“The Talmud teaches that the date palm is compared to the righteous because the whole tree is good—especially its fruit. Similarly, the righteous person is good,” writes Torah lecturer Shlomo Libertovski in his commentary on Psalm 1, which is read in the Catholic Church on Sunday, February 16. Father Piotr Kot of the Heschel Center at KUL emphasizes that in the Christian tradition, Jesus is the most perfect tzadik—the righteous.
The Date Palm – A Symbol of Goodness and Steadfastness
Psalm 1 is well known in the Jewish world as a psalm about the righteous (in Hebrew, tzadik), who is described as “a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season.” Commenting on this verse, Shlomo Libertovski notes that in Jewish tradition, the righteous is often likened to fruit or the date palm, which produces sweet fruit. “This symbolizes the tzaddik, whose spiritual stature is clear and correct, and who influences the world with goodness and blessings,” he writes.
Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement in the early 18th century, taught that “just as the date tree continues to grow despite winds and storms, the tzadik (righteous) faces difficulties but does not bend or break,” explains Libertovski. In this context, he stresses that, like the date tree, “the righteous person does not break down in the face of difficulties and continues to flourish.” He adds that “these words from the Book of Psalms inspire us to learn from the righteous who lived through the ages and whose spirit still lives with and in us.”
“God’s Righteousness Is the Mercy That Saves”
Father Piotr Kot emphasizes that in the Christian tradition, Jesus is the perfect tzadik—the righteous one—and that “righteousness is inextricably linked to the saving work of Jesus Christ.” Moreover, as Fr. Kot points out, for Christ, “fulfilling righteousness was more than a mere literal adherence to the mitzvot—the commandments of the Law. Jesus’ righteousness reached its fullness in the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection, as St. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians by describing Him as ‘our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption’ (cf. 1 Cor 1:30).”
“Jesus is truly the ‘blessed one’ who ‘never fades’ and, through the ages, bears the fruit of life in those who, through faith in Him, receive justification by grace.”
In this context, Fr. Kot quotes Pope Francis, who said: “Jesus came to take on his own shoulders the sin of the world and to descend into the waters of the abyss, of death, so as to rescue us and prevent us from drowning. He shows us today that God’s true justice is the mercy that saves.”
Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik
The full text of the commentaries follows.
Commentary by Shlomo Libertovski:
In the Jewish world, Psalm 1 is known as the psalm that speaks of the righteous person – tsadik. In verse 3, we read: "He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade.” The literal and quite simple interpretation of this verse is that a righteous person is like a fruit tree that will blossom.
In Jewish tradition, a righteous person is often compared to a fruit or a date tree, which is tall and upright, grows straight, and does not bend. The date tree also bears sweet fruit. This symbolizes the tzaddik, whose spiritual stature is clear and correct and who influences the world with goodness and blessings. The Talmud (Tashkat Tanit 25) says that the date tree is compared to a righteous person because the whole tree is good, especially the fruit that grows from it. Similarly, the righteous person is good because all his actions are done for the benefit of the world.
The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement in the early 18th century, interpreted that just as the date tree continues to grow despite winds and storms, the Tzadik faces difficulties but does not bend or break. In the Talmud (Berakhot 18), it is written that the righteous are called “the living in their death.” Their holy and glorious legacy is still alive and growing in the multitude of the living faithful. For those who believe in the continuity of the human soul and recognize that a person's spirituality is more eternal than the physical and material body, which is destined to decay, such things are natural and understandable.
Like the date tree, the righteous person does not break down in the face of difficulties and continues flourishing. The righteous can also be compared to the cedar tree, which symbolizes strength and deep roots. In the same way, man must try to be connected to his spiritual sources and grow upward. These words from the Book of Psalms inspire us to learn from the righteous who lived through the ages and whose spirit still lives with and in us.
Commentary by Father Piotr Kot:
In the Christian tradition, righteousness is closely linked to the saving work of Jesus Christ, who, when approaching baptism in the Jordan—even in the face of resistance from John the Baptist—uttered the significant words: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). Also, in the Sermon on the Mount according to St. Matthew, the invitation to follow the path of righteousness resounds several times. Jesus first tells His disciples that enduring suffering for righteousness—and even the mere desire for it—leads to complete happiness and life (cf. Mt 5:6, 10). He then adds that the righteousness of His disciples must “surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees” (Mt 5:20) and finally encourages them: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt 6:33).
In the Jewish world, righteousness meant accepting God’s will along with the consequences of sin (death) and embracing the “yoke of the Torah” as the path to justification. Faithful observance of the commandments was the foundation of hope for life in God.
For Jesus Christ, fulfilling righteousness was more than a literal adherence to the mitzvot, that is, the commandments of the Law. For Him, righteousness meant accepting the human condition with all its fragility and mortality while at the same time fulfilling God’s salvific will through obedience expressed in “love until the end” (cf. Jn 13:1). For these reasons, Jesus’ righteousness reached its fullness in the mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection.
St. Paul, seeing in Jesus the perfect tzaddik—who, as the Talmud describes, “lives in death”—wrote in the First Letter to the Corinthians that he is “our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (cf. 1 Cor 1:30). Jesus is truly the “blessed one” who “never fades” and, through the ages, bears the fruit of life in those who, by faith in Him, receive justification by grace. “Jesus came to fulfill divine justice, which is that of saving sinners; he came to take on his own shoulders the sin of the world and to descend into the waters of the abyss, of death, so as to rescue us and prevent us from drowning. He shows us today that God’s true justice is the mercy that saves..”(Pope Francis)