A Message of Hope During Challenging Times: D’var Torah for Parshat Pinchas
The saddest period of our calendar is charged with much hope and promise for the Jewish people.
This coming Shabbat we will be reading the first chapter of Jeremiah. That’s because we’ve just entered into the three weeks, a dark period on our calendar between the fasts of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz and Tisha B’Av. And in this Haftara, we read how God turned to the prophet and He asked him “Ma ata roeh?” – “what is it that you see?” And the prophet replied “Makel shaked ani roeh”- “I see the rod of an almond tree.” What is the symbolism of the almond?
Targum Yonatan explains that it is, God forbid, an ominous signal for our people, because the rod of the almond tree is similar to the sceptre of an evil king, on his way to cause trouble to the Jewish nation. But, on the other hand, the Rambam, Maimonides, tells us that the word ‘Shaked’ (almond), is similar sounding to ‘shoked,’ which means to look after. The almond therefore represents the fact that Almighty God will always look after the Jewish people.
And the Midrash in Eicha Rabba takes it one step further, noting that it only takes 21 days from the moment an almond tree first blossoms to the moment it bears edible fruit. And these 21 days match the 21 days of the three weeks that we’re currently in. Therefore, says the Midrash, the shaked, the almond, is a symbol of the fact that God will send the fruits of peace and happiness to us in the future.
Every Jewish child knows how to sing the lovely melody ‘Hashkediya Porachat,’ which is sung on the minor festival of Tu Bishvat, which takes place in January/February every year. Here the blossoming of the almond tree is a signal of the fact that winter is just about to end and spring is starting.
So therefore, the almond, at this saddest time of the year, sends out an exceptionally poignant and sadly relevant message to us. We have experienced so much darkness in the winter of our experiences, particularly since October 7th, 2023. However, the message of the almond is: it will soon be over. And we can indeed look forward to better times for our people.
From the depths of our hearts we pray to Almighty God at this time that every single one of the hostages will come back home swiftly and safely – and that there will be peace.
We pray that Almighty God will indeed take us forward from darkness to light so that we will enjoy the sweetness of peace – may it happen soon.
Shabbat Shalom.
