Of all the letters thus far, picking a food for D has been the easiest. I knew it had to be dates. My fascination with dates began in seminary when I was taking my advanced feminist and womanist preaching class. I was researching (aka exegeting) a scripture on the rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1-21, NRSV). In the process, of doing so, I came to understand the spiritual and healing significance of dates. Tamar means date palm. During ancient biblical times, people’s names were a prophesy about their lives. Date palm might not seem like much of a prophesy, but it was. The date palm is said to be the oldest cultivated tree. For the people of Tamar’s area, the date palm held particular symbolic significance. This palm tree was straight, tall, and fertile and in many cases, it was the only shelter and only food available. There were groves of these trees having one of two kinds of leaves on them, male or female. For this reason, people viewed the date palm as a symbol of fertility. The date palm was also known for its healing qualities. The fruit of date palms was used to help women through pregnancy, to strengthen the bones of the elders, to help women through changes in late life, to ward off cancers and to keep bodies operating smoothly. They thought of the date palm as the Tree of Life. So her name, Tamar became a prophesy about who she was to become – a creator and a healer of lives.
Read moreA New Reverence for Dates
When I was in seminary, which now seems a lifetime ago, in one of my preaching classes we were assigned to take a scripture which involved violence against women and develop a sermon on it in a way which was honest, but empowering. The result was a sermon I wrote called Take Back the Night, which was what I envisioned Tamar would have said if Tamar had been invited to speak at a Take Back the Night March.
One of the things I learned while I was researching this scripture was about the name Tamar. Tamar means date palm. In biblical times, people’s names were a prophesy about their lives. Date palm might not seem like much of a prophesy, but it is. You see the date palm is said to be the oldest cultivated tree. For the people of her area, the date palm held particular symbolic significance.
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