Virtual Drasha | Patience and Perseverance (Shoftim)

Rabbi Silber's Virtual Drasha on Parshas Shoftim opens with the prohibition against cutting down fruit trees when laying siege to a city, and a teaching that reads the Torah's rhetorical comparison of man to a tree as a metaphor for personal growth. He explains that unlike grain, which sprouts and shows results quickly, a tree takes years of quiet, unseen effort before it bears fruit - and so does real change in a person. Rabbi Silber teaches that spiritual growth is frustratingly slow and rarely felt in the moment, but every ounce of effort we invest in ourselves is making us stronger even when we can't measure it, and the answer to that frustration is patience, not giving up.

• Real personal growth, like a tree, happens slowly and mostly out of sight - don't mistake invisible progress for no progress.
• Feeling frustrated that change isn't happening fast enough is not a reason to stop trying.
• Every bit of effort you put into yourself is making you stronger, better, and holier, even when you can't feel it yet.
• Wanting instant results from self-improvement sets you up for discouragement; expect a tree's timeline, not wheat's.
• Two steps forward and three steps back is still part of the process, not proof that it isn't working.