The Seven Species

The seven species with which the Land of Israel is blessed are wheat, barley, grapevines, fig, pomegranate, olives, and date palms. These seven species of produce correspond to the seven emotive sefirot. In addition, the link between the particular song of creation sung by each of these species (in Perek Shirah) is examined in context of the correspondence to the sefirot. Eating from each of these species fosters the consciousness associated with its corresponding sefirah.

The Land of the Supernal Crown

The most important image in the Torah portion of Ekev is the description of Eretz Yisrael (“The Land of Israel”). Eretz Yisrael is a land of diverse natural phenomena. God concentrated all the beauty of nature within its borders. When we meditate on the description of the Land of Israel, we discover that the physical manifestation of the Land’s beauty is but an allusion to its inner, spiritual majesty.

Drawing down blessing from Above

The Zohar reveals that the first words of the customary blessing formula, “Blessed are You, Havayah our God, King [of the universe]” relate to the essence of drawing down blessing from Above. The first word, “Blessed” (ברוך) is the source of blessing, while the next four words (אתה הוי’ א-להינו מלך) correspond to the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to King David. We connect to the source of blessing with the word “Blessed” (ברוך), and fill all worlds with God’s Divine light via these four archetypal souls.