to Hadrian, “My lord king, here I am planting. If I am worthy, I shall eat of the fruit of my saplings; but if not, my children will eat.” [Hadrian] spent three years at war, and after three years he returned. What did that old man do? He took a fruit basket, filled it with the first fruits of beautiful figs, and drew near to Hadrian. He said to him, “My lord king, take these figs, for I am the same old man whom you found when you were on your way [to the war] when you said, ‘You are an old man; why are you taking the trouble to toil for others?’ See, the Holy One, blessed be He, has already found me worthy to eat some fruit from my saplings. Now this [fruit] in my fruit basket is your portion from those [saplings].” Hadrian said to his servants, “Take it from him and fill it with gold coins.” And so they did. … Therefore one should not cease from planting. Rather, just as he found [plantings], one should still continue to plant even though he is old. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Learn from Me. Do I need [fruits], as it were?” [And yet] it states (Gen. 2:8), “And the Lord G‑d planted a garden in Eden, in the east.”[2]
This Midrash teaches us a central principle of avodas Hashem concerning “planting” for the future, one which subdivides into two subthemes. A person does not live solely for himself and his own relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. As a result, firstly, he is charged to “plant the saplings” for his progeny’s spiritual and material success. This concept is reflected directly in the conversation between the old man and the Roman emperor. Secondly, since each individual is part of the greater collective of Klal Yisrael throughout the millennia of history, he is commanded “to sow the seeds” to further its collective destiny. In the Midrash’s story, the tree would certainly outlast even the old man’s children’s lifetimes as well and hence was planted for the distant future also.
Elaborating on the first subtheme, Mori v’Rabi Rav Mordechai Willig shlit”a related that when he was raising his children, all of whom b”H now have children of their own, he and his Rebbetzin tlit”a would continuously remind themselves during the time-consuming, often frustrating process of gidul banim, that chinuch is a long term project whose results can often only be seen years later. Similarly, I have heard from a noted mechaneich that parents and teachers should always keep in mind not just the immediate consequences of their actions involving their children and students but the long term effects on them as they visualize them in the future as productive adults, no longer children.[3] Indeed, a master of mussar and guidance, Rav Shlomo Wolbe zt”l, entitled his popular work on chinuch, “Zeri’a uBinyan b’Chinuch – Planting and Building in Education.” In it, he notes that sometimes a parent “builds” – imposing his viewpoints on the child oftentimes with immediate results. But most often and most productively the educator should attempt to “plant,” with the results only being seen years later, sometimes not even in the lifetime of the parent.
A particular halacha highlights the centrality of the second subtheme mentioned above. If a particular Sanhedrin ruled erroneously concerning a severe matter of Torah law and the majority of the Jewish people living in Eretz Yisrael followed them, then when the error is discovered, the Sanhedrin must offer a korban chatason behalf of the entire nation. The Gemara in Temura (15b) teaches us that even if the generation alive at the time of the sin and subsequent consecration of the korban all died, the next generation will still bring the korban in their stead. This is in contrast to the korban of an individual sinner which, when its owner dies, may not be brought by his children. The underlying principle of this ruling, stated by Rav Pappa, is “ein tzibbur meisim – the community never dies.” Mori v’Rabi Rav Aharon Kahn shlit”a once explained this halachic principle on a hashkafic plane as well. The Jewish people are one entity from the beginning of their inception until the end of time. Rav Soloveitchik zt”l was fond of the phrase used often by Ramban, “Knesses Yisrael,” the aggregate of all of Israel, a term implying that the Jewish people consist of much more than a group of individuals. I have heard that Kabbalistically this is rooted in a literal “national soul” of klal Yisrael, a part of which is in each individual Jew. The aforementioned Gemara underscores an additional dimension of Knesses Yisrael, namely, that the unity and stability of the Jewish people spans all generations as well.
The story is told that the Chafetz Chaim once worked diligently with his son-in-law on a particular halachic ruling recorded in his Mishna Berura for a number of weeks with considerable diligence and effort. His son-in-law asked his revered father-in-law, “Do you think that those who study these few lines in the future will realize how much effort we invested in writing them?” Rav Yisrael Meir responded with a story. “There once was a father and son who were laying tracks for the trans-Siberian railway. The son asked his father, ‘Father, do you think those riding the train in the future will think of all the back-breaking labor we exerted to enable their journey?’ The father sternly rebuked his son, ‘Son, it doesn’t matter! We work for the Czar!’” So too, the Chafetz Chaim taught his son-in-law, we work for the Melech malchei hamelachim; it makes no difference whether those who follow us realize how much we invested in this project. This sense of purpose and mission transcending one’s individual life has driven and continues to drive so many members of our nation.
