Judaism: Flower Power
Published: Monday, June 25, 2007 1:50 AM
Some flowers before Shabbat.
Rabbi Aron Moss
Rabbi Aron Moss works to bring searching souls back to Judaism in Sydney, Australia.Question:
My girlfriend tells me that it is tradition to give the women in your life flowers before Shabbat. Is this true and what is the significance? And secondly, why give something that dies like cut flowers - and not a pot plant?
Answer:
Flowers are useless. They are impractical, temporary, and they are not an investment. But that's precisely their power. You buy them for no reason other than because your woman likes them. You do it just for her.
This is the very definition of romance - doing something pointless, just to express love. Nobody needs flowers, they won't be around forever, but someone you love likes them, so you buy them.
That's why our relationship with G-d is so romantic. He needs nothing from us humans, and we won't be around forever. But He gets a kick out of it when we act holy and do good. So we do it. Not for what we get out of it, and not for what He gets out of it, but just because He likes it.
The moment we do something that makes no sense to us, but makes our loved one happy, we have truly transcended ourselves and connected with someone else.
That's love - the power of the flower.