JOINING THE MARINE [PARK] CORE!

Joining the Marine [Park]
Core!

The Rise of Fall

Rabbi Hillel L. Yarmove

“That time of year thou mayest in me behold, / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang/ Upon those boughs which shake against the cold. . . .”

OK, so you don’t need—or want—to read these apparently discouraging words ensconced in a sonnet composed by England’s greatest poet (who lived during the sixteenth to seventeenth century) comparing the onset of old age to the rise of autumn. After all, we Yidden have a different “take” on life. As far as we are concerned, the phenomenal changes of fall betoken a yet-stronger belief in the Basheffer. Similarly, the period of our lives which we term ziknah or seivah may be filled with experiences far and away more soul-throbbing than were the peripheral pleasures of our youth.

A ra’ayah? Just look up and see the fantastic display of this year’s autumn leaves.

Now, I don’t know exactly why this year the scarlet oaks, white oaks, tupelos, red maples, sugar maples, Norway maples, sassafras, and tulip trees of Lakewood seem more vividly striking than I have seen during any recent year in memory. Perhaps our incredibly long Indian summer is one very good reason—but this I do know: I have never felt more awe in gazing at my surroundings than I have experienced this past month. Why, every leaf appears to be a separate (but equal!) individualistic member of the tree on which it has spent the duration of its existence!

The source of autumn coloration is in itself nothing short of marvelous. First let me give you the rather dry, insipid view of the scientist: “. . . [T]he green pigments, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, are localized in [what are known as] chloroplasts [in the green plant cells], which are food-manufacturing centers. It is within each chloroplast that carbon dioxide and water react in the presence of light to form sugar and oxygen [in a process called photosynthesis] . . . Yellow pigments, carotenes and xanthophylls, are also present in chloroplast. We do not see these colors in a green leaf because the more intense green pigments mask them. However, if the green pigments disappear, as they do in the leaves of many plants in the autumn, the yellow pigments become evident. It is then that the foliage of the birches, poplars, elms, and other trees give beautiful gold highlights to the landscape. . . Anthocyanin pigments which furnish red, blue, and purple colors to flowers, fruits, and leaves are synthesized by some plants. . . Bright light, low temperatures, and low nitrogen supply result in a high sugar concentration [in autumn leaves], hence in a large amount of anthocyanin. . . The combination of low, but not freezing, temperatures with bright weather in the autumn brings about a brilliant coloring of the foliage of many species.”

As for me, I am reminded that the “same old boringly green-colored” leaves of spring have matured into the brilliant, attention-riveting blettelach of fall—interestingly enough, in much the same way that we mature and become more colorful and interesting as we grow older and wend our ineluctable way toward the prime of life. Would you like proof of this? Then visit an old-age center or assisted-living facility some time and speak with the “old-timers” who reside there. Have them tell you of their extraordinary journey through life. I promise you that you’ll find a bittersweet, yet edifying, coloration that will impress itself upon your memory for years to come.

So maybe, in the final analysis, we shouldn’t term the autumn season “fall.” Maybe instead we should see it as a time to rise, to express that Divinely-instilled individuality which the Torah allows—even encourages—us to express, as long as it falls within the parameters of the four chalakim of Shulchan Aruch.

In other words, instead of dreading autumn, we should rise to meet the fall!

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Questions or comments? I may be reached at hillyarm@yeshivanet.com.