Sweet as Honey – Eikev
אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן אֶרֶץ זֵית שֶׁמֶן וּדְבָשׁ (דברים ח, ח).
The only passuk in the Torah that lists the שִׁבְעַת הַמִּינִים raises a number of questions.
The first question is why is this the order? If the passuk intended to subdivide the seven items in order of food group, דָּגָן, תִּירוֹשׁ, פֵּרוֹת, יִצְהָר, then the order should be wheat, barley (grains), grapes (wine), figs, pomegranates and dates (fruit), olives (oil). However, the passuk splits the fruit list into two parts, first the figs and pomegranates and only after the oil part, does it list dates.
Secondly, the passuk repeats the word אֶרֶץ twice. The first אֶרֶץ for wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates and then a second אֶרֶץ for olives and dates. It is as if there are two different types of אֶרֶץ and not one integral אֶרֶץ.
The third question is why the passuk calls olives זֵית שֶׁמֶן, the fruit and the byproduct – oil. If the passuk was listing the fruits and also the byproducts derived from them, it should have also said חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה לֶחֶם, גֶּפֶן יַיִן and תָּמָר דְּבַשׁ.
Lastly, dates are not mentioned at all in the passuk, only the word דְבָשׁ, honey. How do we know that the passuk even means dates? It could be "bee honey", or honey made from other types of fruit as well.
In this shiur I would like to discuss honey, both the physical form and the spiritual concept.
Before we begin, I would like to add a disclaimer. This is a very complicated subject and I will not pretend that I understand it fully. Not for nothing the gematria of דְבָשׁ (in "milui" form דלת בית שין) is אָמַרְתִּי אֶחְכָּמָה וְהִיא רְחוֹקָה מִמֶּנִּי (קהלת ז, כג). Secondly, the explanation may contain quotes that appear to be "chauvinistic". These are taken from well-known commentators and I am just quoting them.
After that provocative introduction, let us begin.
The Seven Species are not only types of produce שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּבְּחָה בָּהֶם אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, that are indigenous to Eretz Yisrael and when grown here are superior to those grown in any other country - they also have many halachic ramifications pertaining to בִּכּוּרִים, בְּרָכוֹת, etc.
R' Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, author of the sefer Bnei Yissaschar, says that we specifically read about the Seven Species on the Shabbat in close proximity (before or after) after טו' באב, because טו' באב parallels טו' בשבט in the yearly cycle. There are two opinions in the Gemara (Rosh Hashana 11a) when the world was created – on the 1st of Nisan or the 1st of Tishrei. Tu Bishvat, (when we celebrate the trees), is forty days before Rosh Chodesh Nisan and Tu BeAv is forty days before Rosh Hashana (Rosh Chodesh Tishrei). So, on Tu BeAv (or close to it), we celebrate the Seven Species – the fruit of the trees. What is the significance of forty days? The Gemara (Sota 2a) says that forty days before the fetus is created, a bat kol announces "בַּת פְּלוֹנִי לִפְלוֹנִי בֵּית פְּלוֹנִי לִפְלוֹנִי שְׂדֵה פְלוֹנִי לִפְלוֹנִי". Forty days before HKB"H actually created the world, He already planned how it was going to be in advance.
R' Pinchas from Koretz, one of the talmidim of the Ba'al Shem Tov, in his sefer Imrei Pinchas, says that what makes these seven species unique is that they can all be grown successfully in Eretz Yisrael. You have other countries, like Spain, that grow olives for making oil, but Spain is not well known for growing wheat and barley, or Ukraine which is well known for its grains, but not for its figs or pomegranates.
The superiority of these species grown in Eretz Yisrael has already been established in parshat Shlach, when the meraglim brought back samples of a cluster of grapes, figs and pomegranates. According to one opinion it was Yehoshua and Kalev who brought back the fruit, to show Am Yisrael how good the land was. According to a second opinion it was the other ten meraglim who brought back the fruit, to scare Am Yisrael (the fruit was abnormally large).
