Choni HaMe’agel and the Carob Tree
Choni HaMe’agel asks a man why he plants a carob tree that takes 70 years to bear fruit, and then sleeps until that very tree bears fruit.
There is a well-known story with Choni HaMagel. One day he was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree and asked him, “How long does it take [for this tree] to bear fruit?” The man replied, “Seventy years.” He then further asked him, “Are you certain that you will live another 70 years?” The man replied, “I found [ready grown] carob trees in the world; as my forefathers planted these for me so I too plant these for my children.” The end of the story was that Hashem miraculously made Choni sleep until this tree bore fruit.