I picked a fresh fig today and I had to laugh at myself. Until I moved to Israel, the only thing I knew about the fig was that it came wrapped in cake and was called a Fig-Newton. In all honesty, I am not 100% sure that I had ever thought about it being a fruit. I did know Adam & Eve used fig leaves to cover themselves so I must have at least processed it was a tree. Come to the promised land and you learn wondrous things! (yes, I know there are easier ways) My favorite thing about the fig tree though, they produce fruit nearly all summer long! There is a small crop early in the year (now) and a larger sweeter crop that will ripen later, slowly, day by day. For weeks there are new, fresh figs to pick.
As we journey through fig season there is one place they are plentiful all summer long. At Tel Dan on the border with Lebanon you are greeted not only by the beautiful springs of the Dan River, which flows into the Jordan River, but wonderful archaeology and a fantastic story of a golden calf. But that is a story for another blog or your next visit. https://www.parks.org.il/en/reserve-park/tel-dan-nature-reserve/ Although fig trees are typically found near water, some of the earliest remains of cultivation (9400-9200 bce) are found just north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley. Talk about dry and hot. Of course being originally from California I would be remiss not to mention that the Spanish missionaries brought the first figs to California in 1796. Today we call these the Mission variety.
In Talmud Brachot 40a Rabbi Nehemiah maintains that the tree of life was a fig tree. The Torah/Bible tells us that after the sin of eating the fruit, Adam and Eve “knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves clothing.” Rabbi Nehemiah maintains “that which caused their downfall, was then used to rectify them.” My version of this – “When God closes a door, God opens a window. Go climb through it.” I love this concept that God does not provide a challenge (the fruit) without a solution (the leaves). This solution may not be our first choice, but it remains a choice. So I ask – are there places where a door has closed to us but a window has opened? Are there places a door has closed and we have yet to see the open window?
There is a similar parable in Christianity. Here it is the leaves that cause the problem. Entering Jerusalem (Matt 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-25) as the masses are gathering for Pesach/Passover, Jesus spots a fig tree ‘in leaf’. This should indicate that the early fruits are available to eat. Yet, when he looks more closely, he discovers it is all leaves, no fruit. He promptly curses the tree preventing it from ever yielding fruit. Not exactly in keeping with his typical demeanor. One understanding of this parable is that Jesus sees the fig tree as he sees Jerusalem. The city is filled with crowds and celebration and singing yet for him the soul, the spirit is lacking. So to the fig tree resplendent was in leaves but without fruit. All show no character.
It is one thing to lack fruit out of season. It is another to lack it while pretending to have it. How many of us work hard to ensure that we look like the tree ‘in leaf’, yet we are missing the fruit, the spirituality, the depth, the honesty. Sometimes we even fool ourselves. But God gave us both parts of the tree. The sweetness and depth of the fruit and the protection and covering of the leaves so that we could have both in our lives. And no less than that, the fruit that does not ripen all at once but slowly through the season can remind us that not everything has to happen today, tomorrow is important as well. Character is something we must work on every day.
I will leave you to ponder those questions and remind us that D’varim/Deuteronomy specifies the fig as one of the Seven Species (8:7-8). Those seven species feed us throughout the year. Now is the time for figs. And figs are so versatile.
Want your figs fresh? Pick and eat! Or make them fancy, Cut an ‘x’ from the stem to the base and fill with goat cheese and then drizzle silan (date honey) on top. Want your figs cooked? Take it up another notch and you can put your stuffed figs in the oven and bake them until all the juices join together. And really, salt, sweet, juicy and creamy how could that be bad? And of course, there are dried figs to keep with you for a quick and healthy snack. Healthy you ask? Heck yes, they are filled with fiber, potassium, iron and calcium. So go get yourself some figs today.
Like what I wrote about the fig? Read “Jewish Capers” at https://rabbihannahestrin.com/2020/the-jewish-caper/.