Egoz and Simana Milta - Why Should One Eat Egozim? part 6

One thing I did not elaborate, or even specify, in my earlier posts on the subject is that when Sperber suggests that egozim were initially eaten deliberately on Rosh haShana because of simana milta, he has basis for it.

He cites one source that says how one need not be deliberate to eat egozim and other such things on Rosh haShana. The implication is that others took care to eat these things, egozim among them.

Why? He suggests that there is quite a good connection to Rosh haShana and Yom Kippur, in Shir haShirim Rabba. I scanned the relevant midrash - it is toward the beginning. It states:

אמר חורי. מה אגוז זה אם נופל לטנופת את נוטלו ומורקו ושוטפו ומדיחו והוא יפה לאכילה כך כל מה שישראל מתלכלכים בעונות כל ימות השנה בא יום הכפורים ומכפר עליהם הדא הוא דכתיב כִּי-בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם, לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם

In other words: On the verse in Shir haShirim 6:11,

יא אֶל-גִּנַּת אֱגוֹז יָרַדְתִּי, לִרְאוֹת בְּאִבֵּי הַנָּחַל; לִרְאוֹת הֲפָרְחָה הַגֶּפֶן, הֵנֵצוּ הָרִמֹּנִים.

11 I went down into the garden of nuts, to look at the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine budded, and the pomegranates were in flower.

This midrash states:
Another explanation: Just as an egoz (nut), if it falls into filth, one takes it, scours it, washes it, and rinses it, and it is fine for eating, so too, all that Israel gets itself filthy all the days of the year, Yom Kippur comes and atones for them. This is what it states {Vayikra 16:30}:

ל כִּי-בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם, לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם: מִכֹּל, חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם, לִפְנֵי ה, תִּטְהָרוּ.

30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD.

Since this shows repentance for sins, such that they are excused, and Israel is compared to an egoz in this positive respect, one can see how consumption or looking at egozim could have been practice during Rosh haShana because of Simana Milta.

I would add, it is also quite possible that this connection was viewed as negative -- bringing up sins, even ones that Yom Kippur shall atone for -- on Rosh haShana. This very siman can be viewed almost as negatively as egoz being gematra of chet.

There are other midrashim about egoz, in shir haShirim Rabba and elsewhere, such as Bereishit Rabbati. Here are two scans of shir haShirim Rabba and one of Bereishit Rabbati (the latter from Rav Moshe haDarshan, most likely). There are other connections to egoz, some more positive. I hope to discuss these in a later post, where I try to cover the question: what is an egoz. In turns out that all of these statements מה אגוז which work to deduce something from a property of egoz will work in the opposite direction - to identify what exactly is meant by an egoz -- most likely, the walnut.


egoz 1


egoz 2


beresihit rabbati 1