I am very happy that my first address after a long silence [I had suffered a serious injury to my vocal cords on account of a botched intubation] is devoted to welcoming you as a full-fledged member of the community of Israel, and although my message may not be as long or as loud as others you may have heard, it is no less warm and cordial.
A week ago we celebrated the New Year for Trees, the time when, in our tradition, the trees begin to prepare themselves to burst into new life in a few months time. It is a comforting thought during the winter to realise that spring is not far off, and once again the trees will put forth their beautiful leaves and fruit. In Jewish tradition, it is a fine thing to plant a tree, for a tree helps to prevent the soil being blown away by the wind, and burned up by the sun. It gives shelter and food, and is beautiful to look at.
Last week I read an item in the newspaper concern trees which saddened me. Some merchants in a small community in New York State were annoyed by starlings that used to gather in the sycamore trees in their main shopping street. So they had the trees chopped down. Suddenly the people realised that their main street, which had once been beautified, and kept cool too, by fine trees, looked like any other main street. And they did not even get rid of the starlings, which now congregate on the rooftops a few feet from their former homes. It probably took many years for those trees to grow, yet they were destroyed in a day to no one's benefit, and to the regret of many who had enjoyed them.
The Torah, which is the key to the Jewish way of life, is compared to a tree. It is called a tree of life to those who hold fast to it. Like a tree it is beautiful. Like a tree, it gives shelter. Like a tree, it gives food and sustenance to the weary soul. Like a tree, it has grown over the years, lovingly tended by the poets and philosophers and religious spirits of our faith. You could be like the man with the ax, and chop the Torah our of your life the minute you leave the synagogue. Some do, I'm afraid. But I am sure that you will want to follow in the footsteps of your forbears by tnding this tree of life, by practicing Judaism and helping it grow ever stronger.
This portion, which is your bar mitzvah portion, is the heart of the tree of life, for it contains the Ten Commandments.Exodus 20. They are not the whole of the Torah, but they are an important part of it, and your attention to them puts you a long way on the path of being a good Jew. And this, I am sure, is the only reward that your parents and your loved ones ask in return for the affection that they have showered upon you. May the Almighty be with you in all that you do, and prosper you in all your ways.
The author of this page is:
Alan D. Corré