Thought for the Day: Honey Doesn't Spoil, Which is a Beautiful Gift from HaShem -- Both Physically and Spiritually

My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Panama. Besides the usual sites ... the canal, monkey island, the beaches, etc, we asked the travel agent what she would recommend. She recommended Boquete, in the north of Panama. It is in the mountains, a bit cooler, not so touristy, and some amazing landscapes and scenery. We loved it. We hiked over gorgeous hanging bridges, toured a coffee plantation, saw an archaeological site, and ... a honey farm. It was all amazing. We learned so much that our granddaughter said, "You didn't go on vacation! You went on a history and science tour!" 

I'd like to focus on the bees and honey. Bees have a very complex living arrangement, and it was fascinating to see several varieties of bees, including "little angels"/angelitas en español. More on that later. We brought some honey home for Rosh HaShanah.. Pure, raw, unfiltered honey is 100% kosher when acquired directly from the farm. (Factories have too many moving parts, so even raw, unfiltered honey needs a good hechsher.) Just to be safe, I checked on how to keep honey so it wouldn't spoil before the holiday.

It turns out, though, that honey doesn't spoil. Ever. It might crystalize, but that can be fixed with a warm water bath. Doesn't spoil. That means no bacteria can live in honey. (Bacteria are the cause of spoilage.) Honey, in fact, is the only food that doesn't spoil. Because no bacteria can live in honey. And the little bees are not sterilizing their feet and bodies before depositing the honey in the combs. No worries, though, because bacteria can't live in honey. Why not? I did a quick google search and found it is because it has a high sugar content, low water content (so it is viscous and makes it hard for the bacteria to move), and it is acidic. So bacteria can't live in honey.

What about molasses, then? High sugar content, viscous. Apparently those things don't deter bacteria; molasses can spoil. Acidic? There are thermoacidophiles, bacteria that can survive in hot springs -- water up to practically boiling -- that is also highly acidic. Bacteria can live in hot, acidic environments, glaciers, and even the dead sea. But not honey. In fact, just for fun, try these two searches in two tabs and compare the result:

• why can't bacteria grow in honey
• most extreme environments where bacteria live

You will see that all of the things they say make honey a hostile environment for bacteria do not deter bacteria in other environments. Just honey.

So, why can't bacteria live in honey? Here's my thought: You might look at the world and think it is all just nature. Everything works together, everything fits has its role in the ecosystem. It is all terribly boring. One big accident. But then you look more closely. And you find honey. There is no natural reason that honey should be a bacteria free realm. It is like a beacon, a sweet little surprise, that HaShem put into the world for us to see Him in everything. If honey isn't natural, then nothing else is.

Perhaps that is a deeper reason we use honey for Rosh HaShanah. We want to start our year the sweetest possible way -- with a completely impossible food. For that reason, we bought a tiny bottle of that honey from the angelitas, the little angels. A sweet reminder that HaShem loves us.