Even today, Israel exports Durum wheat (the original strain of wheat indigenous to Eretz Yisrael) to Italy for producing semolina for the pasta industry, as Israeli grown Durum is considered the most prestigious quality. Ironically Italy's milling technology is more advanced than Israel's which is why the semolina we use in Machon Lechem Hapanim for experimenting with the Menachot and doing workshops is from Durum wheat grown in Israel but milled in Italy.
According to the Ramban, the choice of these specific seven species is not necessarily to show overflowing abundance, but rather the opposite – הִסְתַּפְּקוּת בְּמוּעָט. These seven species comprise all the major nutritional food groups necessary to sustain life. Moreover, these specific species are typified by their "shelf life". They can all be dried/processed/juiced/fermented into products with an extended expiration date, enabling consumption long after the fresh produce is no longer available, for example during the winter months.
Today almost any food can be preserved, by canning or with chemicals. However, canning was only invented around 200 years ago, in the time of Napoleon and the modern preservative chemicals used today, emerged many decades (even centuries) later. In biblical times, the best way to preserve fresh produce was by drying the fruit, making oil from the olives, wine from the grapes, honey from the dates and storing the grains in a dry storage area.
Our passuk above has a definite subdivision, but it is not according to food group. The subdivision is into two distinct groups, each prefaced by the word אֶרֶץ. The first group contains - wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates and the second group - olives for oil and honey.
What is special about the first group? The five species listed in the first group are all connected to the חֵטְא עֵץ הַדַּעַת.
Wheat and barley were the fruit of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת (Meir Panim, chap. 15).
Chava squeezed grapes into wine and gave Adam to drink (Zohar, part A, 36a).
Following the sin Adam and Chava covered themselves with fig leaves. The word תְּאֵנָה is symbolic of "complaining for no apparent reason", for example וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאֹנְנִים (במדבר יא, א). Adam and Chava had no reason to complain for lack of food and eat from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת which Hashem forbade.
The Mefarshim say that the מְעִיל of the Kohen Gadol was an atonement for sins of speech. For this reason, on the edge of the מְעִיל were a series of פַּעֲמֹן וְרִמֹּן פַּעֲמֹן וְרִמֹּן עַל שׁוּלֵי הַמְּעִיל סָבִיב.. (שמות לט, כו). The Mefarshim (Alsheich, Kli Yakar and others) say that the pa'amon (bell) resembles an open mouth and the rimon (pomegranate) a closed mouth. The sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת resulted from the serpent opening its mouth and speaking lashon harah and from Chava not keeping her mouth shut and conversing with the serpent while her husband was not present/sober (Meir Panim, ibid.).
The second group, olives and dates, is typified by a completely different common denominator. Unlike the first group where only the fresh produce is listed, in this second group the byproduct (the processed result) of the fruit is listed זֵית שֶׁמֶן וּדְבָשׁ. Regarding olives it lists both the fruit and the byproduct – oil and with dates, it omits the fruit completely and lists only the byproduct – honey.
How do we know that the passuk is actually talking about dates when it says דְבָשׁ? Honey is made from other sources, other fruit and also bees make honey. In fact Rashi (Shmot 13, 5) on the passuk זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ says that the milk is from goats and honey is from dates and figs. On the passuk כִּי כָל שְׂאֹר וְכָל דְּבַשׁ לֹא תַקְטִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ אִשֶּׁה לַה' (ויקרא ב, יא) Rashi says that any sweet fruit is called honey. So how do we know that our passuk above is specifically speaking about dates? We know it from a Gemara in the Yerushalmi (Bikkurim chapter 1, halacha 3) - אֵין מְבִיאִין בִּכּוּרִים חוּץ מִשִּׁבְעַת הַמִּינִים וְלֹא מִן הַתְּמָרִים שֶׁבְּהָרִים וְלֹא מִן הַפֵּרוֹת שֶׁבָּעֲמָקִים וְלֹא מִזֵּיתֵי שֶׁמֶן שֶׁאֵינָן מִן הַמֻּבְחָר. As we know, Bikkurim may only be brought from the Seven Species and from the choice fruits. The Gemara says that the choice dates are those that grow in the valley (even today the best dates grow in the Jordan valley) and the other choice fruit does not grow in the valley (Israel's choice fruit even today comes from the hilly regions in the Galilee and Shomron).
