I get this question a lot and have never answered it in writing before. I wrote this essay as the afterwards for the 5th Anniversary edition of the Peeling a Pomegranate Haggadah, but I want to share it with anyone who reads this site too.
There is no direct correlation between Passover and the pomegranate. In fact, pomegranates aren’t even in season during Passover. “Peeling a Pomegranate” is an approach to spirituality. Like the four children of the seder, I also see four levels of spiritual practice. Each is wholly complete if that is what you need. I use the pomegranate to illustrate this principle.
Level 1: A pomegranate is beautiful as it is. You need never eat a pomegranate to appreciate its beauty. Even in the ancient temple pomegranates were used as adornments and embellishments.
Level 2: Slicing a pomegranate open with a knife is a perfectly valid way to get to the fruit. If you cut in half, you may make quite a mess, but you’ll get to the fruit inside.
Level 3: Peeling the pomegranate. Carefully scoring the rind and submersing the pomegranate in water and then peeling it section by section, may take more work, but yields a bounty of pomegranate goodness.
Level 4: Pomegranate as spiritual exercise and practice sustenance. Transforming the act of peeling the pomegranate into a meditative practice where you work through levels 1-3 in your mind as you work. The act of preparing food and eating food becomes a spiritual practice.
Each of these levels can be applied to any spiritual or religious tradition. How deep do you want to go? This is Judaism. We allow everything from a Secular Humanistic approach to orthodox Hassidic Mystics and Kohanot at every level of observance.
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