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Turning Over a New Leaf

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By Leonard Hoenig MD - FJN Torah Doctor

In this week’s majestic Haftorah, the prophet Isaiah describes the magnificent arboreal features that will grace the future Holy Temple: "The glory of the Lebanon [forest] shall come to you—cypress, fir, and box tree together—to glorify the site of My Sanctuary" (Isaiah 60:13, Artscroll translation).

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We all know how important trees are in the biological cycle of oxygen and carbon dioxide, so necessary for life. Trees also give us wood, fruit, shade, and even important medications. For example:

1) The bark of the Cinchona tree provides quinine, which is used in treating malaria.

2) The bark of the Pacific yew tree provides taxol, a cancer chemotherapy agent used to treat patients with lung, ovarian, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and advanced forms of Kaposi’s sarcoma.

3) Willow bark contains salicylates and therefore has an aspirin-like effect on fever, arthritis, and headache.

Recently, I read a delightful essay about trees by Max Anteby in his book The Jewish Theory of Everything (pg 61-63). I was surprised to learn that Joyce Kilmer, author if the famous poem "Trees," which begins "I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree," was really a man, despite being called Joyce. His full name was Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918).

Looking into the life of Joyce Kilmer, I also discovered that his father, Dr. Frederick Barnett Kilmer (1851-1934) invented Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder! Joyce Kilmer graduated Columbia University in 1908. He enjoyed writing poetry and also wrote book reviews for the New York Times.

"Trees" was published in 1913 and consisted of twelve lines, mostly in iambic tetrameter. In the poem, Kilmer uses anthropomorphic imagery to describe trees. For example, "A tree that looks at G-d all day,/ And lifts her leafy arms to pray."

In 1917, Kilmer enlisted in the New York National Guard and eventually became a sergeant with the 69th Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He saw combat action in Europe and was killed during the Second Battle of Marne on July 30, 1918.

The last lines of Kilmer’s poem, "Trees" read: "Poems are made by fools like me,/ But only G-d can make a tree." These words are especially relevant to the upcoming High Holiday period. For it is on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur that we acknowledge H-shem as King of the Universe, Who has absolute mastery over all that exists and Who created all life, enabling us to enjoy the beauty of trees year-round.

It is significant that the Torah, the source of all Jewish spiritual values, is called a "Tree of Life" (Proverbs 3:18). May the Torah continue to inspire us at this time of year as we reaffirm our Jewish roots. May all our prayers for health and happiness be answered and may we live to see Isaiah’s magnificent prophesy come true speedily in our days.


Posted by Leonard Hoenig MD - FJN Torah Doctor on 08/31 at 04:12 PM • Hits: 110



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