One of the seder leaders yesterday had us discuss, in pairs, why that comparison, originally found in Psalms, is made and how we think the Torah may be like a tree.
My discussion partner had mentioned, in response to a previous question, that she has hiked dormant volcanoes and was amazed at the sight of saplings growing in crevices of long-cooled lava, that even from such destruction, life springs. I suggested that Judaism itself was somewhat like a tree; there are so many historical events that it should not have survived, and it's taken hold and is thriving in some highly unlikely places.
Just now, as I was making my previous post, I thought about it's being winter where we are, so most of the trees are dormant, but we trust that in the spring, they'll awaken and regrow their leaves. The new growth won't make any tree a different tree; it's just a slightly changed aspect of the tree that's been there all along. So maybe sometimes our connection with Torah and with God feels distant and dormant, but with time, we'll find new aspects and find ourselves growing again in newly perceived warmth.
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