Being that Man is a Tree of the Field
In the Name of the Baal Shem Tov:
Being that man is the tree of the field (Deuteronomy 20, 19)
Man and tree - just the same:
One is hard and one is soft
One is tall and one is weak -
Man and tree are just the same
Rabbi Uri of Strelisk:
Rabbi Uri of Strelisk would say: A man should always engage in a full and complete undertaking to rise from one step to another in the service of G-d. But he should not get used to following his progress often. Because a person is like a tree. Just as in regard to a tree, if you stand there and look at it constantly to examine how it grows and how much it grows and you will not see anything and you will become bored while constantly watching it. Instead, work and preserve it, trim it, prune it, fertilize its ground and water it and guard it from irritants, pests and wild winds. Then the tree will prosper, grow and flourish. This is how one must remove all the obstacles that bother him, and to adopt all favorable attributes that would aid him in the service of G-d, so that he may flourish and grow. But it is not advisable to check and measure his progress often.
In the Year Cycles:
The firmness of the tree is not rooted in its branches and leaves and the glorious fruits, but rather in its roots, which are fortified in a place where the winds and storms cannot reach. They are maintained by a source of fresh water of regeneration. The tree does not worry when storms attack it, shake it and bend it, it does not move nor budge, and as long as it is not uprooted, it will be revived! Therefore, we find that the tree does not lose a thing, on the contrary – his energy is reinforced in the struggle. So is a man. As long as he clings to his spiritual roots, no wind will uproot him. On the contrary, the storms will awaken the power of renewal!