The pomegranate eaten on Rosh Hashanah has great significance, The most outstanding aspect of the pomegranate is its seeds. As we say before eating the pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah, “May it be Your will, G-d and G-d of our fathers, that we be filled with mitzvot (good deeds) like a pomegranate is filled with seeds.”
The times were bad, a poor woman was having a hard time finding food for her starving children. She had very little money, and there was very little to buy in the market. As hard as she tried, she could find no work. She searched throughout the city, but there was no work to be found.
One day the poor woman was walking by the king’s palace and smelled a great and wondrous smell. She followed it to the door to the royal kitchen. As she looked through the door she saw a table with many loaves of bread sitting upon it. She thought to herself, “surely the king would not miss one loaf of bread.” So she quietly went into the kitchen and slipped one of the loaves of bread off of the table.
Suddenly, she heard someone scream, “Thief! Thief!” She turned around and saw that it was the cook. She pleaded with the cook not to report her to the king and the heart of the cook was softened to her pleas. Unfortunately the guards had heard the cook and came running and immediately grabbed poor woman and took her before the king.
The guards told King that the poor woman had stolen a loaf of bread from the royal kitchen. The King was barely paying attention and very nonchalantly replied, “someone dares to steal from the king, the punishment is clear. Put her to death.” As the poor woman listened she put her hands in her pocket and felt two pomegranate seeds.
The guards began to lead the poor woman out of the room, but as she passed the king she said to herself, “I guess the secret of the magic pomegranate seeds shall be lost forever.” The King heard the poor woman’s comment and being curious asked, “what is this about magic pomegranate seeds. A secret you have? What is this secret?”
The poor woman explained that her family had passed down the secret that when the pomegranate seeds were planted that they would grow immediately and within a week would be filled with beautiful fruit. The King hearing this told her he wanted proof and, at that, the next day she was to plant the magic pomegranate seeds in the royal garden.
Everyone gathered around as the poor woman was led into the royal garden. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the magic pomegranate seeds and laid them on the ground, dug a shallow hole and picked up the seeds to plant them. When suddenly she stopped and began to cry. The king asked her why was she crying he wanted to see these magic seeds begin to grow.
The poor woman, with tears in her eyes explained that the magic seeds would only grow if planted by someone who had never stolen anything. She went over to the king’s chamberlain and offered a seeds to him, but he hesitated and said, “sometimes I take things from the royal chambers to my home.”
The poor woman turned to the royal tax collector, he too refused the seeds explaining, “sometimes I don’t always record all the tax monies collected for the king. The poor woman turned to the Queen, and with tears in her eyes she sobbed, “I may have forgotten to pay the royal seamstress her full wages. One after another the people who had gathered in the royal garden refused to plant seeds. Finally the poor woman approached the king and told king that she would tell him the secret on how to make the seeds grow but the king put up his hand and said he could not.
The King took a deep breath and explained, “when I was a young boy my father had a magnificent necklace that he wore. More than anything in the world I wanted to hold and wear that beautiful necklace and so one day when no one is around I took the necklace. I brought it into my room and I held it up to the window and as the light caught shined on the fine stones, rainbows danced across my walls. I’ve never seen anything so wonderful in all my days. When my father realized necklace was missing he called all his servants together and no one knew what happened to the necklace. The king called his personal servant and his servant said he did not know where the necklace was and so he was beaten and cast out the Palace. I have told no one of this until this day.
The king looked at the poor woman and sadly said, “You have reminded me that a true king ‘judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity.’ (Psalms 9:9) I know that you did not steal from the royal kitchen for your own sake or the hopes of wealth, but to merely feed your starving children. It is a matter of law that ‘Thieves are not despised who steal only to satisfy their appetite when they are hungry.’ (Proverbs 6:30) You have taught a foolish king, wisdom and have reminded me that ‘man does not live by bread alone, but by anything that the L-rd decrees’ (Deuteronomy 8:3). I invite you to come to the royal palace whenever you like and share your wisdom and anything in the royal kitchen you may like.’ “
Pomegranate Relish with Jalapeno
Ingredients
Seeds of two pomegranates (or about two cups) |
1 T lemon juice or mild vinegar |
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, and minced |
1 T orange juice |
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil |
4 T parsley, finely chopped |
1-2 T pomegranate molasses or honey |
Salt and pepper to taste |
Instructions:
Place your pomegranate seeds and finely chopped jalapeno in a bowl. I recommend Pyrex bowls with lids to store and serve.
Combine the juice, olive oil, molasses, and seasoning. Pour it over the pomegranate and jalapeno.
Mix in your chopped herbs. You can do this in advance but it’ll be best if added right before serving. I like to prepare it in a snack size bag and store it in the same dish, then pour it on right before I serve it.
Notes:
Refrigerate up to 3 days for optimal freshness.
If the oil solidifies when refrigerated, remove to room temperature for a bit before serving.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)