The Holy Apple Orchard
The apple has rightfully merited to receive much recognition throughout the times till today. It has come to symbolize so much more than a crunchy fruit…
Most Bitter, Soul-Inflicting Wormwood
Finally a familiar plant which is mentioned repeatedly in the Torah! Altogether wormwood is mentioned seven times in the Tanach…
Black Seed Sprinkled on Bread since Talmudic Times
My Shabbat guests – a new couple in Bat Ayin – brought delicious, ‘homebaked’ sour-dough rolls sprinkled with black seeds and sesame seeds, yum! If you haven’t seen Nigella sativa seeds they are round resembling sesame seeds, but completely black. It is interesting that just as we use black seed with sesame seed as a crust for various baked goods or in the dough today, exactly so were they used in Talmudic times…
Soothing, Relaxing, Mood-lifting Lavender
On the right side of the walkway to our home, three lavender plants emanate their sweet fragrance as I walk by. Every Motzei Shabbat my husband picks a spike or two, which we use together with lemon geranium and myrtle for havdalah…
Calamint: Inconspicuous, Sorrow Soothing, Sweet Smelling Herb
When foraging for hyssop with my students, it is easy to mistake calamintha for hyssop. These two plants look almost identical in the spring, before the tiny pinkish, light purple or mauve flowers clearly distinguish calamintha from hyssop…