902. Israel Are Compared to an Olive Tree

Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi said, “Why are Israel compared to an olive tree? To tell you that as the leaves of the olive tree do not fall during the summer or during the winter, so Israel have no rest in this world or in the next world” (Minchot 56b).

There are leaves and there are fruits. The leaves precede the fruits. The tree itself is man, “For man is the tree of the field.” At the time of blossoming, it elicits leaves and then elicits fruits that are good for man to eat, while the leaves are good only as food for beasts.

The olive, the fruit itself, is not so important. Rather, the intention is mainly the oil extracted from the olive (so there are three things: leaves, olives, and oil).

The taste of the olive is bitter (as our sages said (Iruvin 18b), “I would prefer my nourishments to be as bitter as an olive and placed in Your hand than to be as sweet as honey and dependent on flesh and blood”). In other words, even though the fruit has already ripened, it is still not good for eating.