Saturday, January 26, 2013

A Mnemonic for Israel's Special Fruits

A mnemonic to know which of the 5 special fruits of Israel to bless on comes first, in case the relevant Torah verse, or the logic behind the required order, is forgotten - is simple. Years ago I saw it in a sefer written by a Sefardi Jew. Unfortunately I made no effort to remember his name (because האומר דבר בשם אומרו מביא גאולה לעולם).

This was his "formula": The closer the number of seeds comes to ONE, (as in "God in One"), that fruit precedes another.

Thus the order is thus: The OLIVE always precedes any other - because its seed is a single pit.

Next comes the DATE. Although it too has but one seed, its seed's crevice along its length gives it the resemblance of being split in two.

Next in line is the GRAPE. The grape has about 4 seeds.

Next comes the FIG; It has about 200 seeds.

Last, but not least, is the POMEGRANATE. This fruit is entirely filled with seeds.

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