Eretz Chitah... U'dvash - A Land of
Wheat...of Olive Oil and Honey
Eretz Yisrael is praised in the Torah as a land rich in seven varieties of
grains and fruits: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives
and dates.
Because of their connection with the land these items of food require a special
blessing after they have been consumed, even if they grew outside Eretz Yisrael.
Our Talmudic Sages also saw in each of these seven items mentioned a hint to
some halachic tradition which Moshe received at Mount Sinai but is not
explicitly stated in the Torah.
We thus see in these "special seven" the triangle which is formed by the Torah
of Israel, the Land of Israel and the People of Israel.
-Ohr Somayach International