The Gemara (Brachot 41b) brings an account of R' Chisda and R' Hamnuna who sat down to a meal. In the meal they served dates and pomegranates. R' Hamnuna first made the bracha on the dates and not on the pomegranates. R' Chisda asked why he had reversed the order of the passuk (in our passuk above, pomegranates are listed before dates). R' Hamnuna responded that dates have higher priority than pomegranates because they are listed second from the word אֶרֶץ, while pomegranates are listed fifth from the word אֶרֶץ (referring to the two words אֶרֶץ in the passuk). R' Chisda then praised R' Hamnuna for his novel perush.
From these two Gemarot it is clear that the honey referred to in the Seven Species is made from dates.
How do we reconcile Rashi on the other two psukkim, זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ and כִּי כָל שְׂאֹר וְכָל דְּבַשׁ where Rashi says that it is not specifically dates? We learn it from the generalization of the words וְכָל דְּבַשׁ, which means that a distinction is made between bringing "honey" for the mitzva of Bikkurim (from the Seven Species) and bringing honey on the Mizbeach. Regarding the Bikkurim, only dates/honey may be brought, while the issur to bring honey on the Mizbeach applies to all types of honey וְכָל, not only date honey.
So now we have established that our passuk above, when it writes ,דְבָשׁ is referring to dates.
As we have said, the second group of אֶרֶץ lists the byproducts of the fruits, not the actual fruit. Even though it says זֵית שֶׁמֶן, it is referring specifically to the oil, not the fruit. Nobody back then ate the fruit of the olive tree, only the oil made from it. The Gemara (Horayot 13b) says that eating olives makes one forget the Torah they have studied, as opposed to eating olive oil which helps one to remember what they have studied. Today everyone eats olives (the fruit) - in marinade, split, Greek and myriad other types – they obviously never read that Gemara.
In the second group therefore, we have two products – olive oil and date honey.
Although the passuk in the Torah refers to the byproducts – oil and honey, the halacha lema'aseh seems to not reflect this. If someone eats the fruit – olives or dates they must say Borei pri ha'etz before and bracha acharona בְּרָכָה מֵעֵין שָׁלוֹשׁ afterwards.
If, however, someone eats olive oil (on its own) there is a machloket whether any bracha is required at all, or whether you say Borei pri ha'etz before and bracha acharona after. Since most people don't drink olive oil by itself (it is not so healthy to do so), but rather in combination with another ingredient, for example in a salad, or as part of some medicinal mixture. If in a salad, the olive oil is טָפֵל to the salad and a separate bracha is not recited on it, similarly if olive oil is an ingredient in bread etc. If in the medicinal mixture the majority is olive oil, some opinions say that one should say Borei pri ha'etz before and bracha acharona after drinking such a mixture.
Regarding Silan (date honey), certainly the product made today (which is not pure date honey), the consensus is that you recite shehakol before and Borei nefashot after. Most opinions (except for the בה"ג) say that even on pure date honey one says shehakol and Borei nefashot.
That was the introduction, now we can begin the shiur. We have accumulated a lot of "disjointed" tidbits of information that seemingly have no connection with each other. We are now going to tie everything together.
The human species cannot survive without שמחה. Human beings crave happiness (if you were in any doubt, check out the American Declaration of Independence). HKB"H created us that way. Part of the צלם א-לקים is our ability to experience joy. Joy is a prerequisite of our service of HKB"H (Devarim 28, 47). A prophet cannot merit prophecy unless they are in a state of joy, it is a prerequisite.
