Many years ago my family planted a garden. We prepared the soil spread the fertilizer and planted the seeds. The entire family watched with delight as the vegetables began to sprout. The children excitedly plucked the ripened vegetables and we all enjoyed the incomparably delicious flavor of homegrown tomatoes cucumbers green beans and more.

I have often thought about planting a garden again. However other projects always beckoned and the idea invariably fell by the wayside. The land in the backyard remained just that — land. No tomatoes no cucumbers no green beans. Just land.

As we know everything in the spiritual world has a parallel in the physical world. A plot of land can be used to grow a garden — or it can lie dormant. A human being can plant the seeds of growth within himself and accomplish outstanding results — or he can remain undeveloped and achieve little of value with his life.

When Hashem created the first man He named him Adam. The Torah explains the reason for this name: “Because he was taken from the adamah the ground.” The choice of the name Adam is certainly puzzling. Isn’t a name the expression of one’s essence? And isn’t the essence of a human being his soul? Why then was Adam named for the adamah and not for the neshamah?

The Maharal explains that the name Adam is indeed an expression of the essence of man. The name Adam represents potential. The adamah has the potential to bring forth a magnificent array of flowers fruit trees vegetables and grains. However it doesn’t happen automatically. The soil has to be prepared the seeds have to be planted watered and cared for. Only then will the adamah yield its produce.

A person too has the potential to produce magnificent results and reach unimaginable heights. However it doesn’t happen by itself. Hashem requires man to take action and participate in his own growth. The meforshim explain that when Hashem said “Naaseh Adam — let us make man ” He was addressing man himself. He was beckoning to Adam saying: “Let us make Adam — together you and I. I will provide the raw material. You work on yourself to develop the potential that I placed within you.”

When Avraham passed the test of the Akeidah an angel called out to him “Avraham Avraham.” Rabbi Yissocher Frand quotes the Yalkut Shimoni who explains that the angel was referring to two Avrahams: the image of the potential Avraham in the heavens and the actual Avraham who existed in the physical world. At the moment of the Akeidah the two Avrahams were congruent.

Our mission is to develop ourselves so that at the end of our life the reality of who we have become will be congruent with the image of our potential.

This is a daunting task. How can we possibly achieve it?

Perhaps HaKadosh Baruch Hu created the phenomenon of working the soil and planting seeds in order to illustrate to us in a tangible way how we must plant seeds within ourselves to achieve our life’s mission.

Preparing the Soil

The first crucial step in the process of planting is preparing the ground. It seems to me that the way we prepare ourselves for growth is by cultivating within ourselves the cheishek the strong desire to grow.

Every morning immediately after we say the brachah “Laasok b’divrei Torah” we ask Hashem to help us be successful in learning Torah and making Torah our “business” our primary preoccupation in life. What are we specifically requesting? A good mind? A strong memory? Analytical powers?

Rav Mattisyahu Salomon points out that we are requesting the one thing that is the prerequisite for success in Torah: “Vehaarev na — Please make the words of Torah pleasant for us…” It is not the quality of the mind but the quality of the heart that determines one’s success in Torah.

If a person has a yearning for Torah then he will find a way to overcome all obstacles and the seeds that he and others plant within him will take root and yield beautiful fruit.

The story is told of Rav Chaim Shmulevitz who as a bochur visited the Novaradok yeshivah of Bialystok. He approached his uncle the rosh yeshivah Rav Avraham Yafin and asked him to point out the best bochur in the yeshivah. Rav Yafin showed him several bochurim enumerating that this one was the best in iyun another in bekius still another in halachah yet another in mussar.

Rav Chaim persisted: “But who is the overall best bochur?” The Rosh Yeshivah walked over to a bochur who was learning with great diligence and said “This one is the best bochur in the yeshivah.”

Rav Chaim asked in bewilderment “How could this bochur be the best overall when he is not the best in either iyun bekius halachah or mussar?”

The Rosh Yeshivah turned to his nephew and explained “He may not yet be the best in any of the above areas. However he is the best in his desire to learn. Therefore he will most certainly develop to be the best in all areas.”

That bochur was Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky who later became known as the Steipler Gaon.

Planting the Seeds

The phenomenon of planting is intriguing. A seed is a small insignificant-looking object. Yet when it is planted deep within the ground watered and tended over time it is transformed into something very beautiful something that seems to bear no resemblance to its original state. How? How can a small seed turn into a majestic tree?

Although a tree looks nothing like the original seed every detail of its formation is the direct result of a detail in the composition of the seed. The seed contains within itself the genetic code of the tree. Regardless of which seed is being planted with correct care and patience the seed will germinate and undergo a stunning transformation. Sometimes we can see the results in a relatively short period of time. Sometimes as is the case with the Chinese bamboo tree it takes years before the first shoot even breaks through the ground.

With every decision we make and every action that we take we are planting seeds that will determine our future. The results may take a long time to become apparent but eventually our actions will yield fruit that will surpass anything we could have imagined. That fruit will be the direct outgrowth of the seeds that we planted.

All the brave and courageous Yidden who remained loyal to Torah in the early years in America despite the very difficult nisyonos that they faced planted the seeds of shmiras Shabbos and emunah that have blossomed into families who are loyal to Torah today.

In our own family I see this so clearly. My husband’s grandfather was presented with the opportunity of managing a hotel together with his brothers in upstate New York. His wife Faiga Malka Gibber vehemently opposed this potentially lucrative business venture. She feared that being in the hotel business would eventually cause her family to compromise on Shabbos and kashrus. As a result of her refusal to join the business her husband had no livelihood and he was forced to commute to earn a living performing a more menial job. Yet the seed that Faiga Malka Gibber planted with great mesirus nefesh blossomed into generations of children grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are shomrei Torah u’mitzvos and who have dedicated their lives to Torah.

In our tefillos we say that Hashem is “Zorei’a tzedakos He plants righteousness.” Hashem takes our righteous actions and plants them and they emerge in future generations in majestic and stately forms.

As we count the days of sefirah in preparation for Matan Torah let’s try to remember the message inherent in the name Adam: Our purpose in life is to develop the potential within us and the key to our success is our desire to grow. With every decision we make we are planting the seeds for our future and for the future of the generations that follow us.

Let us make Adam — together you and I. I will provide the raw material. You work on yourself to develop the potential that I placed within you