Figs

Teaser: Jedi Master Chef has given us a fig recipe! Apparently this Brisket with Figs and Red Wine was a HUGE hit with the guests. And I’m also told that you can replace the Brisket with Chuck Roast. We’ll all have to try it. Jumping in! –

Happy Tu BiShvat!  The interpretation of this holiday is “New Year of Trees”, and is believed to have been originally an agricultural celebration.  But as time went on, Kabbalistic and Hasidic observers gave symbolic meaning to the trees themselves.

It is interesting to compare notes on Christian lore regarding the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil vs. that of the Kabblistic tradition.  In Christianity, it is said to have been an apple, but Kabbalistic tradition holds that it was actually a Fig Tree.  This may be held up with the evidence that Adam and Eve took fig leaves to hide their nakedness before God in the original Genesis story.  Thus symbolizing that they had knowledge imparted to them by the same tree- rather than a happenstance of gathering what was near by.  It was as though they were specifically advertising “we know”.

Of course, beyond symbolism- figs are incredibly beneficial for your body.  They help protect the liver from damage, can help prevent abdominal pain, can help lower glucose levels in the blood, and aid in the regulation of blood pressure and cholesterol. I’m also told by our Jedi Boom that here Grandmother use to use fig syrup as a laxative- so be careful how many you eat in one sitting!

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