Similarly, our traditions teach us that on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the sifrei chayim v’hameisim are opened; both the living and the deceased are judged (Rosh Hashana 32b). Why are the deceased judged again? Weren’t they already judged at the time of their death? Similarly, the Gemara in Rosh Hashana (16b) talks of the judgment of the Great Day of Judgment before the Resurrection leading to Olam Haba. Tosfos raise the problem of the need for an additional judgment since thesouls already had been judged at the time of their death. Rabbi Leff shlit”a answers that mitzvos and aveiros earn “dividends.” All the positive actions and chalila negative ones are like planted seeds which cause effects throughout subsequent years whether through one’s progeny, students, friends or the myriad other relationships in the complex interconnectedness of the world and its inhabitants. Hence, each year and again in the future, each soul will be rewarded for its positive actions that generated others and chalila the opposite.
An interesting story is told by Rabbi Paysach Krohn of an Orthodox shul in Texas which required significant funding to build its permanent center. An otherwise unaffiliated Jew unexpectedly donated generously to the cause. Upon the inquiry of the Rabbi as to what motivated his gift, he answered that he had seen a pious, traditional Jew praying at the Kotel and was very inspired by him. Inquiring of a religious acquaintance of his as to which synagogue that Jew might feel comfortable praying in in his hometown, he was told that would be the Orthodox shul. That led to the generous sum gifted to the synagogue. Rabbi Krohn writes that after 120 years of life of this pious individual, one could imagine his judgment in the Heavenly court. “And here is your considerable reward for all the hundreds of families across many years who prayed, learned and became better Jews in Texas because of you,” he is told. Incredulously, our hero responds, “Vos iz a Texas?” The effects of our actions on future generations can be formidable even without intent. Spiritual and physical projects started by idealistic individuals should never be avoided just because their initiators will not necessarily see the fruits – either literal or figurative – in their lifetimes. This sense of historical destiny is what motivated all the giants of our tradition and should motivate us throughout our lives.
We have just celebrated the 74th anniversary of the founding of the modern day State of Israel. Klal Yisrael certainly has much to be thankful for – primarily to the Master of History but also to his agents, both those classically shomrei Torah umitzvos and those unfortunately not yet so. Even a cursory study of the modern day return to Zion – starting with the stalwart attachment to the land of the relative handful of Jews living here throughout the period of the exile until today’s colossal blossoming of the yishuv to almost 7 million Jews (kein yirbu!) living in Eretz Hakodesh – is filled with narratives of those who, like our hero in the Midrash, “planted” – again either literally or figuratively – and did not just think of themselves but of future generations. The aliya of Rav Gershon Kitover, the brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov, and later Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk and many chassidim with them as well as the subsequent aliya of many students of the Vilna Gaon and their families, in the mid- to late 18th and early 19th centuries, were both filled with tremendous mesiras nefesh.[4] The later agricultural aliya of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was filled with stories of privation, illness and other setbacks. The terrorism that plagued the fledgling yishuv in the early 20th century led to even greater resolve to march onward in building up the yishuv physically and spiritually. What gave these pioneers such resolve to act so courageously? Apparently they all absorbed the message of our hero in the Midrash: “My lord king, here I am planting. If I am worthy, I shall eat of the fruit of my saplings; but if not, my children will eat.” We can substitute “my lord king” for “Malko shel olam – the true King of the World.” We all work for the Supreme Czar. The actions of these noble individuals at the time might have seemed small and insignificant but contemplation of their profound significance for future generations certainly must have served as additional incentive for the almost supernatural determination of these heroes.
May Hashem guide us to continuously act selflessly and with diligence realizing our connection to the collective of the Jewish people across time.
[1] See also Small Acts, Eternal Significance and The Enormous Effects of Human Action for additional explorations of the topics in this article.
[2] Translation by Rabbi Francis Nataf available at sefaria.org.il with minor changes.
[3] A telling story of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l illustrates this principle. When he visited a student of his whose son jumped on top of the table and was misbehaving, the embarrassed father slapped him mightily. Rav Yaakov commented that for wildness you don’t have to punish so harshly; the child will not act that way in the future anyway. Bad middos on the other hand are something to be more concerned about as they are likely to outlast childhood.
[4] See the introduction to Rav Yisrael of Shklov’s magnum opus, Pe’as Hashulchan, where he writes that he lost his first wife, four of his children and his son-in-law and he personally survived a building collapse after his aliya. Yet, he still sincerely praises the Almighty for the great merit to live in the nachalas Hashem. I am certain that his sense of sowing the spiritual infrastructure for future generations, both through his presence in the Holy Land and his major halachic work, gave him the fortitude to endure his tremendous personal hardship.