TANAKH
When you will come into the land and plant any food tree, then you shall regard its fruit forbidden; three years it shall be forbidden for you; it shall not be eaten -Leviticus 19:24
MIDRASH
Hadrian, may his bones be crushed, was passing on those paths in Tiberias and saw a certain elderly man standing and digging holes to plant trees.
[Hadrian] said to him: ‘Old man, old man; if you awoke early, you should not remain awake at night.’
He said to [Hadrian]: ‘I awoke early and I remain awake late, and what is good for the Master of Heaven, He will do.’
[Hadrian] said to him: ‘Old man, as you live, how many years old are you this day?’
He said to [Hadrian]: ‘One hundred years old.’
[Hadrian] said to him: ‘You are one hundred years old and digging holes to plant trees? Do you think you will eat from them?’
He said to [Hadrian]: ‘If I am privileged, I will eat. If not, just as my fathers toiled on my behalf, so I will toil on behalf of my children.’
[Hadrian] said to him: ‘If you are privileged to eat of them, inform me.’
Eventually, they produced figs. He said: ‘The time has come to inform the emperor.’ What did he do? He filled a basket with figs and ascended and stood at the palace gate.
They said to him: ‘What is your business?’
He said to them: ‘To enter before the king.’
Once he entered, [Hadrian] said to him: ‘What is your business?’
He said to him: ‘I am the old man you passed as I was digging holes to plant trees and you said to me: If you are privileged to
PERSONALITIES
Hadrian - סוּניּרדא: Roman Emperor from 117 to 138 CE. Initially favorable towards the Jewish people, he halted Roman oppression, allowed the Sanhedrin to reconvene in Usha (Galilee), and even considered permitting the reconstruction of the Beit
Hamikdash. However, his eventual change in policy led to harsh anti-Jewish decrees and the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, earning him the reputation as one of the most oppressive Roman rulers to the Jewish people
eat of them, inform me. I have been privileged and eaten of them, and these are figs produced by them.’
Hadrian said at that moment: ‘I command, give him a golden chair and let him sit.’
He said: ‘I command that you empty this basket of his and fill it with dinars.’
His servants said to him: ‘Will you honor this old Jewish man with all this honor?’
He said to him: ‘His Creator has honored him, will I not honor him?’
The wife of the [old man’s] neighbor was a lowly woman. She said to her husband: ‘Fool, see that this king loves figs and exchanges them for dinars.’ What did he do? He filled his sack with figs and went and stood before the palace.
They said to him: ‘What is your business?’
He said to them: ‘I heard that the king loves figs and exchanges them for dinars.’
They entered and said to the king: ‘There is a certain old man standing at the palace gate carrying his sack full of figs. We said to him: What is your business? He said to us: I heard that the king loves figs and exchanges them for dinars.’
[Hadrian] said: ‘I command that you stand him before the palace gate and anyone who enters or exits should throw it at his face.’
Before evening, they ejected him and he went home. He said to his wife: ‘I must repay you for all this honor.’ She said to him: ‘Go and boast to your mother that they were figs and they were not citrons, and they were ripe and not unripe.’
