Root Them Out

Plants are our teachers

I am no green thumb. That honor goes to my wife Lauren who tends to all the foliage in our home. A testament to her skillset is that we have multiple plants that have not only survived multiple moves but have grown so much that they’re now on the verge of growing out of our abode.

One of the pieces that I am always struck by as she needs to repot, propagate or do something else to the plants is the delicate nature of the root system. One wrong decision and the whole plant can be undone. I don’t understand most of what happens but it turns out, neither did scientists until fairly recently!

Autophagy, which means self-eating, is the mechanism through which a plant’s roots clean themselves, which in turn allows the roots to grow. In other words, the roots need a cleansing in order to be healthier. The cleaner it is, the more rooted it becomes. Autophagy actually shares connections with the benefits of intermittent fasting that has become quite popular in humans in recent year, as fasting also promotes cellular clean up.

Something known as self-eating doesn’t quite have a ring that would impress Don Draper but nonetheless, it it is vital for the plants. Getting at something by the roots and totally clearing it out can have immense impact on growth. That notion is something that we humans could be well served by. A fascinating path to get there is offered by the Sfat Emet on this week’s portion, Re’eh.

In the beginning of chapter 12:2-3, we learn of an important instruction as the Israelites are preparing to enter the land of Israel:

אַבֵּ֣ד תְּ֠אַבְּד֠וּן אֶֽת־כׇּל־הַמְּקֹמ֞וֹת אֲשֶׁ֧ר עָֽבְדוּ־שָׁ֣ם הַגּוֹיִ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם יֹרְשִׁ֥ים אֹתָ֖ם אֶת־אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם עַל־הֶהָרִ֤ים הָֽרָמִים֙ וְעַל־הַגְּבָע֔וֹת וְתַ֖חַת כׇּל־עֵ֥ץ רַעֲנָֽן׃וְנִתַּצְתֶּ֣ם אֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתָ֗ם וְשִׁבַּרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־מַצֵּ֣בֹתָ֔ם וַאֲשֵֽׁרֵיהֶם֙ תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּן בָּאֵ֔שׁ וּפְסִילֵ֥י אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֖ם תְּגַדֵּע֑וּן וְאִבַּדְתֶּ֣ם אֶת־שְׁמָ֔ם מִן־הַמָּק֖וֹם הַהֽוּא׃

You must destroy all the sites at which the nations you are to dispossess worshiped their gods, whether on lofty mountains and on hills or under any luxuriant tree. Tear down their altars, smash their pillars, put their sacred posts to the fire, and cut down the images of their gods, obliterating their name from that site.

A simple destroy them would’ve sufficed. The extreme nature of the language is striking. Employing this harsh language, the Torah seems adamant about the need to fully wipe out any aspect of idolatry that may have existed in the land. Whenever the Torah could be perceived as redundant, the interpreters in our tradition use that as an opportunity to get creative.

Reb Yehuda Leib Alter, the 2nd Gerrer Rebbe does just that here.

One needs to uproot the tracest amount of wickedness in one’s heart. In truth, one can’t do this alone for they need Divine help. Perhaps this is why the verse uses doubling language, “abed teabdoon-you must destroy.” Destroy is commanding language and then we get you must destroy. When a person begins the process of trying to uproot this, it signals to the heavens that they need help. It is a promise that they will succeed. The only way you can really do this is to cut the wickedness out at the root. You can’t simply fix yourself on the surface and hope you’ll ascend. Rather, you have to exterminate the root of that wickedness and put in its place healthier roots that can grow.

As you can see, the Sfat Emet takes things in a totally personal direction. Coming into the land becomes the work each of us individuals need to do to better ourselves but it can’t be done alone. By entering seriously into this work, we signal to others, maybe God or maybe our support system that we need their help.

The truth is, many of us lightly believe in this work. We pay a lot of lip service to self-betterment, improving our self-awareness, and trying to create better habits but how many of us actually do the real work? I am guilty of this too! There are many parts of myself that I know don’t really serve me that I kind of try to fix but I could do a hell of a lot better of a job at rooting them out. I’m too judgmental, too reluctant to ask for wisdom, and too hard on myself.

This reading serves as a loving nudge. We’ve got to incorporate a little bit of that autophagy from our plants. Self-eating is good, not in the sense of cannibalism but in the sense of clearing things out to make room for more growth. I’m going to try to apply this lesson more this year. Every time Lauren saves another plant with her botanic wizardry, I am going to use it as an opportunity to look inward and see what roots I can clear as well.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Weekend