Mycelium

Leann Shamash
Jul 24
4 min read

#mycelium #fungi #connections #mushrooms #honeymushrooms #forestfloor #oak #forestfloor #ParshatMasai #parshatMatot #seferbamidbar #bookofnumbers #community

#binding #power #wordshavewings

We complete Sefer Bamidbar this week with the double parsha of Matot/Masai. As the Hebrews are readying to cross into The Land, the text details an amazing encounter between the leaders of the tribes of Reuven and Gad and Moses. The tribe heads are happy with the fertile grassland, which, as ranchers, they believed would benefit their flocks. The leaders approach Moses and ask him for his permission saying, “if this land were given to your servants as a holding; do not move us across the Jordan.” (Numbers 32:5) Moses' angry reaction and subsequent permission with conditions that the tribes will fully support the anticipated wars of conquering The Land gives us perhaps the first evidence of a community separated, a diaspora of sorts.

Much has been written about the Galut (exile). In preparing for this week's post, I came across this beautiful Midrash*. The midrash, by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, is written about

in the Hartman Center's periodical Sources, where Justice Baird writes,

“Together are the tribes of Israel.” R. Shimon bar Yochai taught a parable: A certain man brought together two ships, tying them with anchors and iron bars. He built upon them a palace. As long as the ships were connected, the palace stood. But when the ships separated, the palace fell. So it is, he said, with Israel.

This visually arresting metaphor—a palace floating atop two ships—appears in Sifre Devarim[3] and a handful of other places in rabbinic tradition. If the ships stay connected to each other, the palace is stable on its twin foundations. But if the ships divide and separate, the palace will tilt and fall, sinking into the ocean depths. In its original contexts, the metaphor is used to describe the bonds between the earthly and heavenly realms. But the metaphor can be repurposed as a way to think about the interdependence of homeland and diaspora.

As Jews we must still ask ourselves, particularly when we are fortunate to live at time when the dream of living in the Land of Israel has been realized, how these centers, (in this case, Jews in North America) and Israel interact. Our communities don't always agree on principles, politics or particulars, but we are there for each there. Like those ships, we MUST be there for each other, for our ability to flourish and grow depends upon the other.

I was inspired by the story of the two ships to write about a topic I find fascinating, the study and behavior of mushrooms. In the piece below, I hope honey mushrooms illustrate the interdependence of communities that are joined together by a shared set of values or history or culture.

I hope you will read more here about a honey mushroom colony and how they are connected underground for hundreds of acres by mycelium, which are the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a network of fine white filaments (hyphae).

Baruch atah Adon-ai, Elokeinu melech haolam, oseh maasei v'reishit.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who makes the works of creation.

(taken from Reform Judaism)

Stay connected!

Shabbat Shalom,

Leann

Mycelium

At the base of an old rugged oak,

whose crown caresses the late summer sky,

dwells a community on the damp forest floor.

There they gather,

crowding shoulder to shoulder

each wears a wide brimmed hat.

Far from this tiny tightly knit group,

across a wide and wavy forest floor,

thickly blanketed with remnants of fallen leaves

is the base a tall brother oak.

and here another community stands,

similar to the first.

A small nation, their heads held high,

as though to support each other

against those who would disturb their peace.

Two communities

separated by space,

but deep within the damp black soil,

running under the fragrant forest floor

reach microscopic strands,

weaving and stretching,

through particles of soil,

deep

beneath the roots of trees,

advancing centimeter by centimeter

twinned and twined,

their slender fingers extend magically,

almost mystically.

Nothing stops them as they grow

north, east, south and west,

embroidered through the forest floor,

a vast connector between communities

with connections so vast,

so deep,

they bring a filigree of nourishment,

passed between the communities.

Tiny strands, yet expansive,

Each so delicate, yet together so strong,

tired and true, they link,

bonding one to the other.

A passerby might note these communities,

living at the base of tall oaks;

one here and one over yon.

While passing through the forest on an autumn day,

They may see one community and then the other.

They might wonder how one got here and the other there,

but they may never see the deep bonds that connect the two

deep beneath the forest floor.

There are some strengths that are there for the eye to see.

Muscles and brawn,

guns and power,

and there are some strengths that that lie buried under the earth,

invisible for the eye to see,

yet

surging, connecting with power,

providing strength to its members

in a way not easily defined,

but it is there,

quietly connecting.

Chazak,

Chazak

V'Nitchazek

We are stronger and we strengthen one another.

Honey Mushrooms

MyceliumRob Hille, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Mycelium

Mycelium

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