{"id":50012,"date":"2019-02-23T21:36:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-23T19:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=50012"},"modified":"2022-09-14T12:38:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T09:38:52","slug":"seven-spectacular-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seven-spectacular-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Spectacular Species"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[667,430,360],"acf":{"old_id":"50012","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46249,"related_cahpter":"161","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"To signify and symbolize a spiritual system of sustenance and satisfaction","content":"

Deuteronomy 8:8 produces one of the most potent images of the Land of Israel\u2019s bounty, this fertile \u201cland of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey.\u201d These are the Seven Species that have launched many an art project, many a spiritual teaching, even seven iconic Israeli stamps. The spiritual power of those seven species is tapped two verses later: ve-achalta, ve-savata, u-verachta<\/em>: \u201cAnd you will eat and be sated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land God has given you\u2026.\u201d That pitch-perfect phrase is so resonant, it appears in Birkat HaMazon, the grace-after-meals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warning, warning. This could be a great point of disconnect between some modern Western rationalists and the Bible. Waxing poetic about seven species! Reading spiritual power into vines or barley! Deifying a land that a little less than half the Jewish people inhabit \u2013 and which others lay claim to! Tree-huggers are one thing \u2013 but fig-worshippers? That\u2019s not my delightfully reasonable, ever-so-suburban, ready-for-prime-time liberal American Judaism!<\/span><\/p>\n

Precisely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than being editorial Jews, always judging how our 3,500-year-old tradition might prop up our modern liberal sensibilities, let\u2019s be humble readers, trying to understand the verse in its cultural and spiritual context \u2013 to tap into its countercultural power today. Modern believers often view religions as two-dimensional \u2013 facilitating spiritual interactions between me and my Maker, muting the communal resonance. Non-Orthodox American Jews often emphasize Judaism\u2019s ethnic, cultural, familial dimensions spiced up with some quaint rituals to charm the kids — draining true spirituality from it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bringing land into the mix brings Judaism alive \u2013 in 3-D. This isn\u2019t \u201cjust\u201d a religion \u2013 it\u2019s a way of life. This isn\u2019t \u201cjust\u201d a culture or ethnic group \u2013 it\u2019s a spiritual system. Judaism\u2019s full-time, full-service, all-purpose. It\u2019s alive, it\u2019s sensual, and it thrives best in the land of Israel, Judaism\u2019s natural habit. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ve-Achalta<\/em> \u2013 \u201cand you will eat\u201d \u2013Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, literally sustains us; it\u2019s our lifeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ve-Savata<\/em> \u2013 \u201cand you will be sated\u201d \u2013 Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, nourishes, satisfies, fulfills us \u2013 physically then spiritually.<\/span><\/p>\n

U-Verachta<\/em> \u2013 \u201cyou shall bless\u201d – and then, how can you not be grateful? And why not consider the Prime Mover in all this, the deeper power, transcending the human, which Jews call \u201cGod.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Seven Species then become seven allies, seven props, seven ways into this Holy Trinity of eating, being satisfied, being grateful. <\/span><\/p>\n

And let us say \u201camen.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

artwork by: Linda Adams, courtesy of the artist<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":50013,"id":50013,"title":"dt8-Linda Adams-7 species","filename":"dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seven-spectacular-species\/dt8-linda-adams-7-species\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt8-linda-adams-7-species","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":50012,"date":"2019-02-23 19:35:46","modified":"2019-02-23 19:35:58","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2352,"height":2450,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-288x300.jpg","medium-width":288,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-768x800.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":800,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-983x1024.jpg","large-width":983,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","1536x1536-width":1475,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","2048x2048-width":1966,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-1152x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1152,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-403x420.jpg","home_baner-width":403,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Seven Spectacular Species","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"To signify and symbolize a spiritual system of sustenance and satisfaction","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":50013,"id":50013,"title":"dt8-Linda Adams-7 species","filename":"dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seven-spectacular-species\/dt8-linda-adams-7-species\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt8-linda-adams-7-species","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":50012,"date":"2019-02-23 19:35:46","modified":"2019-02-23 19:35:58","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2352,"height":2450,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-288x300.jpg","medium-width":288,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-768x800.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":800,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-983x1024.jpg","large-width":983,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","1536x1536-width":1475,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species.jpg","2048x2048-width":1966,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-1152x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1152,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-Linda-Adams-7-species-403x420.jpg","home_baner-width":403,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50012"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107986,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50012\/revisions\/107986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}