Parsha:

Shoftim 

Description

Can you imagine a landscape without trees! Can you imagine a world without the fruits of trees! No shade from the hot, summer sun? No cleaning of the air through the process of photosynthesis. No apples, no peaches, no oranges! Trees are - and represent - such a central reality in the world that throughout the Torah "trees" are referred to in the singular, etz. Just as the tree is singular, so too the man. Both are sources of blessing and of potential benefit to society. Both created singular. Both are too often violently cut down.