David looked at the messy closet. "If you tidy your closet by the last Sunday of winter break," his mother had told him two weeks earlier, "Dad will take you to the amusement park.""
""I knew I shouldn't have left it until the last minute," David lamented.
Ester would grimace when her mother told her that the only day available for a dentist visit was on the first day of school.
""I'm going to miss part of the most exciting day of the year," Ester muttered, "I knew I shouldn't have spent all that money on candy.".
What happened to David and Esther? They both claimed they knew what they should have done. So why didn't David tidy the closet? And why did Esther eat so many candies when she knew they were bad for her teeth?
Perhaps David and Esther, and everyone who knows they should be behaving better, need to be reminded of the lesson of the trees.
In this week's Torah portion, the Torah compares a person to a tree. There are many good things about trees, but above all, we appreciate the delicious fruit they produce.
Just as a tree bears fruit, a person develops emotions that then lead them to perform good deeds. Just as small buds blossom, over time, into a beautiful and delicious fruit, we strengthen our emotions, and these bring forth good actions.
How do we develop positive emotions?
It all begins in the mind.
When we learn and understand what HaShem wants, we know what we are supposed to do. But as we saw with David and Esther, simply knowing is not enough. Both claimed to know.
The Torah reminds us that we are likened to fruit-bearing trees. Through our studies, we come to understand and know, but we must ensure that our knowledge bears fruit. It must inspire positive emotions and good deeds.