Tu BiShvat, the New Year for Trees, seems to be a celebration of nature alone—a day marking the renewal of trees and their fruits. However, it is written, “For man is like the tree of the field.” If so, Tu BiShvat is also a celebration of human renewal—or more precisely, the renewal of the tree within us humans—the aspect of humanity that is “tree-like.”
In what way can a person be likened to a tree. Is it really possible to compare our own growth with that of a tree?
Two Dimensions of Growth
At first glance, the animal kingdom seems much closer to us than the plant kingdom. Yet in one crucial respect, plants are more like humans than animals: while animals live horizontally—walking on all fours, crawling, or swimming—plants and humans both stand vertically, rising upwards.
Our upright posture is not a trivial aspect of our existence; it plays a profound role in shaping our consciousness and self-perception. We live by “ladders of success,” “scales of growth,” and “hierarchies of competence.” We distinguish between “lowbrow,” “middlebrow,” and “highbrow” cultures. We fear “falling down” the social ladder, and aspire to “rise up” in status, achievement, or self-fulfillment. Even our language and metaphors include references to our posture: “reaching new heights,” “elevating our perspective,” or “climbing to the top,” all these and others reflect the deep-seated vertical orientation in how we perceive the world.
These qualities, of course, do not exist in plants. But their upright form, the fact that they relentlessly strive upward, serve as an earthly, botanical reflection of these human aspirations. The tree of the field, with its patience and perseverance as it grows upward and stretches its branches outward, illustrates the human drive for constant growth.
The simple, straightforward way to compare human beings to trees is by imagining us as “growing” upwards from the ground. Like trees we are provided with physical sustenance from the earth, and like them we ascend upward to lofty realms of thought and spirituality. However, this image can and should be complemented by a parallel, second dimension of growth: envisioning a person as an inverted tree whose roots are in the heavens and whose branches descend downward toward the earth.
When comparing humanity to trees, it is the latter image that should be central in our mind. After all, we are more than mere trees. We are not merely trees but human beings, defined by the soul we possess and the consciousness of our minds. While the first comparison highlights our physical growth, the second illustrates our spiritual growth. We draw inspiration from a higher source and bear fruit down here on earth. This reversal of the tree metaphor thus enables us to compare humans to trees while simultaneously maintaining the essential distinction between them.
Trees and Man: A Comparative Anatomy
The parts of a tree can be categorized in various ways. The Kabbalistic approach divides the tree into four primary components: roots, trunk, branches, and fruits. The roots are hidden beneath the ground wherefrom they draw essential nutrients; the trunk forms the main body of the tree and supports its upward growth; the branches spread out to the sides, producing leaves (which complement the tree’s nourishment through photosynthesis); and finally, many trees produce edible fruits that provide nutrition to other life forms.
When drawing a comparison between these parts of the tree and the parts of a human being, we rely on an intermediary model. In Kabbalah, the fundamental framework for structures with four elements is the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable Four-Letter Name of God (י־הוה), referred to as HaShem or Havayah. The Tetragrammaton as a model is particularly fitting here: since humanity is described as being created in the image of God, it is appropriate to describe human anatomy in correspondence with the letters of His Name.
When employing the Tetragrammaton as a model, it is written from the top down and divided into two halves. The first two letters, yud and hei (י־ה), a holy name of God in itself, represent the higher and hidden aspect of the model, while the last two letters, vav and hei (ו־ה) represent its mundane and revealed aspect. This division reflects the verse, “The hidden things belong to Havayah, our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children.” When combining this framework with the parts of the inverted tree mentioned earlier, the following structure emerges:
letter of Havayahpart of treeי – yudrootsה – heitrunkו – vavbranchesה – heifruitsLet us now examine how each part of the tree corresponds to a stage in a person’s spiritual growth.
Roots
The first and loftiest level of a person’s spiritual growth is the root of their soul. Just as the tree draws its life force from the earth, so too does a person draw vitality and inspiration from their soul’s spiritual source. In addition, just as the tree’s roots are hidden from sight, so too the soul’s root is invisible and intangible, existing beyond the realm of perception—not beneath the earth, but metaphorically planted above the heavens, in the “soil” of Godliness, as it were.
