garden of eden

Trees Are Us

Trees Are Us

In the first mishnah of tractate Rosh HaShanah, the School of Hillel asserts that the “New Year” for trees is on the 15 th day of the month of Shvat. The significance of this date is to determine when the year begins for assessing the tithes and other agricultural obligations for fruit trees. Basing themselves upon the famous Biblical passage that “man is like the tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19), Chassidic masters suggest that this day also has a Rosh HaShanah significance for humans as w
garden of eden
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Mitzvot and Spirituality

Mitzvot and Spirituality

Let's take a second and analyze the first humans, Adam and Eve, when they were in the Garden of Eden. Their bodies were a mirror of their souls. Indeed, there was no need to cover up such a pure innocent expression of spirituality — God's image illuminating a human being. However, once evil was assimilated into man, the body came to represent something adversarial to the soul. Looking at the body could now distract the observer from focusing on his or her internal being and instead focus exclus
adam and eve garden of eden
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz