by LEIBY BURNHAM | January 17, 2025 5:43 pm
Let’s talk about peaches for a moment. Soft orbs of juice and summer delight, peaches are everything that is right about fruit. Filled with so much juice that it’s almost impossible to keep your cheeks and chin clean while eating them, they are not only good, they are good for you. While surprisingly low in calories, they are rich in vitamins like A, C, E and K. They also are filled with minerals you need but probably aren’t too aware of, like choline, manganese, phosphorus and folate.
Manganese is needed for everything from bone health and wound healing, to energy production, immune function, and blood sugar regulation. Not bad for a mineral you don’t think of on 99% of your days. Choline on the other hand is necessary to make the fats that keep your cell membranes intact, the removal of cholesterol from your liver, and creation of the DNA that makes you – you. And before I forget, it is needed for alertness, learning, immunity and most importantly, your memory.
Folate is responsible for the health of your hair, skin, and nails, which all require a little extra TLC because they grow so rapidly compared to the rest of you. But the folate doesn’t stop there, it helps prevent cancers (the bad kind of rapidly growing cells), builds the red blood cells that transport oxygen all over your body, and keep your brain working just right! Phosphorous builds your bones and teeth, helps you store energy in these incredible body batteries we call ATP, assists the kidney in filtering out toxins in your body, while also ensuring your body doesn’t get too acidic.
These are just a few of the minerals that peaches give you, and only a few of the tasks those minerals do, if we mentioned every mineral and all the roles they play, we could turn this into a textbook in short order. While these minerals sound like things you should be ingesting in the form of white chalky pills – you can ditch the pills and just eat a peach!
And did we forget the list of metals you ingest with each peach? The copper, iron, magnesium and zinc? Even though they are all necessary for healthy human functioning we can’t even imagine eating them in their natural form. I would never like to chew on iron bars, copper coins, or magnesium pellets, so I don’t know how Hashem did it, or where exactly He put them, but I sure am glad Hashem stuck those metals into peaches and plums and let us get our metal needs in fruit instead of having to get served metal pellets on our dinner plates.
I don’t eat peaches much, the fuzziness doesn’t agree with me, but fortunately for peaches, the fuzziness doesn’t agree with a lot of insects, so they get left alone. I prefer the very close cousin of the peach, the nectarine. They are such close cousins that there is only one gene that separates them, the other 27,851 genes are exactly the same. The only gene missing in the nectarine is the gene that codes for fuzziness, which is one I’m happy to miss! Now peaches may have slightly more vitamin A, C, and lutein, but lucky for me, nectarines have more potassium, niacin, magnesium, and phosphorous, so it’s a trade I’m happy to make.
Peaches are known as stone fruit, because they have a hard pit in the middle. You would naturally compare them to plums, apricots, mangoes, and cherries, but probably wouldn’t think of other stone fruits like olives, raspberries, coconuts or dates. Fruits with a hard pit are also known as drupes, but not all drupes are from the same family. Many stone fruits are in the rose family, but not all. Plums, apricots, peaches and cherries are, olives, coconuts and dates – not so much.
Most surprising of all is that the peach is in the rose family. When the rose mishpacha gets together for family reunions, you immediately spot the prominent players in the family, the almond, the apple, the pear, the peach, and the strawberry. But it’s always late in the simcha when the mishpacha oddballs and eccentrics show up and everyone starts whispering “who are they and how are they related?” In the rose family, they would be the medlar, the hawthorn, the loquats, and mountains ash berries. You may not know them, but they are worth getting to know, each of them has quite a range of flavors, benefits and uses.
The reason it’s hard to imagine the peach as being in the same family as the rose is because you’re used to seeing the roses sold in flower stores which have been cultivated for thousands of years, and have been bred to be stuffed with petals. But wild roses have only five petals, and look exactly like the blossoms of peaches, cherries, and apricots. As a matter of fact, if I showed you a wild rose next to the blossoms of peaches or apricots, you would be hard pressed to name the species you were looking at. They all have exactly five petals, a beautiful pink shade and a cluster of brilliant colored stamens in the middle.
Peaches are indigenous to China, and have been cultivated there for thousands of years. They made their way along the Silk Road to Europe about two thousand years ago, where they were warmly received. Peaches finally made their way to the Americas in the 1500s by the Spanish explorers. Here too they quickly gained popularity by the natives who quickly spread them across the continent.
Peaches are grown commercially in over 20 states, but despite Georgia being known as The Peach State, it doesn’t actually produce that many peaches. California produced 80 times more peaches than Georgia in 2024, and other states that produced more peaches than Georgia include: South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Jersey, Michigan, and Washington.
But whether you get your peaches from the Keystone State, the Wolverine State, the Palmetto State, the Centennial State, or the Peach State, the biggest difference is not the peach itself but how you eat it. Less than half of the peaches produced each year are eaten fresh and juicy, with the majority of them being eaten as skinless canned peaches swimming in sugar water. I simply can’t fathom switching a juicy, slightly overripe nectarine on a summer day for a generic, gummy, floating piece of orange flesh coming out of a metal can or plastic container. But if you really are a peach fanatic, at least this way you can get peaches in February.
Why are we talking about peaches in the first place? Especially when I’m a nectarine eater?
Today, when thinking about what I wanted to write about, I first narrowed it down to a fruit, and then the word “peach” popped into my mind. Without hesitating, I decided to write about peaches, having done zero research. I was so confident that Hashem had stuck infinite wisdom and wonder into the humble peach, that I knew a minimal amount of effort and research would yield more enough material for a whole essay!
It’s not just peaches, pick any fruit you want and do a little research, and you will find volumes of fascinating facts and health benefits. This is because Hashem doesn’t produce duds. Hashem created our world out of His kindness and His desire to give, as Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, OBM explains in his philosophical masterpiece, “Derech Hashem – The Way of God” and because of that, He filled it with awesomeness. From the exotic and beautiful looking but rather plain tasting dragon fruit, to the rather plain looking but exotic and delicious tasking kiwi, Hashem created a world filled with thousands of species of fruit meant to fill us with delight, and keep our bodies running at peak performance.
The very first directive ever given to humanity was, (Genesis, 2:16) “And the Lord G-d commanded the Human, saying, ‘Of every tree in the garden you shall surely eat…” It was only after this directive was Adam given the more famous directive, that he should not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” It is amazing that so many people think that the first commandment was not to eat the Tree of Knowledge, when really it was Hashem telling us to enjoy and indulge in His incredible fruit creations. Like millions of Jewish mothers throughout history, Hahsem stood over us and said, “Ess mein kinde, ess! – Eat my child, eat! Enjoy my child, Enjoy!”
Of course, the goal of creating the world, wasn’t simply to give us yummy fruit, the goal as explained in Derech Hashem was to give us the greatest pleasure, and that pleasure is intimate connection with Hashem – the source of all life, joy, wisdom, and radiance. The fruit is one of the ways that we can gain appreciation of how much Hashem cares about us, and start to feel that connection with and love for Hashem, like a child who builds a deep bond with the parents that care for him for decades and provide him with every delight they can with no ulterior motives, just pure unadulterated love.
In a little less than a month is Tu Bshvat, the “Rosh Hashanah of the Trees,” and in Judaism we have the custom to begin learning about a holiday in the 30 days preceding it. While many different explanations have been given for this minor holiday, let’s focus on one idea to cultivate and think about as we prepare for this special day, and the various customs of fruit eating and celebrations that occur on it.
Fruit is the most basic tangible expression of Hashem saying “I love you.” As my good friend’s father, Rabbi Nachum Deutch, used to frequently say when his wife would bring out a beautiful fruit platter at the end of a Shabbos meal, “AH! Hashem loves us! If He wanted, He could have given us all of our nutrients in some Soviet gray goop, but instead He showered us with this!” and he would wave his hands expansively over the platter filled with cut up pineapple and nectarines, kiwis and mango, strawberries, cherries, grapes, and whatever else might be in season.
