--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th…" description: "\"Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th year, giving then its finest fruit, is man. How can he give forth wisdom until he has been crushed and turned in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg" --- # Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th year, giving then… ![“Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th year, giving then its finest fruit, is man. How can he give forth wisdom until he has been crushed and turned in the Hand of God.” quote by Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg) > “Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th year, giving then its finest fruit, is man. How can he give forth wisdom until he has been crushed and turned in the Hand of God.” [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Man must endure suffering before wisdom can emerge, like an ancient tree bearing fruit only after being broken. **In simple terms:** Wisdom comes after hardship. Key Takeaway Embrace trials to grow. Themes suffering wisdom spirituality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual practice - leadership challenges - creative breakthroughs Key Concepts Transformation sacrifice divine will Questions to Reflect On - What hardships have shaped your understanding? - How can you find purpose in suffering? A Different Perspective Hardship alone does not guarantee insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [500Th Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/500th-year-3386862/) [Crushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crushed/) [Finest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finest/) [Finest Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finest-fruit-3386863/) [Forth Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forth-wisdom-3386861/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hand Of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hand-of-god/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hands of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-of-god/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Olive trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olive-trees/) [Olives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olives/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Twisted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twisted/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Crushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-crushed-3386864/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [The finest fruit earth holds up to its Maker is a finished man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/the-finest-fruit-earth-holds-up-to-its-maker-is-a-finished-man/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [“Olive trees grow in the same climate and soil conditions as grapes. The olive oil people have been up in Napa Valley all along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/olive-trees-grow-in-the-same-climate-and-soil-conditions-as-grapes/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“Olive trees are intimate creatures, eloquent in their twistedness. It's easy to understand why the ancients believed human spirits could be trapped inside them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/olive-trees-are-intimate-creatures-eloquent-in-their-twistedness-it-s/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [You spoke about things they couldn't see and so they laughed. Yet to row up the dark river against the current, to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgos-seferis/you-spoke-about-things-they-couldn-t-see-and-so-they-laughed-yet-to/) [Giorgos Seferis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgos-seferis/) > [If you deconstruct Greece, you will in the end see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odysseas-elytis/if-you-deconstruct-greece-you-will-in-the-end-see-an-olive-tree-a/) [Odysseas Elytis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odysseas-elytis/) > [“In 1850, August Salzmann photographed, near Jerusalem, the road to Beith-Lehem (as it was spelled at the time): nothing but stony ground, olive trees;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/in-1850-august-salzmann-photographed-near-jerusalem-the-road-to-beith/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [When a man's pride is subdued it's like the sides of Mount Aetna. It was terrible during the eruption, but when that is over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/when-a-man-s-pride-is-subdued-it-s-like-the-sides-of-mount-aetna-it/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“How shall I raise dead men up to plow fields that are fallow? How shall I plant young olive trees?” Mikel smiled, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-graham/how-shall-i-raise-dead-men-up-to-plow-fields-that-are-fallow-how/) [Jo Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-graham/) > [I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beechtree, or a yellow birch, or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-frequently-tramped-eight-or-ten-miles-through-the-deepest-snow-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It's promising and seductive, that huge Italian family, sitting around the dinner table, surrounded by olive trees. But it's not my family and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-hamilton/it-s-promising-and-seductive-that-huge-italian-family-sitting-around/) [Gabrielle Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-hamilton/) > [“olive trees. As I looked closer at them I wondered if they had escaped; their trunks and roots were so gnarled and scarred it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-giammatteo/olive-trees-as-i-looked-closer-at-them-i-wondered-if-they-had-escaped/) [Giacomo Giammatteo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-giammatteo/) > [Good morrow, fair ones; pray you, if you know, Where in the purlieus of this forest stands A sheep-cote fenc'd about with olive trees?