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Sunday, August 18, 2013

12 Elul: Sweetness and honey

Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate. - Proverbs Chapter 24

If you have found honey, eat enough for you, lest you become sated with it and vomit it. - 





A bit of random....

Shanah Tovah veMetukah - A Good and Sweet Year.  Sweet is delightful to the palate but in large doses can be overwhelming.  What does that mean in our wishes for a sweet year?  I think when things are too good, too wonderful, we can forget.  We forget the blessings come from G-d.  We forget to be grateful.  

In the first quote above, honey is referring to wisdom, and we should seek out and devour wisdom.  I think the balance between sweetness and non sweetness applies here too.  Too much wisdom and a person can become judgemental and self righteous.  

Israel is said to be the land flowing with milk and honey.  This is a description of the fertility of the land. (Although the honey here is referring to date honey).  

Honey has an interesting quality in that it doesn't spoil.  Honey comes from bees, an insect that isn't Kosher, yet honey itself is kosher to eat.  

I can't help but think about the number of bees dying because of overuse of certain pesticides.  When we see the golden honey on our table, we should also take the time to appreciate where it came from and remember that we need to treat our little planet with respect.  


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