On Tu B’shvat and indeed every day, it’s our job to feel the love radiating out of that fruit, and use it to build our love and appreciation for Hashem. Even more importantly, it should cultivate in us the desire to become closer to Him by emulating Him. We too should look to bestow joy and health, satiation and delight on others. We too should have as our primary message to the world at large, and to everyone with whom we come in contact “Ess mein kinde, ess!”
Parsha Dvar Torah
In this week’s portion we witness G-d designating the greatest leader the Jewish people ever had, Moses. Let’s see if there is a lesson we can learn about what kind of person merits leadership roles. The Torah tells us of the events leading up to G-d’s appointment of Moses:
Moses tended the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, priest of Midian. He led the sheep to the edge of the wilderness and he came to the mountain of G-d, in the area of Choreiv. An angel of G-d appeared to him in the heart of a fire in the midst of a thorn-bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was on fire but the bush was not being consumed. Moses said, “I will turn aside and see [investigate] this great sight. Why doesn’t the bush burn?” When G-d saw that he turned aside to see, El-him called to him from the midst of the thorn-bush, and said, “Moses, Moses.” (Exodus 3:1-4)
There is a Midrash that says that the burning bush had been there for a long time. It was well know by the locals and many people came to see the “cool” bush (pun intended). But what set Moshe apart from everyone else was that the bush didn’t merely catch his fancy, it was something he realized must be investigated. He was inspired by what he saw, and he left the path he was on, to investigate this new reality. He was willing to step out of the heady rush of life, to look into something that could provide him with more meaning. Only after G-d saw that Moses turned off his regular path to investigate the matter, did He call out to him and offer him the leadership role.
Many times people see things that are very powerful, but it does not cause any significant change to their lives. America was rocked by 9/11. Everyone was deeply moved and pained by October 7th. But for most, the novelty wears off and soon life continues as usual.
The father of a close friends of mine, (the same Rabbi Nachum Deutch referenced in the essay above!) taught me the importance of taking immediate action when something dramatic occurs. His son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren were in a boating accident in the Kinneret Sea. Despite having life jackets, the frigid waters could have been deadly, and some of them developed hypothermia. It was only through a great amount of Divine Providence that they were located and saved just in the nick of time.
Immediately after finding out about the accident, he saw the episode as a gift from G-d and wanted to do something concrete to show his gratitude. He started by waking up an hour earlier every day to set aside time to study Torah. He committed to facilitate the building of a neighborhood synagogue that was years in the planning but long in the coming. Three years later, the synagogue was built, he was still keeping his Torah study regimen, and his entire life was changed – all because he seized the moment when he saw a message from G-d.
In his commentary on Song of Songs (2:7), Nachmonides (1194-1270) discusses the importance of translating inspiration into some physical action. Inspiration is a fleeting emotion which on its own, has a very short lifespan. Putting inspiration into action gives it staying power. If we hear about a soldier who was just wounded in Israel, we can feel terrible, but how much more meaningful is it if we immediately say a small prayer for that soldier.
When we wake up and walk outside into a glorious morning with the sun shining brightly and the air crisp and refreshing, we can think about what a nice day it is, or we can say thanks to G-d for giving us such a beautiful day. And when we hear on the news about yet one more rocket attack on the South of Israel, or one more missile waking up our brothers and sisters across the country and sending them scurrying to bomb shelters in middle of the night, we can commit to studying ten minutes of Torah every day on behalf of our brothers and sisters living through such difficult times.
We all have good eyes, but the true leaders amongst us, are those whose eyes and body are strongly connected.
Parsha Summary
This week’s parsha, Shmos, is the first one in the Book of Exodus. This book deals with the story of the Jewish people’s enslavement in Egypt and their subsequent miraculous redemption. One of the reasons it is so important is because the Egyptian ordeal is the spiritual root of all the exiles the Jews have endured, and learning about it helps us understand how we can best navigate life in Diaspora.