As with all things that exist in this world, the source is from Heaven. Our parnasa is from Heaven (through the Shulchan and Lechem Hapanim) and also our simcha. The source of simcha is in the 5th level in Heaven called Ma'on. In the level below Ma'on (Zvul) we have the Beit Mikdash shel Ma'ala. When Aharon HaKohen offers korbanot on the mizbeach in the Mishkan, he parallels the angel Michael bringing korbanot in the Beit Mikdash shel Ma'ala in Zvul. The Heavenly and earthly Batei Mikdash are connected and are in sync.
You would think that bringing Korbanot is the highest level one could achieve in this world, but this is not so. When the Levi'im sing Shira to accompany the Korbanot, they thereby elevate them to one level higher – to the level of Ma'on, where simcha originates. Simcha, Shira is a higher level than the korbanot!
Who is in charge of bringing korbanot up in Heaven? The angel Michael. Who is in charge of simcha in Heaven? An angel of much higher stature – the מַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת, or by another name ס"מ, or the יֵצֶר הָרַע. When he was created, the ס"מ was the highest-ranking angel in Heaven – with twelve wings (the other angels only had six). The ס"מ was entrusted with one of HKB"H's most precious treasures – joy.
The plan was for mankind and the ס"מ to work in symbiosis, with the ס"מ providing the joy necessary for mankind to exist and serve HKB"H, but with mankind having the "controlling hand" on the tap, deciding how much and when to apply the joy.
Adam Harishon was commanded to perform the mitzva of פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ, but at first did not fulfil this commandment (only after the sin and he was expelled from Gan Eden, did he do so). The reason that it was impossible for Adam Harishon to do פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ before, was because he was totally devoid of and disconnected from the yetzer harah. Adam Harishon was totally disconnected from anything earthly, including his wife, Chava. Adam Harishon "learned" this from Moshe Rabbeinu. HKB"H commanded Moshe Rabbeinu וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי וַאֲדַבְּרָה אֵלֶיךָ (דברים ה, כז), Moshe had to be on call 24/7 to hear the word of HKB"H. For this reason, Moshe had to totally remove himself from any earthly connection. He went forty days and nights without eating/drinking, he separated from his wife Tzipporah so that טומאה would not be an issue. Chazal say that without the yetzer harah, פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ cannot take place, because a prerequisite for פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ is simcha and this is the domain of the yetzer harah. Adam Harishon's mistake was detaching himself from the yetzer harah before performing פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ. When Moshe detached himself from earthly matters, he had already fulfilled this mitzva – he already had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
As a result, Adam Harishon was not complying with HKB"H's plan to procreate and perpetuate the human species and he aroused the קָטֵגוֹר, none other than the custodian of simcha itself, the ס"מ. This led to the nisayon with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת in which, unlike Avraham Avinu, Adam Harishon did not prevail. Instead of being master of his yetzer harah, like Avraham was, and using the kochot that the only the yetzer harah has, to elevate his service of HKB"H to the highest level, Adam prematurely blocked out the yetzer harah totally and therefore did not realize his destiny. The plan had to be delayed another twenty generations until Avraham.
Although he was essentially only doing his "job", the ס"מ was demoted and stripped of six of his twelve wings. Why was he demoted if he was only doing his job? Because there was more involved. The ס"מ was one of the angels who did not want mankind to be created in the first place and although angels supposedly do not have jealousy, something else was there between the ס"מ and Adam Harishon. We do not understand the affairs of angels so we cannot fully understand this. Suffice it to say that Chazal tell us that the ס"מ was demoted and that when the Geulah arrives, HKB"H will totally eliminate him.
Until then HKB"H does not want us to be devoid of yetzer harah, He wants us to rule over our yetzer harah, like Avraham did and like Yosef did with eshet Potiphar. R' Shalom Dov Ber Schneerson, the אדמו"ר הרש"ב, the 5th Lubavitche Rebbe (1860 – 1920) in his sefer Kuntres Eitz Hachayim, chap. 3 says that HKB"H gave us the Torah as a spice to the yetzer harah. The Torah is not an antidote to cancel the yetzer harah, but a "spice" to sweeten the yetzer harah. He brings an example of a dish of bitter radishes cooked with honey (bitter radishes is a mashal for the yetzer harah and honey is a mashal for the Torah). The resulting dish of the combination of the radishes and the honey, tastes better than just the radishes alone and even the honey alone.
