We are now in pesukim of Perek Shira. We're up to the song of the figs from Mishlei 27, 18 where Shlomo Hamelech tells us:
נֹצֵר תְּאֵנָה יֹאכַל פִּרְיָהּ: (משלי כז יח) /One that guards the fig tree will eat its fruit,
וְשֹׁמֵ֖ר אֲדֹנָ֣יו יְכֻבָּֽד׃/ and one who watches his master (or teacher) will be honored.
What exactly is Shlomo Hamelech telling us in this analogy comparing a fig farmer to someone who is learning?
All the commentaries say that a fig tree is interesting in the fact that the figs are not all plucked at one time. The figs ripen at different times, so you have to watch over it. And if a fig is left too long, it ends up getting rotten.
The Malbim says the term used here, Nitzirah, is a higher level of watching than Shemira, because a fig tree must be watched very closely to make sure that they're plucked at the right time. So too, a student has to be beside his teacher constantly, because each day he acquires additional wisdom, and therefore becomes wise.
In Bamidbar 27,16 Rashi says that when Moshe Rabbenu requested from Hashem that his leadership be handed over to his children, Just like the daughters of Tzofchad asked for land as they were entering Israel, I should ask for my children to take over my position.
But Hashem said No, Yehoshua is going to take over because he was always there in the tent.
What does that mean? Rashi continues with our pasuk-
נֹצֵר תְּאֵנָה יֹאכַל פִּרְיָהּ:/ One that guards the fig tree will eat its fruit,
Yehoshua knew this rule that you have to consistently be by your teacher. You can't just come when you see fit. Just like you never know when that fig will become ripe, you never know when there will be a special pearl of wisdom that will come from your teacher.
The Midrash Tanhuma in Nasso chapter 13 cites this concept and says the following rule: In anything that a person toils in and puts his soul into, Hashem rewards him, and he quotes our pasuk-
נֹצֵר תְּאֵנָה יֹאכַל פִּרְיָהּ:/ the one that guards the fig tree will eat from its fruit. Shlomo Hamelech was the one that built the Bet Hamikdash, as it clearly says in Navi. Yet it's considered the house of David, as we say, Mizmor Shir Hanukat Habayit L'David. Why David?
Because although David Hamelech didn't actually build it, he fulfilled this concept of
נֹצֵר תְּאֵנָה יֹאכַל פִּרְיָהּOne that guards the fig tree will eat its fruit,
Because he was diligent in setting up the plans and putting his heart and soul into it, it was called upon him.
The Midrash Rabba in Bamidbar 21,15 has a different comparison of the fig tree. It doesn't mean you always have to be there to listen to every word, but rather, the way you gather the figs is one today, one tomorrow, and eventually you have a whole bundle. So too, with Torah, you're not going to learn it all in one day. It's a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow, and eventually you have a bundle of knowledge.
These are the two comparisons-One is, Don't miss a moment, because you might miss that pearl of wisdom, like you might miss the ripening fig.
The other is, it's a consistent, daily job to collect the figs, and it's a consistent daily job to gather learning.
Rabbenu Bachye in Kad Hakemach, in the discussion of guests, says that the analogy is as follows: When a person works on a fig farm, he has two benefits. Number one is he gets to eat the luscious figs because they're always ready. With other crops, it might be the wrong time, it might be the wrong season, but since the figs are constantly ripening at different times, he's almost always guaranteed a snack. So, besides the salary that he gets, he also gets the snack as a bonus.
And that's what Shlomo Hamelech meant here, that when it comes to Torah and mitzvot, not only do you get the final reward in Olam Haba, but you get to snack on the tree. He uses the term notzer in a different way than the Malbim, who says notzer is a higher level shemira. They're both true. But the word notzer, we see, is used when it comes to the Torah, like it says in Mishleh Nozra Ki Hi Hayecha/Keep it, it is your life, the lesson being that a person who learns Torah, not only does he get reward in the world to come, but he gets reward in this world.
These are the many lessons of the fig tree as it relates to Torah and Mitzvot, and that is the song of the fig tree.