The parsha starts off by listing the original people who came down to Egypt, and then mentions that Yosef and all his brothers passed away. This is key, as exiles always begin when we experience detachment from the previous generations, and an abandonment of their ways. Soon after the death of the last son of Jacob, a new Pharaoh arose in Egypt. Some say he was a new king and others say that he put out new decrees, but according to both opinions he didn’t bode well for the Jews.
Pharaoh convened his council and decided that the Jews, who were becoming numerous and prosperous, were a threat to his nation, and thus he began subjugating and enslaving them. Not only that, but based on his astrologers’ predictions that a male Jewish savior was soon to be born, he commanded the two Jewish midwives to kill every Jewish male infant. Luckily for me, they didn’t listen, but, au contraire, helped nourish the babies and keep them alive and healthy. For this brave and heroic act, G-d rewarded them by giving their children the Kehuna, the priesthood, and Malchus, the kingship.
Then Pharaoh kicked it up a notch by decreeing that the Egyptians throw every Jewish male into the Nile River.Eventually, as the astrologers’ predictions got more ominous, he decreed that all male children, Egyptians included, be thrown in the water.
When the decrees came out, a leader of the Jews named Amram declared that Jewish couples should separate to spare themselves from the horror of watching their sons thrown into the water. His daughter Miriam pointed out to him that his declaration was worse than Pharaoh’s, because at least Pharaoh was allowing Jewish girls to live, whereas Amram’s declaration was spelling doom for the entire Jewish people! Heeding his daughter’s wise words, Amram remarried his wife Yocheved, and six months later they had a son.
When their son was born, the house filled with light, and they saw that he was born circumcised, so they knew they were dealing with a special baby. They hid him in the house for 3 months, because the Egyptians were expecting the baby to be a full term baby (9 months for those who didn’t know that) and after three months they put him in a little waterproof cradle, in the Nile, with his sister watching from a distance. At that exact time, Basya, the daughter of Pharaoh, was going to the Nile to bathe and she saw the child, drew him out, had pity on him and decided to keep him. She named him Moshe.
Although Moshe grew up as a prince, he would go out and see the hardships of his brethren, and would take part in their labor. One day he saw an Egyptian beating the life out of a Jew and, after ensuring that no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian. This event became known to Pharaoh, and Moshe was forced to flee to Midian.
In Midian, Moshe met his wife, the daughter of Midian’s ex-High Priest who had rejected the Midianite Gods, and he settled down to life as a shepherd. One day, while tending to the sheep, he saw a burning bush. Upon approaching it, G-d called out to him from the bush and told him that He had chosen him to lead the Jews out of Egypt. Moshe protested, saying he wasn’t worthy, but eventually G-d convinced him to go. G-d gave him three miracles to show the Jews as a sign that he was G-d’s messenger, and Moshe headed back to Egypt. In Egypt, he showed the signs to the Jewish elders, who believed it was G-d’s sign of a coming redemption
Moshe appeared before Pharaoh with his brother acting as his interpreter since his speech was hindered by a burning experience he had had as a child. The pair demanded that Pharaoh let the Jews go to serve G-d in the wilderness. Pharaoh claimed to not know of the Jewish G-d and flat-out refused. Not only that, he decided to force the Jews to work harder in order to prevent them from wasting their time with foolish hopes of redemption. The people complained to Moshe that after promising them salvation, he actually made their lives harder. The Parsha closes with G-d assuring Moshe that not only will Pharaoh let the Jews go, he will beg them to leave!
Quote of the Week: Confidence is directness and courage in meeting the facts of life. ~ John Dewey
Random Fact of the Week: Honeybees have a strange type of hair on their eyes!
Funny Line of the Week: I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.
Have a Majestic Shabbos,
R’ Leiby Burnham
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