We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt and without cost, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.

– Numbers 11:5

It is easier to get Israel out of Egypt than Egypt out of Israel. 

– Chassidic Saying attributable to Rabbi Yaakov Shimshon of Shipitovka

In my haste

to remember the taste

of garlic, onions, and leeks

I traversed the Sea of Reeds

with just a pocketful of their seeds

before the Festival of Weeks.

Upon my arrival to Har Sinai

my soul awaited a reply

but there was no word from Above.

“How can this be?”

I asked timidly

to the One embodying all love.

“You’ve yet to empty your heart

of spoils destroyed only in part”

came the rebuke amidst the swirling sands.

“Surely you must know

that those seeds will never grow

in the Holiest of Lands!”