…Have the Shivas Haminnim?
WOW! What a great question! On a deeper level, what is special about these seven fruits more than other fruits? Here are some things to think about, as you eat your Tu Bishvat leftovers! The Sifrei Chassidus explain that we have two nefashos, two souls: a nefesh habahamis, an animal soul, and a nefesh Elokis, a spiritual neshama. Our neshamah likes holy things, refined things, and our animal soul… Well, he’s the one who’d rather sit around and do nothing all day, or gets excited about physical stuff. Our goal is to put the neshamah in charge, and raise the nefesh habahamis up to help. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that wheat represents the neshamah. It’s refined, and it’s the most basic human food. Barley is animal food. Wheat and barley represent these two nefashos: our neshamah and animal soul. These two nefashos form the basis for life. They are constantly battling! Other fruits represent different middos: simchah, hard work, etc. that we can use to give power to the neshamah over our nefesh habahamis. He also says grains (such as wheat and barley) are necessary to live. Fruit is sweet and are an extra treat. We need to have the proper balance between doing things we must do… but never forgetting how sweet it is to be a Yid!
One thing is for sure, there are no “small things” in Yiddishkeit! Even fruit has deep, deep meaning!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 24.
