First Fruits

     Meanwhile, back in the garden, things are slowly starting to appear... Trick is to keep on the lookout, as slowly turns into quickly in no time flat--some veggies can double in size literally overnight. I'll never forget ignoring this bit of advice two years ago, only to have birthed a zucchini the size of a small toddler. I named him Zacharini Zucchini and stuck a cap on him and took him to the lake, then to the park, then to a ballgame. We had a grand time before he began to shrivel and rot.

     While not to such stages yet, the first fruits are starting to happen, and so eager am I to start eating things fresh off the vine that I couldn't resist gathering my firsts, even if leaving things would net me a cuke twice this size or some peppers, slightly fatter...But that's ok. It's the same reason I usually eat my weight in fried green tomatoes this time of year (cause you have to wait so dang long for 'em to turn red~)  But we're getting there...Thankfully, the cherry tomatoes are already there!  

      I've long admired the ritual of "first fruits"~ For those unfamiliar, the notion is Biblical, though the tradition was practiced by ancient Greeks and other cultures as well.
     But for the children of Israel, we're told in Exodus 34:26: "The first of the firstfruits of thy land though shalt bring unto the house of the Lord" (It also goes on to say don't boil a baby goat in its mother's milk, which I also adhere to...Not to worry kids, no one's boiling anyone around here.)
     Proverbs 3:9-10 states: Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. (If that's not incentive enough to honor an offering, I don't know what is. I don't have a vineyard, but I am building a barn, and I like the thought of it filled with plenty...)
     In other words, garden tithes are as scriptural as monetary tithes, not to mention it's just good karma. For the children of Israel, tithes of vegetables and livestock helped keep the priestly tribe fed (priests being busy with the spiritual duties and not growing gardens themselves). Technically, harvest would come in the fall, but since I graze out of my garden all summer, I go literal with the interpretation and like sharing actual first fruits, preferably with someone of the Jewish faith. (Since the closest thing we have to a temple in Lebanon is Temple Baptist Church, I shared mine this year with a dear Jewish friend who is launching a new business venture soon. She's a priestess in her own right, plus I want her barns to be filled with plenty and her wine overflowing as well.)

So here's to this season's firstfruits~ 

G-d's blessings on your gardens, families and businesses ~ 

I say, "Let the picking begin!"