DATES
"Fruits Of The Earth"

The Date Groves of the Holy Land enhance the beauty of the natural landscape with their majestic splendor.  Amid the scorching heat of the Jordan Valley, alongside both the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, lesser trees whither and die.  The date palm, on the other hand, offers a blessedly cool quiet oasis of shade and comfort.  It is no wonder that the date is one of the BIBLICAL foods of the Holy Land.  God's gift to the People of Israel, the date palm has consistently yielded fruit with a sweetness borne of the earth from which it springs.  

The date palm tree is truly a miracle of the earth.  The tree will grow without fruit for seven (7) years.  Once it reaches its seventh year, now fully mature, it will yield its bountiful harvest to the People of Israel for many years to come.  The fruit is harvested once per year, and can be enjoyed year-round.  Historically, the Jewish People subsisted on very few food staples.  Among those was the date, which was used as a treat for guests.  

In BIBLICAL times, when visitors would arrive at the tent of a Jewish family, the host would carefully bring water outside and would wash the feet of the visitor before entering the tent.  The visitor would then be invited into the tent, where, as a guest, the visitor was served cool water and fresh dates.  A meal would then be served and enjoyed by the entire household.  When the meal was over, more fresh dates, along with other date products, including honey and various jams and spreads would be set out as a lasting desert for all to enjoy before the host would bid the guest good night.  Who is to say whether these evenings became the origin of the term "sweet dreams?"

The very same variety of date palms which existed thousands of years ago in the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob continue to flourish today.  Neither adversity, nor change of climate has deterred this majestic vision in the desert from sending forth the fruits of the earth to the People of Israel.  Today, with the ability to safely transport the dates of the Holy Land to foreign destinations, and in so doing to support the People of Israel, the product of the sun's rays and the earth's sweetness are available to the rest of the world as well.  

God created the date palm tree to grow tall and to point toward Heaven where there is a Promise of Life Eternal.

Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

All kinds of fruit trees will grow along the river banks, the leaves will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit. There will be a new crop every month- without fail! For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for medicine.

One face,....that of a man....looked toward the palm tree on one side, and the other face...that of a young lion....looked toward the palm tree on the other side: and so it was, all around the inner wall of the Temple.

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from all nations and provinces and languages, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands.

A 40-gram serving (about 5-6 small dates or 3-4 large dates) has 120 calories; 240 milligrams of potassium (7% USRDA); 31 grams of carbohydrate (10% USRDA), including 3 grams of dietary fiber (14% USRDA) and 29 grams of natural sugar; and 1 gram of protein.

This serving of dates also has 2% of the USRDA for calcium, thiamin, niacin, folate, iron, riboflavin, Vitamin B6, and phosphorus; and 4% of the USRDA for magnesium.

Many people in the West have never had the opportunity to experience the sweetness of the Holy Land for themselves. Now, the earth's sweetness is available to your Families as never before.

Please share it with your families today!