This is one of my very favorite phrases. It stems from the sentence in Deuteronomy (20:19) When you besiege a city … do not destroy the trees…; for is the tree of the field not a man, that it should be besieged of thee?

כִּי תָצוּר אֶל עִיר יָמִים רַבִּים ... לֹא תַשְׁחִית אֶת עֵצָהּ כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה

Ki tatzur el Ir yamim rabim,Lo tashchitet aitza- ki ha'adam hu eitz haSade Some see it as a rhetorical question, others as a statement. Some also see it as an ecological issue, meaning a tree cannot harm you so why destroy something we need to exist. Others believe it is reflecting on humanity as a whole. Just like a tree gives fruit so does a person. As such do not destroy a "tree" even if is you enemy's for they too need to live

The phrase is also the title of the immortal song by Natan Zach and Shalom Chanoch and was recorded by Nurit Galron in 1982 (Hebrew transliteration an English linked).

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