Why Toil For Others? Emperor #Hadrian [🎥]

(1) (Lev. 19:23:) “When you come into the land and plant.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, Even though you find it (i.e., the land) full of all bounty, you shall not say, ‘Let us settle down and not plant.’ Rather, be careful in planting, as stated (ibid., cont.), ‘and plant any tree for food.’ Just as you came in and found plantings which others had planted, so you shall plant for your children, lest someone say, ‘Since I am old and tomorrow I shall die, why should I toil for others.’” Solomon said (in Eccl. 3:11), “He has made everything beautiful in its time; He also has put eternity into their heart.” “Hidden ('lm)” is what is written (without the w of the normal spelling, i.e., 'wlm, eternity). Why? If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not hidden (rt.: 'lm) the day of [one's] death from people, a person would neither build nor plant; for he would have said, “Tomorrow I shall die. Why should I persist in toiling for the sake of others?” The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore, hid death from (rt.: 'lm) human hearts, so that one would build and plant. [If] he is worthy, [it will be] for himself; [if] unworthy, [it will be] for others. There is a story about the emperor Hadrian; that he was going to war and traveling with his troops to fight with a certain country for having rebelled against him.22Cf. Lev. R. 25:5; Eccl. R. 2:20:1. Now he found a certain old man who was planting fig saplings. Hadrian said to him, “You are an old man. [Why are you] persisting in taking the trouble to toil for others?” He said to Hadrian, “My lord king, here I am planting. If I am worthy, I shall eat of the fruit of my saplings; but if not, my children will eat.” [Hadrian] spent three years at war, and after three years he returned. What did that old man do? He took a fruit basket, filled it with the firstfruits of beautiful figs, and drew near to Hadrian. He said to him, “My lord king, take these figs, for I am the same old man whom you found when you were on your way [to the war] when you said, ‘You are an old man; why are you taking the trouble to toil for others?’ See, the Holy One, blessed be He, has already found me worthy to eat some fruit from my saplings. Now this [fruit] in my fruit basket is your portion from those [saplings].” Hadrian said to his servants, “Take it from him and fill it with gold coins.” And so they did. The old man took the fruit basket full of gold coins and began to go about his house, boasting to his wife and children. So he told them the story. Now a woman neighbor of his was there. She heard what the old man had said. She said to her husband, “When all the people go [through life], the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to them and prepares bounty for them. But you dwell in your dark house in the gloom. See, our [neighbor] honored the emperor with a fruit basket of figs; and he filled it with gold coins for him. Now you get up, take a large basket, and fill it with varieties of choice fruit, with apples, figs, and the other varieties of beautiful fruit, since he loves them a lot. Go and honor him with them. Perhaps he will fill it with gold for you, as he did for our old neighbor.” He went and heeded his wife. So he took a large basket, filled it with apples and figs, and loaded it on his shoulder.