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/good-morrow-fair-ones-pray-you-if-you-know-where-in-the-purlieus-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“He knows his olive trees better than he knows his children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-helm-ropelato/he-knows-his-olive-trees-better-than-he-knows-his-children/) [Rebecca Helm-Ropelato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-helm-ropelato/) > [In this way, his unhappy soul struggled with its anguish. Eighteen hundred years before this unfortunate man, the mysterious Being, in whom all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-this-way-his-unhappy-soul-struggled-with-its-anguish-eighteen/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I know more about wheat and olive trees than I do about politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/i-know-more-about-wheat-and-olive-trees-than-i-do-about-politics/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) ## More by Rabbi Akiva > [In the beginning, sin is like a thread of a spider's web. But in the end, it becomes like the cable of a ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/in-the-beginning-sin-is-like-a-thread-of-a-spider-s-web-but-in-the/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [Beloved are Israel, for they were called children of the All-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/beloved-are-israel-for-they-were-called-children-of-the-all-present/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [Before you taste anything, recite a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/before-you-taste-anything-recite-a-blessing/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [If a rock, though extremely hard, can be hollowed out by water, how much more so should it be possible for The Light, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/if-a-rock-though-extremely-hard-can-be-hollowed-out-by-water-how-much/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [Jesting and levity lead a man to lewdness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/jesting-and-levity-lead-a-man-to-lewdness/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of God. Beloved are Israel, for they were called children of God. Beloved are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/beloved-is-man-for-he-was-created-in-the-image-of-god-beloved-are/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [“Silence is the fence around wisdom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/silence-is-the-fence-around-wisdom/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [He who remains unmarried impairs the divine image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/he-who-remains-unmarried-impairs-the-divine-image/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/beloved-is-man-for-he-was-created-in-the-image-of-god/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/everything-is-foreseen-yet-freedom-of-choice-is-granted/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) > [A fence to wisdom is silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/a-fence-to-wisdom-is-silence/) [Rabbi Akiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) [Explore all 12 Rabbi Akiva quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/) ## More Crushed quotes > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [When we start helping the weak and the poor to rise everyone will begin to change. Those who have power and riches will start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/when-we-start-helping-the-weak-and-the-poor-to-rise-everyone-will/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I'm crushed by the responsibility of writing a satirical book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-m-crushed-by-the-responsibility-of-writing-a-satirical-book/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-aims-of-these-three-groups-are-entirely-irreconcilable-the-aim-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“As I enter the small intestine I get squeezed by muscles. Its dark and the walls look like slimey crushed velvet theres pancreas juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/as-i-enter-the-small-intestine-i-get-squeezed-by-muscles-its-dark-and/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I like you better this way." For some reason, admitting this made her face go hot right away; she was very glad that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-like-you-better-this-way-for-some-reason-admitting-this-made-her/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [My self-esteem had been crushed through years of childhood bullying and serious abuses, which would take me decades to overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/my-self-esteem-had-been-crushed-through-years-of-childhood-bullying/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [It's sad that as crushed Millennials we live in the shadow of our parents, our fathers. We aren't willing to murder our government. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-wilson/it-s-sad-that-as-crushed-millennials-we-live-in-the-shadow-of-our/) [Cody Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-wilson/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-was-broken-in-body-soul-and-spirit-my-natural-elasticity-was/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [It will always hurt to be laughed at, snubbed, ignored or attacked by others. But I would remind you that the human personality grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/it-will-always-hurt-to-be-laughed-at-snubbed-ignored-or-attacked-by/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [At this very moment,... the most frightful horrors are taking place in every corner of the world. People are being crushed, slashed, disembowelled, mangled;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/at-this-very-moment-the-most-frightful-horrors-are-taking-place-in/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Hillary Clinton, our junior senator from New York, announced that she has no intentions of ever, ever running for office of the President of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/hillary-clinton-our-junior-senator-from-new-york-announced-that-she/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) [Browse all 528 Crushed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crushed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th year, giving then its finest fruit, is man. How can he give forth wisdom until he has been crushed and turned in the Hand of God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabbi Akiva" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-year-giving-then-its-finest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crushed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-year-giving-then-its-finest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbd/rabbi-akiva-38052_crushed_like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-y_371432.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like a twisted olive tree in its 500th year, giving then its finest fruit, is man. How can he give forth…” — Rabbi Akiva", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rabbi Akiva", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbi-akiva/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like a twisted olive tree in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-year-giving-then-its-finest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbi-akiva/like-a-twisted-olive-tree-in-its-500th-year-giving-then-its-finest/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```