I love how the cycle of the year repeats itself, and how just the word pomegranate conjures up honey, apples, and the crisp fall air of Rosh Hashana. There’s something comforting about tradition – and the typical explanation that we eat a pomegranate because it’s full of seeds, like mitzvos. But sometimes I like to look for a new angle, a chiddush.
Here’s one I came across:
The Talmud tells us about Rabbi Meir, one of the greatest Sages, who learned Torah from his teacher Elisha ben Avuyah even after Elisha became a heretic and was called Acher (“Other”). The question is obvious – how could Rabbi Meir continue to learn from such a man? The answer: Rabbi Meir was like someone eating a pomegranate. He “ate the fruit and discarded the peel.” He ignored the shell of sin and drew out the kernels of Torah that still remained.
That, too, is why we eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashana. We ask Hashem: don’t judge us by our “peel” – the outer mistakes and shortcomings – but by the fruit inside, the pure intention and the desire to be close to You.
And maybe it’s also a reminder for us – to look at others the same way. To notice the beauty, the sweetness, the mitzvos, and not get stuck on the peel.
May this year be as full of blessings and mitzvos as a pomegranate is full of seeds.