Some qualities of a tsaddik, a righteous person TB Baba Batra 80

 Today’s daf TB Baba Batra 80 talks about tree farming, also known as arboriculture which is the cultivation of trees for timber production.

“The mishna teaches: If one buys olive trees for felling, he must leave two shoots from the tree. The Sages taught: One who buys a tree from another for felling must cut the tree one handbreadth above the ground, to allow the tree to grow again. In the case of an untrimmed sycamore, he must cut the tree a minimum of three handbreadths above the ground, and with regard to a large sycamore, which has strong roots because the sycamore has been cut down once already, he must cut the tree a minimum of two handbreadths above the ground. In the case of reeds or of vines, he may cut only from the knot and above, so that they will grow back. In the cases of palm and of cedar trees, he may dig down and uproot them, because their trunks do not replenish themselves after they are cut down, and therefore there is no reason to leave anything behind.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Allowing a tree to regenerate makes a lot of sense. This past summer Judy and I visited the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. The forest covering some of these mountains were deforested and now nothing can grow there anymore.

The Gemara questions whether palm trees and cedar trees do not regenerate based on a verse in Psalm 92. In doing so the Gemara goes on a short discussion about the qualities of a righteous person.

“The baraita teaches: In the case of palm and cedar trees, a buyer may dig down and uproot them, because their trunks do not replenish themselves after being cut down. The Gemara asks: And is it correct with regard to a cedar that its trunk does not replenish itself? But didn’t Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Lulyani teach: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (Psalms 92:13)? If “palm tree” is stated, why is “cedar” stated? And if “cedar” is stated, why is “palm tree” stated? What is added by this double comparison?

“Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Lulyani explains: Had the verse stated only “cedar” and had not stated “palm tree,” I would have said that just as a cedar does not produce fruit, so too, a righteous person does not produce fruit, i.e., he will have no reward in the World-to-Come. Therefore, it is stated: “Palm tree,” which is a fruit-bearing tree.

“And had the verse stated only “palm tree” and had not stated “cedar,” I would have said that just as with regard to a palm tree its trunk does not replenish itself after being cut down, so too, in the case of a righteous person, his trunk does not replenish itself, i.e., he will be unable to recover from misfortune. Therefore, it is stated: “Cedar,” to indicate that just as the trunk of the cedar replenishes itself, so too, the righteous will thrive again. This demonstrates that the trunk of a cedar does grow again.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rabbi Art Green in his book Well of Living Insight: Comments on the Siddur describes another quality of a tsaddik, a righteous person. “Notice how the palm tree grows. Unlike any other tree, each new branch comes out from the very center, not from the far edge. The  tsaddik is such a person, turning deeply inward and in each new moment of growth, always seeing that every act of reaching outward must come directly from the deepest inner place. (Page 197)

Alyssa Grey expands this verse to refer to all of Israel. “Israel can be compared to a date tree (Midrash T’hillim 92:11). Both are organic wholes consisting of various parts-some sacred, some not, but all of them equally necessary. A date tree’s branches and fibers are used to make a lulav and sukkah on Sukkot. But it’s trunk is good for firewood. So too, some Jews are scholars (b’nei Torah), like the parts of the date tree that are useful for Sukkot. Others are ordinary folk who perform acts of lovingkindness (g’melut chassadim), like the trunk of the date palm, from which firewood is derived.) My People’s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries, volume 8, Kabbalat Shabbat, edited by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Jewish Lights publishing, page 145-6.