GOD’S FRAGRANCE by Raphael ben Levi
As spring soon approaches in Israel, a transformation will occur as a winter landscape is replaced with almond tree blossoms, and hills are covered with their beautiful pinkish-white flowers emitting a delicate fragrance. Each blossom has five petals that speaks of God’s grace. In Jewish thought, they symbolise the white hair of a righteous person in old age, a ‘Tzadik’ who is blessed with God’s favour.
The almond tree is associated with one of the earliest prophecies of Jeremiah. “Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching to perform My word.’” (Jer.1:11-12)
This prophecy uses a play on words that conveys an important message. The Hebrew word for almond, ‘shaked,’ can also be translated, ‘to watch.’ By observing the almond branch, God assured Jeremiah that He is watching over His word to bring it to pass. The ancient town of Luz, (Almond tree) north of Jerusalem, so named because of the vastness of almond trees with their carpet of white flowers that cover the hills in springtime, provides us with a stunning visual reminder of this.
God’s redemptive purposes for His covenant people never wavers. We can see it, breathe it and smell it like the fragrance of the almond blossom! (Jer. 31: 28)
