A most touching story is told in the Gemara (Taanis 5b-6a). The taanaim R’ Nachman and R’ Yitzchok were preparing to take their leave from one another, and R’ Nachman asked R’ Yitzchok for a blessing. R’ Yitzchok responded to R’ Nachman’s request with a parable:

To what may this be compared? To a man who was traveling in a desert, and he was hungry, tired, and thirsty. Then he came upon a tree whose fruits were sweet and its shade pleasant and a stream of water was flowing beneath it. He ate of its fruits, drank of its water, and sat in its shade. When he sought to leave, he said: Tree. O tree, how shall I bless you? Shall I say to you that your fruits shall be sweet? Why, your fruits are already sweet. That your shade will be pleasant? Why, your shade is already pleasant. Shall I say that a stream of water will flow beneath you? Why, a stream of water already flows beneath you. Therefore, this is my blessing: May it be the will of God that all the shoots planted from you will be like you.

Just as the traveler could not find anything lacking in the tree that might be remedied by a blessing, so too R’ Yitzchok could not find anything with which to bless R’ Nachman. However, the traveler had found the perfect blessing with which to bless the tree — that all its shoots should be as wonderful as the tree itself. So too, R’ Yitzchok blessed R’ Nachman:

You too, R’ Nachman, with what shall I bless you? … May it be the will of God that your offspring will be like you.

When Hashem created trees, He instructed the Earth to put forth trees of fruit yielding fruit each after its kind, which have their seed in them on the earth (Bereishis 1:11). A primary function of a tree is that it should have in it the wherewithal to propagate additional trees. The tree itself is not eternal. It lasts for a time and then it is gone. But it lives on through its shoots. The traveler understood that this is a true blessing for the tree. Yes, right now, it is a wonderful tree. But how can I give it eternity? How can I help the tree further its mission beyond what it already can accomplish? By blessing it with eternal success through its shoots.

So too, R’ Yitzchok said to R’ Nachman: You have Torah, you have wealth, you have children. You already do all that you can with the life you have been given. With what shall I bless you? The answer is I can bless you that your legacy shall outlive you; that you will live on in the lives and deeds of your children who will follow in your ways. In this way all that makes you special will continue after you are gone.

This artwork was designed with this touching message, as a fitting gift for children to present to their parents, or students to their mentors. There are three versions of this design, and the details are below.

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