Tu B’Shevat and Character

By JOSEPH H. PROUSER

In Sequoia National Park stands a tree named Lincoln, honoring the sixteenth President of the United States.  256 feet tall and believed to be the fourth tallest tree in the world, Lincoln is an apt symbol for our celebration of Tu B’Shevat. That “New Year of the Trees” begins this Wednesday evening, February 12… Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

Abraham Lincoln speaks to us this Tu B’Shevat:

 “A man watches his pear-tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap.”

“Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

Addressing the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Lincoln Centennial Celebration (February 11, 1909), Solomon Schechter offered this memorial tribute:

“No religious hero ever entered upon his mission to conquer the world for an idea or creed with more reverence and a deeper feeling of the need for divine assistance than did Lincoln…. We may be grateful to God for having given us such a great soul.”

This Tu B’Shevat, may God implant patience and character within the hearts of all our nation’s leaders.

Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the editor of “Masorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.” The latest edition of Masorti was published online in December of 2024. A subscription is $18 per annum.