“But as much as they would afflict it, so it would increase” (Shemot 1:12)
Harav Avraham Horowitz zt”l once related that he planted an aravah tree in his backyard, and each year the Steipler Gaon zt”l would come and cut down aravot from the tree for his lulab.
The Malicious Not Observant Neighbor
One of his neighbors was a person who was not observant of Torah and misvot. The sight of the aravah tree bothered him, and he decided to destroy it. He proceeded to dig a pit from his property all the way to the roots of the tree. Then he poured kerosene into the pit, intending to kill the tree. When the Steipler Gaon arrived to take aravot that year, Harav Horowitz told him what had happened. The Steipler Gaon went to inspect the tree and sensed the strong odor of kerosene emanating from it. He turned to Harav Horowitz and said, “This tree bears misvot, and as much as they try to afflict it, so it will burst forth. It will grow in the kerosene even better than it would grow in water.”
The Damaged Tree Flourished
Indeed, the tree grew abundantly. It sprouted numerous branches, and each branch grew many aravot. The neighbor became infuriated and poured more and more kerosene into the ground. The more kerosene he poured, the larger the tree grew. Soon its branches shaded the street, and its height surpassed that of the house, to the point that it became necessary to go up to the roof to cut down the aravot. The sheer quantity of aravot was amazing. Many Jews from various locations flocked to get aravot from this wondrous tree. As so with the Jews in Egypt, the more the Egyptians afflicted us, the more we grew. And so it will be in our time, Amen.
Reprinted from the Parshat Shemot 5786 email of Rabbi David Bibi’s Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace.
