Grandpa's Tree
Grandpa’s Tree
Music & Lyrics by Karen J. Kamenetsky (2012)
I came home from school one day and I saw my grandpa in the yard.
He had his shovel in his hand and he was working hard.
Dirt was flying, he was smiling; he said, “I have one thing to say,
If you want your grandchildren to sit in the shade, you’ve got to plant that tree today.”
And I said “Grandpa, you’ll be long gone before that tree is grown.”
I said, “Grandpa, I’ll be sittin’ in the shade alone.”
I said, “Grandpa seems like a crazy thing to do.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
He took that seedling from its burlap sack, placed it gently in the ground.
He said, “Son, you know I won’t always be around.”
The sun was shining, he was smiling, he said, “I think that you will find,
There are some things that we do, not for ourselves, but for the ones that we leave behind.”
And I said “Grandpa, you’ll be long gone before that tree is grown.”
I said, “Grandpa, I’ll be sittin’ in the shade alone.”
I said, “Grandpa seems like a crazy thing to do.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
Now Grandpa’s seedling has grown into a tall and sturdy tree.
I sit beneath it with my granddaughter on my knee.
When the sun is shining, I see him smiling; I tell her just what he would say,
“If you want your grandchildren to sit in the shade, you’ve got to plant that tree today.”
And she says “Grandpa, you’ll be long gone before that tree is grown.”
She says, “Grandpa, I’ll be sittin’ in the shade alone.”
She says, “Grandpa seems like a crazy thing to do.”
I say, “My grandfather planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
I say, “My grandfather planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
In early 2012, I was asked to perform, with my Rabbi, Moshe Rudin, and my good friend Steve Kohn, at a Tu B'Shevat program for the Children of the Hebrew Academy of Morris County. I thought, maybe I'll write a song, so I googled around a bit and found quite a few versions of a story found in the Talmud, the section of Ta’anit, page 23. The story is about a man called Honi HaM’agel, which means Honi the circle maker. Here is one version of that story, from the spiritoftrees.org website
A Talmud Tale
Told by Peninnah Schram
Honi the Wise One was also known as Honi the Circle Maker. By drawing a circle and stepping inside of it, he would recite special prayers for rain, sometimes even argue with God during a drought, and the rains would come. He was, indeed, a miracle maker. As wise as he was, Honi sometimes saw something that puzzled him. Then he would ask questions so he could unravel the mystery.
One day, Honi the Circle Maker was walking on the road and saw a man planting a carob tree. Honi asked the man, “How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?”
The man replied, “Seventy years.”
Honi then asked the man, “And do you think you will live another seventy years and eat the fruit of this tree?”
The man answered, “Perhaps not. However, when I was born into this world, I found many carob trees planted by my father and grandfather. Just as they planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren so they will be able to eat the fruit of these trees
I read this story, then I read all the other versions I could find, then I wrote Grandpa's Tree.
I am a Jew by choice. I converted about twenty eight years ago. One of the things I love about Judaism is the teaching of truths that can be applied to our daily lives through stories. Another is the fact that every story has multiple tellings and multiple interpretations.
Here are links to some of the versions of Honi's story that I found:
http://campramah.org/program_bank/generations_story.pdf
http://www.alexweinberg.org/honiHaMagel.pdf
http://scheinerman.net/judaism/Stories/honi.html
There's even a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRfV7XrGfBo
Click here to return to the Stories page.
Click here to return to the Stories page.
Music & Lyrics by Karen J. Kamenetsky (2012)
I came home from school one day and I saw my grandpa in the yard.
He had his shovel in his hand and he was working hard.
Dirt was flying, he was smiling; he said, “I have one thing to say,
If you want your grandchildren to sit in the shade, you’ve got to plant that tree today.”
And I said “Grandpa, you’ll be long gone before that tree is grown.”
I said, “Grandpa, I’ll be sittin’ in the shade alone.”
I said, “Grandpa seems like a crazy thing to do.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
He took that seedling from its burlap sack, placed it gently in the ground.
He said, “Son, you know I won’t always be around.”
The sun was shining, he was smiling, he said, “I think that you will find,
There are some things that we do, not for ourselves, but for the ones that we leave behind.”
And I said “Grandpa, you’ll be long gone before that tree is grown.”
I said, “Grandpa, I’ll be sittin’ in the shade alone.”
I said, “Grandpa seems like a crazy thing to do.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
He said, “My grandpa planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
Now Grandpa’s seedling has grown into a tall and sturdy tree.
I sit beneath it with my granddaughter on my knee.
When the sun is shining, I see him smiling; I tell her just what he would say,
“If you want your grandchildren to sit in the shade, you’ve got to plant that tree today.”
And she says “Grandpa, you’ll be long gone before that tree is grown.”
She says, “Grandpa, I’ll be sittin’ in the shade alone.”
She says, “Grandpa seems like a crazy thing to do.”
I say, “My grandfather planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
I say, “My grandfather planted a tree for me and I’m planting this one for you.”
In early 2012, I was asked to perform, with my Rabbi, Moshe Rudin, and my good friend Steve Kohn, at a Tu B'Shevat program for the Children of the Hebrew Academy of Morris County. I thought, maybe I'll write a song, so I googled around a bit and found quite a few versions of a story found in the Talmud, the section of Ta’anit, page 23. The story is about a man called Honi HaM’agel, which means Honi the circle maker. Here is one version of that story, from the spiritoftrees.org website
A Talmud Tale
Told by Peninnah Schram
Honi the Wise One was also known as Honi the Circle Maker. By drawing a circle and stepping inside of it, he would recite special prayers for rain, sometimes even argue with God during a drought, and the rains would come. He was, indeed, a miracle maker. As wise as he was, Honi sometimes saw something that puzzled him. Then he would ask questions so he could unravel the mystery.
One day, Honi the Circle Maker was walking on the road and saw a man planting a carob tree. Honi asked the man, “How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?”
The man replied, “Seventy years.”
Honi then asked the man, “And do you think you will live another seventy years and eat the fruit of this tree?”
The man answered, “Perhaps not. However, when I was born into this world, I found many carob trees planted by my father and grandfather. Just as they planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren so they will be able to eat the fruit of these trees
I read this story, then I read all the other versions I could find, then I wrote Grandpa's Tree.
I am a Jew by choice. I converted about twenty eight years ago. One of the things I love about Judaism is the teaching of truths that can be applied to our daily lives through stories. Another is the fact that every story has multiple tellings and multiple interpretations.
Here are links to some of the versions of Honi's story that I found:
http://campramah.org/program_bank/generations_story.pdf
http://www.alexweinberg.org/honiHaMagel.pdf
http://scheinerman.net/judaism/Stories/honi.html
There's even a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRfV7XrGfBo
Click here to return to the Stories page.
Click here to return to the Stories page.