In the Tetragrammaton, the letter that corresponds to the roots is yud (י), the only letter in the Hebrew alphabet whose form is similar in shape to a point, and the only one that appears as though suspended in midair. These traits reflect the fact that at the level of the soul’s root, a person’s individuality is no more than a tiny, undeveloped seed—a kernel containing all their abilities and traits in potential form.
Trunk
When the soul’s root sprouts, grows, and thickens, it becomes the trunk. In our metaphor, the trunk represents a well-developed personality. It draws nourishment from the root but expands it in ever-widening circles—like a new ring added to the tree’s trunk each year. This expansion ultimately transforms the root from a mere point-like beginning into a fully formed voluminous existence.
In the Tetragrammaton, the trunk corresponds to the first hei (ה). Together, the pair of letters yud-hei represent, respectively, the “mind” and “heart” of the entire model or, in Kabbalistic terminology, the sefirot of wisdom (chochmah) and understanding (binah). The root of the tree corresponds to the “mind,” meaning that at this stage, the soul is still an abstract idea, a vision of a person yet to be realized. The trunk, as the “heart,” introduces life and emotion into the soul’s initial vision, developing it into a complex and complete being.
Branches
The first two stages, primarily the root but also the trunk, reflect the inner maturation of a person in their private, hidden world. The point where the individual begins to truly manifest outwards is when they begin to extend their branches, so to speak, reaching out from their inner realm and connecting to the outside world.
Branching out is expressed through traveling to different places, experiencing various aspects of life, and forming relationships with others. The goal of branching out is primarily to take in new experiences and learn from them. Likewise, the tree’s leaves, as mentioned, synthesize light into energy through photosynthesis—a process that mirrors how a human receives abundance from the material world and internalizes it into his or her personality.
This stage corresponds to the letter vav (ו) whose elongated shape symbolizes the linear direction of the extending branches and the soul’s further descent into the material world.
Fruits
The final stage in the soul’s growth and descent into reality is producing fruit to share with the world. The fruits primarily take the form of mitzvot (commandments) and good deeds, which nourish and enrich society and the environment. This is the loftiest purpose of the soul: to descend to the material realm and nourish it through the metaphoric fruit it bears.
This element of the tree in the human is represented by the second hei (ה) of the Tetragrammaton—the same letter that previously symbolized the trunk and a fully developed personality. Indeed, a person’s fruits are like concentrated capsules of their personality, through which they spread their unique spiritual seed and inspire others.
Unlike the pair of yud and the upper hei, which form a complete holy Name on their own, the connection between vav and the lower hei is looser, reflecting the ability to separate the fruits and share them with others.
In summary,
Lettertree partspiritual growthי – yudrootsthe essence of the soul’s pointה – heitrunkexpansion into a full personalityו – vavbranchesself-realization through engagement with the worldה – heifruitsmitzvot and good deeds shared with othersTu BiShvat – Reconnecting to the Root
Due to the gap between the hidden levels of the soul (the roots and trunk) and the revealed levels (the branches and fruits), we often succumb to the negative tendency to sever the connection between them. We extend our branches into the world, experience various encounters and activities, and produce many fruits in the form of words we utter, actions we perform, works of art we produce, and more. Yet frequently—perhaps even in most cases—these expressions lack the unique and profound vitality of the roots and trunk of our soul. In doing so, we sever our own branches and fruits from our trunk and roots.
From the human perspective, the deeper, inner purpose of Tu BiShvat is to replant ourselves in our spiritual soil, to infuse the hidden essence of our being into our revealed lives. This is beautifully reflected in the very date of Tu BiShvat—the 15th day of the 11th month (counting from Nissan, the first month according to the Torah). Remarkably, the number of the day, 15, equals to the numerical value of the pair of letters yud and hei, (י־ה), while the number of the month, 11, equals vav and hei (וה)! Thus, Tu BiShvat is the only date in the year whose meaning is literally yud-hei within vav-hei!
This idea signifies the infusion of the hidden realms into the revealed ones. On Tu BiShvat, we are called to restore our worthiness to be compared to the tree of the field—whose external fruits directly derive from its deepest roots.
