The hadas, myrtle, reminds me of the old man in the story about Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Upon leaving the cave for the second time, Rabbi Shimon, whose disdain towards people who were engaged in non-holly pursuits led him to burn them but a year earlier, noted an old man holding two myrtle branches in his hands. Instead of hurting him, Rabbi Shimon asked the man to explain his actions. The man explained that he was carrying them home for Shabbat, and that he carried two because Shabbat was given us in two commandments — to remember and to keep.
The old man taught Rabbi Shimon that our engagement with the land is deeply connected to our spiritual journey, and taught us all that our covenant with God happens, first and foremost, in the exhausting and sometimes frustrating grind of our daily work. Many generations toiled and maintained this covenant, in good and bad times.
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