“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be
blessed,
and it shall be well with you.”
Psalm 128:2 ESV
From the Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 58a, we learn that in ancient times,
getting ones ‘daily bread’ involved a great deal of hard work,
“Look at all the work Adam had to do before he had bread to eat! He
ploughed, he sowed, he reaped, he bound [the sheaves], he threshed and winnowed
and selected the ears, he ground [them], and sifted [the flour], he kneaded and
baked, and then at last he ate; whereas I get up, and find all these things
done for me....”
Deuteronomy 8:8 lists wheat as the first crop of the seven species of
Israel,
“Land of wheat and barley and
vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.”
This essential Israelite staple for bread and porridge was harvested
after the barley. Due to the cereal’s high maintenance it often was food of the
privileged, while the poorer people mainly ate barley. Measuring the grain
harvest was crucial in preparing dry food for the coming year.
Bread was a
symbol for sustenance and life.
During the 50 days between Pesach and Shavuot both the barley and wheat
harvest was counted.
At the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) two wheat loaves were
presented to the Lord as ‘first fruits’ of the grain harvest.
In 1906, Israeli botanist Aaron Aaronsohn discovered the ‘ancestor’ of wild
wheat in Rosh Pina, near Safed. Other botanists found the wheat growing in
other parts of the country as well - even in the Jerusalem mountains!
Aaronsohn believed this discovery could help improve cultivated wheat
and today, his vision is being fulfilled.
The wheat from which our daily bread is made is already 10.000 years
old, but worldwide, the modern variety fights a constant battle with all kinds
of fungi that often destroys a large part of each harvest.
In 2009, a team of Haifa University scientists found the wild emmer
wheat to be rich in diseases resistance genes and one that increased the protein
and mineral content. By studying the species of the past, the scientists use
biotechnology to improve our future ‘daily bread’.
In Israel, the self-pollinating wild wheat usually blooms between
Each of the wild plant’s spikelets are separately shed, enabling them
to spread its seeds and grow a new generation. Domestic spikes on the other
hand, don’t shatter, enabling the farmer to collect the yield.
At present, Israeli farmers mainly grow genetically engineered crops,
but a change may be coming. European countries demand for ‘heirloom strains’ of
grains that are grown organically and resilient to survive the weather
extremes. European farmers are not interested in growing these antique strains themselves
but have them grown in their indigenous environment and import them from
countries like Israel and Jordan.
This means that there is more work to be done for the Israel Plant Gene
Bank, which is responsible for the collection, preservation and assessment of
plant species indigenous to Israel.
The golden fields we can see from the Negev to the Galilee, remind us to
pray for the truth of Elijah’s words, “For the Lord, the God of Israel has said
that the jar of wheat shall never run out.” 1 Kings 17:14
And... may we never forget to pray for ‘our daily bread’ (Matthew
6:9-11).
