But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him”1Corinthians 2:9
In the Torah portions we read these weeks there is a concentration of dreams, from Jacobs dream of a ladder to Josephs own dreams and those of others he interprets.
He said to them,This week in Parsha Vayashev, Joseph tells his dreams to his brothers, which as we know get him into a pit, and then to Egypt. Just the reverse happens when Joseph interprets Pharoahs dreams,---he gets out of the pit! And is raised up to be the one who saves his family, all of Egypt, and the very brothers who threw him in the pit.
"Hear this dream which I have dreamed: Genesis 37:6
Joseph was chosen by God to preserve the messianic seed from starvation. But what trials, betrayals and disappointments he endured. His journey is a story of perseverance.The story of Joseph continues in the next three weeks until the end of the book of Genesis and then into the years of slavery and the Exodus. The parashiot about Joseph are always read around Hannukah. The story of Joseph who shines his light in all situations and God favors him and brings him through all that happens. The story of Joseph and his brothers also points to, reveals, illuminates (looking for the right choice of words) God's plan of redemption through Messiah Yeshua. There are many parallels in the story and in this parsha. As well there is the seemingly incidental incident with Judah and Tamar, through whose line the Messiah will be born (Gen.38, Matthew 1:3).
It is also a story of dream and vision.
To journey with Joseph is to make a pilgrimage into the regions of the soul. Joseph was a dreamer of dreams, a seer of visions and as God gave him wisdom, an interpreter of dreams and visions. -- quote from "The Transforming Journey" by Wesley Scott Amos
In this post, I want to share a dream I had in this month of dreams.
This pomegranate challah was inspired by a dream .
For those who have ears to hear, here goes.
My dream was a close up of my inner ear,
and it was filled with pomegranate seeds.
A day or so after the dream I looked up "inner ear" and looked at the diagrams of the ear. I felt God wanted me to see His amazing and intricate design and structure of this part of our anatomy. You can see its semi circular shapes and spirals that all have a perfect plan and design. I also looked at some images of pomegranates, and saw how if it is open a certain way, the arrangement of the seeds in each half can look somewhat like the shape in an ear.
When making the challah and rolling out the dough to make a pomegranate challah, I remembered the dream. I wanted to see if I could express anything about it in the challah. I made one pomegranate challah "straight" in three stands, and with the other I decided to make "rolls" with pomegranate filling.
The challah rolls changed their shape when baking, and one even looked a little like an ear!! Well, maybe this is more than you would like to hear! I may chalk the challah "dream" rolls up to experiment in the Holy Spirit and not sure that I will post them. Though they taste very good, and contain a lot of fruit, so maybe?! But for the record, that is my story of the dream challah with pomegranate.
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| A pomegranate and a Yuzu (Japanese Citrus fruit in season) |
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| making the filling, Pomegranate jam with Yuzu. Heat the pomegranate seeds with sugar and pomeganate juice. Add juice of a yuzu and grated yuzu peel for a fragrant jam or filling. If it needs thickening, turn off the heat once and add in cornstarch or potato starch near the end , and then stir until it is mixed in and heat once more on low. |
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| This time, the jam came out exquisite, and if you have a Pomegranate and a citrus fruit and I would highly recommending added it to your holiday feasts!! |
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| Here is where the dream came into play, and I tried making some rolls in the shapes that were reminiscent of the way the auditory canal is seen in the diagrams. |
Your temple is like a slice of pomegranate behind your veil.
Song of Songs 6:7
About the dream I will leave the interpretation to God!
If you would like to make a Pomegranate Challah , please see my post HERE !! In Japan Pomegranates are in "season" (actually they are imported from America, but seems to be that we can find them in this time of year!) in December, so it is a nice time to make it with the Yuzu fragrance. You might need to vary it for the season depending when you can find a pomegranate where you are.
You can find the link to the weekly Torah Readings HERE or in the sidebar.
Blessings and Shabbat Shalom!!
Love,♡
Shayndel
♡
I love your post. There are layers and layers of things to think about. I didn't realize that there were two identical scriptures about the pomegranate in the Song of Songs and the scripture itself is very interesting. The verse "he who has ears to hear, let him hear" has always been a most challenging and intriguing scripture. It is very interesting how Yeshua has shown you the pomegranate in your ear in the dream. It's also amazing the similarities you can see between the ear canal and the halved pomegranate. God really always works in such intriguing and mysterious ways to show us and teach us and lead us.
ReplyDeleteOn a different though related note, I'm curious how much is a pomegranate in Japan. We too have them at this time of year. I find them expensive. I think the best deal is 2 of them for $5. Canadian dollars. I will often buy two when they are on a deal like this but I just take out the seeds and eat to get the juice :-)
Thank you Joyful!! For your "listening" and wonderful insights! To God be the Glory, for yes, how he teaches us and shows us in such intriguing ways!
DeleteThe pomegranates here now are ...i have one and checked on it there is 398 and I think also recently 298 yen, so in Canadian dollars it is around 3.50 or 4.50. So its a little more expensive in Japan. Fruit is pretty expensive here, and so relatively that is not too high as its a rare to find!
Oh, now I am thirsty for pomegranate juice!! Blessings and a good night from Japan, a good day to you! ♡
"Joseph tells his dreams to his brothers, which as we know get him into a pit, and then to Egypt. Just the reverse happens when Joseph interprets Pharoahs dreams,---he gets out of the pit!"
ReplyDeleteI've never noticed that juxtaposition before!
I wonder what your dream means. Seeds in the ear? Maybe hearing the Word of the Lord...
I googled and found:
"Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol of righteousness because it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot, or commandments, of the Torah. For this reason and others, it is customary to eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah. Moreover, the pomegranate represents fruitfulness, knowledge, learning, and wisdom."
Wow!
Thank you, for this very instructive blog post. I learned a lot of things I didn't know. Peace and blessings.
ReplyDeleteThank you quietspirit.
DeletePeace and blessings to you♡
Thank you Sandi for your noticing and sharing about the pomegranate. I love that about the 613 seeds. And receive those encouraging words!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless! Much love♡
I suppose the pomegranate's seeds are tasty in a bake of some sort, but I don't like them in their raw form. However, I love the fruit for its shape and color and always tend to have one in the house.
ReplyDeleteHi Duta, I remember that and find it inspiring about your keeping a pomegranate in the house!! If I find another one I may just do that too! You don't like them raw? I started loving them raw this season and have been putting the seeds on yogurt and then topping with Date Syrup (that I brought back from the US, actually its from Israel). Its an amazing combination, if you are up for it, try it and lmk how it is!! Thanks for sharing in a conversation about pomegranates, I must say I not only enjoy them for taste, but its also fun to have a conversation about them!! Lol! Love!
ReplyDeletePS you could also put pomegranate jam on yogurt, that way you can have the cooked version!! I wonder if that is popular in Israel? I kind of make these things up as I go along, as its not really part of the culture here, maybe I will be surprised when I get to Israel to see how they are used!!
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