Tu B'Shvat: How the Fruits of the Land of Israel Comforted Rabbi Berlin

by Rav Netanel Yosifun, Rosh Yeshivat Orot Netanya, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

At the end of his life, the great Netziv of Volozhin – Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, Rosh Yeshivat Volozhin – was weak and ill, both physically and otherwise. The Russian authorities had ordered that secular studies be taught in the renowned Yeshiva for six hours a day (!), which was of course unacceptable to the Netziv, and so he closed down the institution. In addition, he and the other Yeshiva teachers were expelled from the area, and he was forced to wander from place to place.

The Netziv thereupon decided that he would move to Eretz Yisrael, his love for which was evident in all his many writings. This in fact gave him hope and happiness. However, his doctors ultimately forbade him from making the difficult trip, and he died in eastern Europe in August 1893.

But behold, several months before his death, a final ray of light and joy shined down upon him – directly from our Holy Land. His son Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan, president of the American Mizrachi movement, described this event as follows:

"It happened just before Pesach of 1893. The 'Carmel' store selling wine made in the Land of Israel had just opened. When my father came to Warsaw, Yaakov Brody [a founder of Rechovot and co-owner of Carmel] and the directors of Carmel sent him some bottles of wine. Despite his physical and spiritual suffering, his face shined with joy when he received the wine, and he said, 'Thanks to G-d that we have merited to have wine from Eretz Yisrael, from a vineyard planted by Jews in the Land of Israel. It is a great privilege for all of us to 'eat of its fruits and be satiated from its goodness' [as we recite in the blessing after grains and Land of Israel fruits]. Blessed is He Who has brought us to this day!

"He did not stop expressing his bliss at the fact that we were able to enjoy the fruits of Eretz Yisrael for several days, until it was no longer a novelty. And even though he was told that the wine was too strong for his physical state, he insisted on drinking the Land of Israel wine on both Seder nights. With every blessing that he recited over the Four Cups, his tremendous happiness was evident to all."

This coming week we will commemorate Tu B'Shvat (the 15^th day of the month of Shvat, commonly known as the Jewish New Year for Trees). This was the day that the students of the Arizal (Rav Yitzchak Luria of 16^th-century Tzfat) instituted as the day in which we connect with the special qualities of the Holy Land and its holy fruits. The Netziv was in fact one of a long line of great Torah giants who extolled at length of the virtues of the fruits of Eretz Yisrael.

The Ben Ish Chai (R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, master of Jewish Law and Kabbalah, d. 1909) wrote that enjoying the fruits of Eretz Yisrael is an aspect of the mitzvah of showing love for the Land. He was once asked whether it might be considered gluttonous to make a special trip of a few days simply to eat tasty fruits in a certain place in Eretz Yisrael. He answered by citing the Talmud (Eruvin 30a) that recounts the following incident by one of the rabbis:

"When we would follow R. Yochanan to eat of the [famously sweet] fruits of Ginosar [near Tiberias] – if we were 100 [people], each of us would take ten fruits, and if we were ten, each of us would take 100 – and each hundred of these fruits could not fit into a basket holding three se'ahs."

The Ben Ish Chai then concluded: "It is thus clearly stated that R. Yochanan and 100 sages did this, and this was the entire purpose of their trek, and certainly their intentions were for their love of the Land and for the sake of Heaven, to eat of its sweet and important fruits, and they were all righteous and holy … and since your intentions are the same, for the love of the Land and to thank G-d for the Land and its good fruits – go and eat in happiness.."

Lessons from the Manna

The Chessed L'Avraham wrote that the manna fell for the Israelites in the desert but not when they arrived in the Holy Land – because the Land had its own holy fruits which, like the manna, had the holiness of the Divine Presence. In other ways, too, the fruits of the Land are like the manna: Just like the manna changed forms in accordance with G-d's will, so too the fruits of the Land. Let us elaborate.

The manna was supposed to be eaten and not saved for the next day – and if it was left over until the morning, it would become wormy and foul-smelling. On the Sabbath, however, it would remain fresh and tasty, just as the manna which G-d commanded us to save in a jar in the Holy of Holies for future generations. In addition, on weekdays, the manna maintained a fixed dosage of an omer per person, whereas on Shabbat, the manna doubled its quantity, even for those who gathered less.

During the week, everything is contracted, both in time (shorter "shelf life" for the manna) and in quantity. This is in contrast with the holy day of Sabbath, when the time for eating manna is increased, as is the quantity – just as spirituality expands infinitely, in contrast with the limitations of materialism. The manna thus taught that one receives in proportion to his ties with G-d's word and with sanctity.

The same is true in Eretz Yisrael, and particularly regarding its holy fruits. The Torah promises us abundance and long life in the Land if we adhere to G-d's word, for that is what the Land of Israel is all about: the manifestation of G-d's word in our material reality, and that following His word brings economic and practical success. As we read in the second paragraph of Kriat Shma: "If you adhere to My commandments… You will gather in your grain, oil and wine [in abundance]… [all this] so that you and your children will live long on the Land that G-d swore to give your ancestors" (D'varim 11, 13-21).

How fortunate are we that we have merited to live in the Holy Land, and that we can eat of its fruits. This Tu B'Shvat - and every Tu B'Shvat - let us eat from the holy fruits of this Land, let us thank G-d for all the goodness He showers upon us, and with this we will merit to rise up and connect with the holiness of the Divine Presence that is being revealed in our Land!