Mankind cannot live without joy. The ס"מ is in charge of dispensing joy. We decide how and when the ס"מ dispenses the joy. If we do not control the ס"מ, the joy he dishes out will be momentary joy – instant gratification! The forms of instant gratification joy are extremely intense but momentary/instant and then they are gone. This type of joy can be likened to a drug addict on a trip. The elation and ecstasy of such joy is so intense that the person can no longer live without it, they have to have more and more. This craving for more and more places the ס"מ in control, not us. Not surprisingly, these kinds of joy are most often destructive and not part of HKB"H's plan.
It is also not surprising that HKB"H programmed us with the biology and chemistry to experience joy. Scientists have managed to identify certain areas of the brain that are called "pleasure centers". These areas in the brain "light up" when a test subject in an MRI scanner is stimulated by various impulses that cause different kinds of pleasure/joy – tactile (being hugged, having your hand held, being kissed etc.), auditory (hearing the voice of a loved one, an inspiring aria or concerto, etc.), olfactory (smelling the scent of a loved one, or a delicious aroma like Saidel's challahs, etc.), gustatory (eating something sweet like chocolate, etc.), visual (seeing a loved one, a breathtaking view or a painting, etc.), chemical (drugs or natural hormones like dopamine, endorphins, etc.), emotional (a feeling of power, etc.), metaphysical (generosity, selflessness, inspiration, etc.).
Stimulation by these impulses causes pleasure and even joy and requires regulation. Inadequate regulation of these stimuli causes addiction.
Controlling our yetzer harah therefore is to a large degree regulating the stimulation of physical pleasure centers in the brain, but that is only half of the equation. The passuk says וְלֹא תָתֻרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם (במדבר טו, לט). Retaining control over our yetzer harah is a joint effort between the eyes and the heart. Either/or can trip us up. Not regulating our eyes refers to the physical stimuli. Not regulating our hearts refers to our thought processes, which are metaphysical.
Usually, the loss of control begins with the "heart", the thought process. Two people can see the same thing but process what they are seeing in completely different ways, one in an innocent way and another in a manipulative way. When a five-year-old boy sees an attractive woman, his thought process is completely different to the thought process of an adult man when he sees the same woman. Two adult men, one happily married and the other single also have different thought processes when they see the same woman with their eyes. Just like we are required to regulate our physical senses, we are required to regulate our thought processes. Inadequate regulation of either/or can result in loss of control to the yetzer harah and addiction.
HKB"H created us with the ability to experience and feel joy, the joy of the senses, the joy of enjoying delicious food, the joy of inspiring music, art, intellectual activity, like studying the Torah, the joy of a relationship with a spouse, the joy of giving birth to children, the joy of friendship, the joy of selflessness, the joy of feeling rain on our cheek, seeing the deep blue sky, etc. Along with this ability comes a responsibility – to regulate and direct this joy in our service of HKB"H.
Eretz Yisrael is blessed with Seven Species of food. One of the joys of living in Eretz Yisrael is having the privilege of eating these special foods. The Torah does not seek to deny us joy, it specifically highlights all the wonders of Eretz Yisrael, one of which are the Seven Species. However, the gift comes packaged with a responsibility and a warning. Just like a food product comes with warning labels on the packaging (Beware: excessive sugar/salt/fat/alcohol/etc.) so too do the Seven Species come with a warning label.
The first group of five have the warning label – "Beware: these foods tripped up Adam and Chava!" They are permissible and even recommended to eat, but make sure you do so without repeating Adam and Chava's mistakes. Regulate your intake and control your yetzer harah.
The second group of two are not fruits that are straight off the tree – food directly from HKB"H, they are indirect byproducts that require earthly intervention. Oil requires processing the olives to extract the oil. Honey requires extraction from the fruit to get the honey (bees extract the nectar from flowers to make the honey).
