{"id":12250,"date":"2026-07-13T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12250"},"modified":"2026-08-05T15:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:15:12","slug":"17-13-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-01\/","title":{"rendered":"01. The Proper Attitude Toward Fruit Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"direction: ltr\">Fruit trees hold a special place in halakha and in Jewish thought. Anyone who plants fruit trees to increase the world\u2019s food supply becomes God\u2019s partner in creating and sustaining the world, as it says, \u201cThe Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east\u201d (Bereishit 2:8). Thus, when the people of Israel enter the Land, they too are called to follow God\u2019s ways and plant fruit trees, as it says, \u201cWhen you enter the land and plant any tree for food\u201d (Vayikra 19:23; <em>Vayikra Rabba<\/em> 25:3). Planting fruit trees is also included in the mitzva of settling the Land (<em>\u1e24atam Sofer<\/em>, <em>Sukka<\/em> 36a). Today, this mitzva is fulfilled primarily by farmers who plant orchards, since the benefit of fruit trees in private gardens is small compared to the fruit grown in orchards for the Jewish people at large.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">A person is compared to a fruit tree, as it says: \u201cFor man is a tree of the field\u201d (Devarim 20:19). Unlike shrubs, which grow quickly and reach their peak within a short time, trees grow slowly, and only after reaching maturity do they produce fruit. So too, a person\u2019s development is relatively slow compared to that of other living creatures, and only after reaching maturity can he produce fruit and become a partner in sustaining and developing the world. This purpose-oriented ideal is especially evident in fruit trees: although they are generally less beautiful, they do not grow for their own sake; their purpose is to produce fruit that nourishes people and animals. A properly developed person should likewise strive to resemble a fruit tree \u2014 sharing his goodness with those around him \u2014 rather than living only for himself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">God also taught us to treat fruit trees with proper respect. Even for the Mishkan, God commanded that acacia wood be used \u2014 from a non-fruit-bearing tree \u2014 teaching how carefully one must treat fruit trees (<em>Shemot Rabba<\/em> 35:2; <em>Tan\u1e25uma<\/em>, <em>Vayakhel<\/em> 9).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">The general prohibition of <em>bal tash\u1e25it<\/em> derives from the prohibition against destroying fruit trees. A fruit tree is the clearest example of something valuable, for it is a source of blessing, producing fruit that sustains and gladdens. Therefore, the Sages said that when a fruit tree is uprooted unlawfully, sorrow is stirred in the world, and the voice of the tree travels from one end of the world to the other, though its voice is not heard (<em>Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer<\/em> 34). Thus, the Torah gave fruit trees a voice and commanded that they not be destroyed. Human history teaches the same lesson: when conquerors destroyed the fruit trees and irrigation systems of conquered lands, history demonstrates they later caused famine and suffering for millions of people. Similarly, modern society must treat natural resources and all the systems that sustain life with respect, caution, and responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fruit trees hold a special place in halakha and in Jewish thought. Anyone who plants fruit trees to increase the world\u2019s food supply becomes God\u2019s partner in creating and sustaining the world, as it says, \u201cThe Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east\u201d (Bereishit 2:8). Thus, when the people of Israel enter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[234],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-13"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>01. 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Thus, when the people of Israel enter [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-01\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T21:01:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T12:15:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-01\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-01\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7866b763cf3f205e4ae075eebce0d674\"},\"headline\":\"01. 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