We have in Netanya a mass of yellow flowers that have been
planted along the cliffs. They are there for two reasons. The
first is to cling to the sandy soil and so, prevent erosion
of the cliffs. The second is that they add beauty and color
to the surroundings.
These flowers are familiar to me. When I went to school in a
country village in South Africa, these selfsame flowers grew
in profusion in untended fields. It was the custom in those
days occasionally to take flowers from the garden to the
teacher. In that hot dry climate, the growing of flowers was
something that took time and money, so this didn't happen all
that often. On most days, the classroom was bare and
undecorated, but on some days, roses stood in a glass pot, or
geraniums or marigolds. But never, ever, this beautiful
bright yellow flower, growing in abundance and considered a
weed.
I always thought of them as beautiful and delicate and could
never understand why they weren't considered good enough to
brighten our classroom. Here, in Netanya, I see that someone
shares my feeling about their beauty.
Recently I visited Beit Shemesh. In a field, I saw a row of
tall deep blue flowering thistles. A little further on, I saw
white flower heads in the shape of upturned umbrellas and
then, next to a wall, a low bush with delicate pink petals.
Unlike a solitary tall red hollyhock that I had seen earlier,
these flowers are considered weeds.
The thoughts that occur to me are these: what classifies a
flower as an unwanted weed? What determines that a wildflower
be a protected specie that must not be picked? What makes a
plant desirable for a garden? What criteria do they use? Does
this vary from country to country?
Then I thought some more. In our community, we consider a man
who devotes himself to Torah study in a very favorable light.
To us, these scholars are valuable, like garden flowers are
considered worthy of cultivation. However, it is no secret
that the secular society looks with disfavor upon this world
of learning. I don't really understand the mindset that
approves of someone devoting their life to one particular
obscure plant or animal species, some distant period in
history -- on government grants, but objects to another
person studying the complex matters of Torah.
To these people, Torah study is something negative, a waste
of time. Recently, I was involved in the following
conversation:
"Doesn't it disturb you that you live in a community where so
many people are parasites, living off the state?"
"Could you be more specific?"
"Well, the men don't work. They just study all day long."
"In my community, many of the women work to support the
family. How many work in your neighborhood?"
"Oh, very few."
"So, I'll turn the question back to you. How do you feel to
live in an area where so many people are parasites? Look at
all those women sitting at home, doing nothing, living off
their husbands."
After a long look and some silence, the response was, "I take
your point."
