Am Segulah

After Shavuot,

we store away our treasures,

once grain, now insights.

How many years ago in the ancient collective memory recorded in our holy books? Have we learned of the agrarian nature of the festival? Disconnected from G-d’s creation by modern technology, utilitarian progress, and endless distractions on the Internet that encroach upon the mind’s inner space, we buy bread or flour taken off the shelf, without even considering how it got there.

This reminds of the story of the young boy who went to thank the grocer for the bread on the table; yet, the grocer told him to thank the miller, who told him to thank the farmer, who told him to thank the rain, who told him to thank the sun, who told him to thank the Creator. And, so the pious at least thank the Creator before breaking off a piece of bread; yet, what about all who have contributed, both terrestrial and celestial to the end product?

And, in our lives, the People of the Book, knowing our connection to the land from what is written, would do well to live in the land, and partake of its beauty. Most of us in the diaspora will not be bringing home baskets of the new wheat harvest; yet, perhaps, we will have gained new insights into Mattan Torah (the Giving of the Torah).

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