Fig - Cell Of A Song

ח' שבט ה'תשס"ז

The fourth product of the Land of the Divine Feminine eaten during Tu B'Shevat is the fig. Again, as with the last two "foodstuffs", the word (in Devarim 8:8) for fig (ותאנה) is prefaced with a connecting vav. The root is תאנ and the final letter hey (ה) is a feminine ending.

Significantly, the gate (2-letter root, sha'ar in Hebrew) to the shoresh (3 letter root) consists of the word "ta" (תא), a "completely dark" cell of the Holy Temple [1] corresponding to midat hadin (the attribute of justice) [2]. Normally, humankind cannot endure strict midat hadin. Yet, this attribute forms the foundation of each feminine cell of the Holy Temple.

Moreover, King Solomon recognized that the essence of the Divine Spirit is contained within the "order of justice" (midat hadin) [2] and prayed for it to be made understandable to man. Understanding (corresponding to the sefirah Binah), as is a Temple cell (corresponding to the sefirah Malchut), is a feminine quality. The feminine quality of Understanding corresponds to the letter nun (נ), the third letter in the shoresh following the gate "ta". Importantly, the letter nun symbolizes the messianic soul [1]. Thus, it is here, hidden in the symbolism of the fig, where a woman may access her messianic soul spark.

Like King Solomon, the ancient Celts recognized the Presence of the Divine Spirit in the complete darkness of a cell.

In Ireland, Wales and Scotland, bardic colleges would use a technique for incubating tehilim (psalms, songs of prophetic poetry) called the cell of a song. A bard-psalmist would be laid on a wattle bed in a closed, windowless cell ...after 24 hours, the bard would emerge from the darkness and write of that revealed there.

Ancient Celtic bards, like ancient Hebrew psalmists and Welsh awenyddion, were prophetic poets whose prophecies were oftentimes accompanied by song or music.

Taking all this together, we can understand that the fourth product of the Land we eat during Tu B'Shevat symbolizes the experience of the complete darkness found in the cell of the Holy Temple. Evidence that we have truly "eaten" of it, and thus internalized its message, is the poetry and artistry that such an experience itself produces in the one who has experienced it.

The musical poetry of Walking On Fire.

Bringing light from darkness and cells of the Temple.

Footnotes:

[1] The Hebrew Letters, R' Yitzchak Ginsburgh (p. 325 and p. 216)

[2] Wisdom In The Hebrew Alphabet, R' Michael Munk (p. 229)