I would like to dedicate this podcast to our father ר' יהודה אריה בן ר' יצחק מאיר - הריני כפרת משכבו, as we reach the end of the Sheloshim period. Please feel free to listen and forward to as many people as possible. Anything positive gleaned from here, should be a merit for his Neshomo. (Anything else - blame on me). It is also the reason for the double length feature. We are about to discover some of the secrets of the date palm. Unique, in it being a member of both the 4 Minim of Succos, and the 7 minim of Israel, it is also the only one of the sweet 7 which the spies - having praised its sweetness (the Midrash confirms the date as being the source of the honey with which the Land flows, along with the milk) - did not dare bring back. Perhaps that would have backfired for them. We will learn about ego, or the lack of it thereof.  Which is more than appropriate when thinking of out father - a special man who only lacked one thing... ...An ego.