Oil and honey are like the Menorah and the Shulchan in the Heichal. Just as the Menorah uses olive oil to provide light, which is the light of the Torah, eating olive oil helps you to remember your Torah study. Just as honey belongs to the food group carbohydrates (fructose/monosaccharide), so too does the Lechem Hapanim (bread/starch/polysaccharide) which provides physical sustenance and energy to the body/world. Incidentally, R' Chanina, one of the opinions in the Gemara (Menahot 94b) of the shape of the Lechem Hapanim (teiva perutza), made his fortune from trading in honey! The Menorah and the Shulchan Lechem Hapanim are connected, they are symbiotic.
This second group also comes with a warning label – "Beware: כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי alert!" They are permissible and even recommended to eat, but do not think for one minute that because you had a hand in preparing them that you are responsible for their existence. HKB"H is responsible for their existence, He gave you the skill and the intelligence to make them. If you become a talmid chacham, don't attribute it to your own intelligence. HKB"H gave you that intelligence to enable you to become a talmid chacham. Don’t think that you are so wealthy because you are a good businessman or a smart investor. HKB"H gave you that intelligence to enable you to make the right business decisions. Yes, we had a hand in it, but that is just our hishtadlut, nothing more. Without HKB"H's helping hand we would have gotten nowhere.
Both groups relate to regulation of yetzer harah, but from a different perspective. The first addresses the physical senses, the "eyes", the second group addresses the thought processes, the "heart".
Chazal say that honey is not good for the young, but is good for the elderly. Similarly, Chazal say that olive oil is beneficial to prevent the onset of dementia, it prevents you from forgetting your learning. It is not surprising that these two are preferred for the elderly, since when a person gets older, their control over their yetzer harah increases, as it says וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה' בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל (בראשית כד, א). The Yalkut Shimoni says "R' Levi says שֶׁהִשְׁלִיטוּ בְּיִצְרוֹ".
Of all the Seven Species the most potentially dangerous is honey (from dates). The yetzer harah is strongest regarding "honey". It is the only item in the list where the fruit is not mentioned, only the end product. The danger is that we will lose the connection between the fruit and the end product, that we will see only the honey, but forget where the honey came from, forget that it came from HKB"H. This leads to וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט and was the underlying cause of each and every one of Am Yisrael's lapses throughout history. The spelling of דְבָשׁ in "milui" format דלת בית שין hints to the potential danger of the yetzer harah through honey if not controlled properly. First it enters through the door דלת, then it is in the house בית, and finally it is in your mouth, a "sweet tooth" שין. If you allow the temptation past the door into your home, it is exponentially more difficult to resist it.
This is the reason why when eating olives and dates we say Borei pri ha'eitz before and bracha acharona after, but when eating olive oil and date honey we say she'hakol before and Borei nefashot after. We bless the source so that we will not forget the Source - HKB"H and be blinded by our own כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי.
The purpose of the Mizbeach is to atone for sins caused by our inability to regulate our yetzer harah, the inability to regulate the "honey". This is why "honey" (any kind of honey, not just date honey) has no place on the Mizbeach (chametz is another story – that has to do with laziness). This is also the reason why this passuk is read in close proximity to טו' באב. The gematria of וְאָמַרְתָּ בִּלְבָבֶךָ כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת הַחַיִל הַזֶּה is the same as כִּי כָל שְׂאֹר וְכָל דְּבַשׁ לֹא תַקְטִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ... בְּטוּ בְּאָב. It is also not incidental that our passuk above is perek ח, passuk ח, twice "חטא", hinting to the warning for the two groups.
Rabbeinu Bachyei says that the gematria of דְּבַשׁ is אִשָּׁה. Many lapses and collapses of Am Yisrael were caused by עֲרָיוֹת, like Chava with the serpent, like ba'al pe'or, it was one of the three central causes of the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash. However, by far the most serious threat of honey is כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי and וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט. This is the most serious threat that we face in this generation.
The Seven Species are not simply a list of "yummy" things to eat, they are a user's manual for controlling our yetzer harah.
