Things you feel at 5 AM
For me, 5 AM is a wonderful time. I go outside, smell the morning air and see how much chill is in it in order to estimate how much heat awaits me during the rising day, and how close we are to winter. Some people take advantage of these hours to practice yoga, or to run (me too, sometimes, even though I also run later, when the sun is out and I can feel it stroking my skin), because these are hours of grace and quiet before the day takes off and gains momentum. So the 5 am air this week told me that soon the August heat will subside and the Tishrei holidays would come and bring with them the coolness that the garden is entitled to, by right and not by grace.
The Tishrei holiday season is the year’s transition – a dramatic transition, with shofars, pleading and soul-searching. Why was the month of Tishrei chosen as the head of all months and to host Rosh Hashanah? Probably because during tishrei the transition between one agricultural year and the next occurs. Once, after all, everyone lived much closer to nature, and the order of things and the customs were determined according to the natural order (and the fruits and vegetables were all organic, but that is another story). So, in Tishrei, as mentioned, is the festival of harvest, for it is Sukkot, in which all the harvested produce of the agricultural year that ended is gathered and the tithes are set aside. This must be done at this time because the tithes must be separated from the yield of one year, even if it is in the same field and the same crop. After Rosh Hashana you cannot separate for the previous year. Also at this time we give thanks for what we gained, learn from what we have and from what we do not have, and immediately begin a new year with preparation for plowing and sowing.
Why does the New Year of the Trees not happen in Tishrei? Because they are less dependent on man's care and regulated irrigation and can also exist from rainwater, so we can celebrate the trees when most of the rains fall – in Tu B'Shvat.
The beginning of the year also includes the Ten Days of Repentance and Yom Kippur, which is also part of the drama. A drama of shofar sounds and of silence – the roads are silent, the streets are quiet and the people gather into themselves for a careful examination of their hearts and deeds. Despite all the weight of this day, it can be seen not only as a day on which justice depends, but also as an opportunity for renewal, growth, and a new beginning. You can view the process of soul-searching as a closure of the year that has passed and learn from its fruits – those in which we succeeded well in some things, in others less; what we managed to sow and harvest; what grew well and what wilted; to forgive ourselves and ask to succeed in places where we felt we were shuffling in the mud and let it go; to vigorously dig and turn all the earth, so that we get a chance to start again, and try again, and get another chance to raise our eyes to heaven and hope for the rain to come and quench the thirst of everything we sowed.
Rosh Hashana is also a good opportunity to talk about apples and honey, which are an excellent combination (and tasty!). Honey is sweeter than sugar but contains less calories, and more nutrients, vitamins and minerals: thiamin, B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B8 (Biotin), B9 (Folic acid), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, chlorine, iron, copper, potassium, silicon, sulfur, sodium and more. If this sounds to you like a whole complex of good things in one spoonful – it really is. Honey is a very nutritious food.
It is impossible to distinguish between natural honey and that derived from sugar-fed-bees, so it is very recommended to get honey from a beekeeper you trust. Honey that crystallizes, by the way, is a sign of quality and that it is not a commercial product that was heated to high temperatures during its production process and lost some of its health values.
What does an organic apple add? The delicate sourness of an apple balances the sweetness of the honey, it helps to digest the heavy holiday meals, it regulates bowel movements and it helps the absorption process. It also contains vitamins A, C, B, antioxidants and pectin, which regulates the cholesterols and balances them. Since much of this good nutrition is in the apple’s peel, it is worth investing in organic apples.
This year, again, we will be happy to send gift baskets for those who are interested. Please order in advance!
Happy New Year, healthy and sweet, a year of growth and fertility and health.
Good luck with all,
Yours,
The garden team, the family and Maggie
