Always Rough at the Beginning

The Nature of the Land of Israel

"The Sfat Emet (the saintly Gerrer Rebbe) explains that G-d did not immediately reveal to Avraham the location of Eretz Yisrael because 'that itself is an aspect of Eretz Yisrael.' That is, in order to reach the Land in which we can "see G-d's face" (see Ex. 34,23) and cleave to Him – one has to walk, one has to go. One must 'go out of himself,' out of his earthiness; he must leave his father's home and all of his material possessions, and nullify himself totally before G-d. The idea is to leave oneself, lekh lekha, and instead, 'go to the land that I will show you.' We are always in search of some kind of permanence in this world – but the truth is that we are temporary..."

The Reason For Symbolic Foods

Translated and edited by Hillel Fendel

Beyond their taste, eating symbolic foods such as apples, pomegranates, carrots, and beets on Rosh Hashana have a special meaning.