What are your seven sources of strength?
Photo by Waldemar Brandt
One of my regular weekly practices is to study the portion of the Torah (the Old Testament) that will be read by Jews around the world during the upcoming Shabbat (Sabbath). In doing this, I inevitably find a lesson that applies to where I am in life that particular week. Sometimes the lessons are hard to discern (and swallow), and other times they are obvious (and encouraging). This week, it wasn’t the lesson, but rather the questions that struck me, and I thought they might strike you too.
Let me explain.
In this week’s portion, Moses (the great biblical hero of the Exodus story) addresses the Israelites at the end of their journey towards the promised land. Moses proclaims the idea that if the Israelites follow the rules that God has set out, they will thrive in the land of Israel. He also rebukes the Israelites for their past missteps, like worshipping the Golden Calf and rebelling against God’s word. It all adds up to a serious lecture about consequences. The idea is, in essence, that if the Israelites act wisely, they will receive blessings. If they are arrogant and stubborn, they will face hardship and must repent.
To be honest, Moses lays it on pretty thick.
But in this same portion, Moses also describes Israel, the land they were about to enter, as one of abundance and prosperity, flowing with the proverbial milk and honey. And interestingly, he also names 'seven species' that bless the land – wheat, barley, grapevines, figs, pomegranates, olive oil and dates.
It’s this part of the story that really got my attention – the seven species.
The Kabbalists (learned people who explore the mystical side of Judaism) identify seven attributes that align with these seven species, and the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria correlated the seven specifies with the seven lower siferot (spiritual radiances). The way he matched them up is as follows:
Wheat – Kindness (chesed)
Barley – Restraint (gevura)
Grapevines – Beauty (tiferet)
Figs – Endurance (netzach)
Pomegranates – Majesty (hod)
Olive Oil – Foundation/Grounding (yesod)
Dates – Kingdom/Queendom (malchot)
Kindness. Restraint. Beauty. Endurance. Majesty. Grounding. Kingdom/Queendom. Who wouldn’t want that growing all around them?
Then I started thinking: most of us have ' life gardens' that provide much of the nourishment we need. While our lives may not always seemingly flow with milk and honey, most of us are fortunate enough to have social and spiritual support that leads us toward the right path and away from the wrong ones. That support grows all around us, but far too often we don’t stop to recognize it. Only sometimes, when it is pointed out to us, do we truly stop and reflect.
So after reading this week’s portion, I paused and asked myself these two questions:
What seven things nourish me and represent the goodness in my life? What are the things that grow around me that I might not always notice, but that makes my life possible?
For me, one of those seven attributes is my family. They inspire me and support me and serve as my life’s foundation, while also giving me the motivation to endure. Another is nature; it gives me a sense of awe and an appreciation for the majesty surrounding me.
Perhaps this week, as we all walk through the last sweltering days of August and our minds wander to the cool harvest days of Autumn, each of us can ask ourselves the same question: what are the seven things in our lives that inspire us to follow our paths of goodness and wellbeing, and that keep us from going off the path? What are the seven species growing in our personal life gardens?
Yes, most of us all have a way to go until we reach our respective promised lands. But taking time to notice what is growing all around us will make the journey all the better.