JANUARY 13 • 2022 | 35

authorities, he and his son
Eliezer hid in a cave with a
stream and a carob tree, pro-
viding all their needs for years
(Talmud Shabbat 33b).
The Mishnah treats the
carob as a tree that produces
food for humans (Peah 1:5 and
elsewhere) although much of
the crop was used for animal
fodder. Rabbinic literature uses
the expression “eating carob”
to mean “living in poverty”
(Lev. Rabbah 13:4).
An old man planting carob
trees appears in several rab-
binic stories (Rabbi Burton
Visotsky counts at least eight
versions). In rabbinic litera-
ture, the carob famously takes
years to reach maturity. In one
version, the Roman emperor
challenges the old man, “Will
you live to eat the fruit of
these trees?” And the old man
responds, “Early or late, I do
what pleases my Master in
Heaven.
” The emperor mock-
ingly offers the man a basket
of gold if he lives to bring
the fruit to the palace. Many
years later, the man brings the
fruit, and the emperor gives
him a basket of gold (Leviticus
Rabbah 25:5).
In a parallel story, early
scholar Honi challenges the
old man, who says, “I found
carob trees in the world; as my
forefathers planted these for
me, I, too, plant these for my
children.
” (Talmud Taanit 23a).

Author Miriam Feinberg
Vamosh notes a grove of carob
trees grows at Yad Vashem,
which honors the memory of
“righteous gentiles,
” those who
heroically saved the lives of
Jews during the Holocaust, by
planting carob trees in memo-
ry of each hero. Vamosh won-
dered, “Why carob trees?”
She found her answer when
a guide at the Rothschild
Gardens in Zichron Ya’akov
explained why the carob trees
in that garden bear no fruit.
The Rothschild Gardens car-
obs get too much water, the
guide said: “Because we water
the lawns regularly, the carobs
get too much water and they
don’t bear fruit — carobs only
bear fruit under stress, where
no other fruit will grow.
”
Vamosh writes, “Right then
and there, I connected to the
Yad Vashem carobs: They
symbolize the people who
‘bore fruit’ in a desert of evil
and immorality.
”
So, on Tu b’Shevat, we can
celebrate the coming of spring
and our connection to the
land of Israel by eating olives,
pomegranates and dates, and
drinking wines, but perhaps
we might also want to chew on
a carob fruit.

Louis Finkelman is a professor

at Lawrence Tech and a rabbi at

Congregation Or Chadash in Oak

Park.

Lessons In Trust
T

his Torah portion covers
the seven-week period
between the departure of
the Jews from Egypt and receiv-
ing the Torah at Mount Sinai.
This was a critical time,
which included the splitting
of the Red Sea. In fact, this
Shabbat is called Shabbat Shira,
the Sabbath of Song, which
commemorates the
“
Az Yashir,
” which was
sung by the Jewish
people when the sea
engulfed the Egyptian
army and obliterated
them.
The text relates that
at that moment the
Jews “believed in God
and in Moses His ser-
vant” (Exodus 14:31).
The Talmud explains
that they reached an
awareness of God that enabled
them to point to and identify a
particular lofty level of Divinity.
The Torah portion also
reveals some weaknesses in
their response to stressful situa-
tions. When the Egyptians tried
to crush them at the Red Sea
or when they were in desperate
need of water and food, the
response was one of fear and
complaint.
Although they had witnessed
the miracles of the plagues and
the other wonders, bad habits
persist; as slaves in Egypt, they
had gotten used to complaining.
The Torah portion describes
the miraculous food known as
the manna. They were never
given more than a one-day
supply (except for Fridays when
they received a two-day supply,
for Friday and Shabbat; thus,
they would not have to work on
the Sabbath to gather it). This
was not an easy test: Would

they put their trust in God and
not worry about the next day
or would they live lives of fear,
always worrying about tomor-
row?
The final section of
Beshallach details the battle
with the nation of Amalek. In
describing this, the Torah uses
the Hebrew phrase asher kor-
cha baderech, which means
literally “they met you on
your way out of Egypt”
(Deuteronomy 25:18). The
Chasidic masters interpret
korcha to mean “cooled you
off.
” The Jews came out of
Egypt all fired up. They were
on their way to Mount Sinai
to receive the greatest gift
in God’s treasure chest, the
Holy Torah. Then Amalek
attacked with the purpose
of trying to extinguish their
excitement. The battle against
Amalek continues forever, as
there is a personal Amalek with-
in each one of us that attempts
to throw cold water over the
soul’s natural desire to have a
love affair with the Almighty.
Despite the complaints the
people expressed on a number
of occasions, the prophet says in
the name of God, “I remember
the kindness of your youth, your
following Me into the desert”
(Jeremiah 2:2) On the whole,
God gives us a good grade for
our behavior in the desert.
This Shabbat of Song is a
time to nurture and express our
excitement about the special
relationship we enjoy with the
Almighty as chosen people,
thereby dealing a defeat to our
internal Amalek.

Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg is a rabbi

at Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center

in West Bloomfield.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi
Elimelech
Silberberg

Parshat

Beshallach:

Exodus

13:17-17:16;

Judges

4:4-5:31.