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Trees Throughout the Tanakh
The Hebrew scriptures reference trees in various contexts, from the creation of fruit-bearing vegetation to prophetic imagery comparing the righteous to flourishing trees, prohibitions against destroying them, and their symbolic use in descriptions of joy and redemption.
כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל־מַיִם
Understanding 'Ki Ha'adam Etz HaSadeh'
This phrase from Deuteronomy 20:19 appears in the context of prohibiting the destruction of fruit trees during siege warfare. Medieval commentaries offer varying interpretations of the verse's meaning and its relationship to the broader prohibition against needless destruction.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
Trees of the Field: Interpreting a Cryptic Verse
Sources examine Deuteronomy 20:19's enigmatic phrase "ki haadam etz hasadeh" (is the tree of the field a man), which frames the Torah's prohibition against destroying fruit trees during siege warfare. Commentators interpret the verse as a rhetorical question emphasizing that trees, unlike human combatants, cannot flee and should therefore be preserved.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
The Prohibition of Baal Tashchit
Sources explore the mitzvah prohibiting needless destruction, rooted in the Torah's command against cutting down fruit trees during a siege. The sources trace how classical halakhic authorities codified and expanded this principle to encompass wasteful destruction of property more broadly.
לֹא תַשְׁחִית אֶת־עֵצָהּ