Pipeline Torah Gem #907 2025-12-19: Like a Date Palm
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Vaughn Seward
Dec 21, 2025, 2:49:19 PM12/21/25
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Like a Date Palm
"A righteous man will flourish like a date palm, like a cedar in the Lebanon he will grow tall." (Psalm 92:13) The Rabbis enumerate the many distinctive properties that make the palm tree a symbol of virtue and righteousness: —The palm grows straight, without bending, just as the righteous man remains upright and honest. The wood of the palm is free of knots, just as the righteous man is free of flaws. —The palm's shady leaves and fronds are far off the ground, at the very top of the tree. Similarly, the reward promised the righteous is not immediate, but is reserved for the distant future of the World to Come. —Every part of the palm is useful: its fruits are eaten, its leaves and fronds are used in thatching, and its wood is used for construction. Similarly, each righteous Jew fulfills a special purpose (Bereishis Rabbah 41:1). Adapted from Artscroll's "The Writings; Psalms" by Rabbi Nossom Scherman / Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz, 2018, page 410. Torah Gem Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/torahtidbits
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Yiddish Corner
Ongeshtopt Rich, loaded, rolling in dough (Lit. filled, packed, stuffed [with]) Umglik misfortune, bad luck; accident, calamity; loss, ruin Zitsen af shpilkes Sit on pins and needles Trombenik Freeloader, parasite
"A righteous man will flourish like a date palm, like a cedar in the Lebanon he will grow tall." (Psalm 92:13) The Rabbis enumerate the many distinctive properties that make the palm tree a symbol of virtue and righteousness: —The palm grows straight, without bending, just as the righteous man remains upright and honest. The wood of the palm is free of knots, just as the righteous man is free of flaws. —The palm's shady leaves and fronds are far off the ground, at the very top of the tree. Similarly, the reward promised the righteous is not immediate, but is reserved for the distant future of the World to Come. —Every part of the palm is useful: its fruits are eaten, its leaves and fronds are used in thatching, and its wood is used for construction. Similarly, each righteous Jew fulfills a special purpose (Bereishis Rabbah 41:1). Adapted from Artscroll's "The Writings; Psalms" by Rabbi Nossom Scherman / Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz, 2018, page 410. Torah Gem Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/torahtidbits
_________________
Yiddish Corner
Ongeshtopt Rich, loaded, rolling in dough (Lit. filled, packed, stuffed [with]) Umglik misfortune, bad luck; accident, calamity; loss, ruin Zitsen af shpilkes Sit on pins and needles Trombenik Freeloader, parasite
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