Etrog: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Picloram.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Valencia Oranges saved their ''Pitoms'' thanks to droplets of Picloram hormone]] |
[[Image:Picloram.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Valencia Oranges saved their ''Pitoms'' thanks to droplets of Picloram hormone]] |
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Usually a citrus fruit besides an Etrog or ''citron hybrid'' like the [[Bergamot]], does not preserve its ''Pitom''. When it occasionally does, it should be at least very dry and intended to break. In this case the ''Pitam's'' where all fresh and healthy just like those of the [[Moroccan]] or [[Greek citron|Greek]] citron varieties. |
Usually a citrus fruit besides an Etrog or ''citron hybrid'' like the [[Bergamot orange|Bergamot]], does not preserve its ''Pitom''. When it occasionally does, it should be at least very dry and intended to break. In this case the ''Pitam's'' where all fresh and healthy just like those of the [[Moroccan]] or [[Greek citron|Greek]] citron varieties. |
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Experimenting with the Picloram in a laboratory, Professor Goldschmidt eventually found the correct “dose” to achieve the desired effect: one droplet of the chemical in three million drops of water. An invention which is highly appreciated by the Jewish community.<ref>[http://links.jstar.org/sici?sici=0002-9122%28197101%2958%3A1%3C14%3ASAITC%28%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I Style Abscission in the Citron. American Journal of Botany, Vol. 58, no 1. pp. 14-23]</ref> |
Experimenting with the Picloram in a laboratory, Professor Goldschmidt eventually found the correct “dose” to achieve the desired effect: one droplet of the chemical in three million drops of water. An invention which is highly appreciated by the Jewish community.<ref>[http://links.jstar.org/sici?sici=0002-9122%28197101%2958%3A1%3C14%3ASAITC%28%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I Style Abscission in the Citron. American Journal of Botany, Vol. 58, no 1. pp. 14-23]</ref> |
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==The Ritual and Costumes== |
==The Ritual and Costumes== |
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Revision as of 19:11, 15 October 2007
| Etrog | |
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| Etrog with a pitom Note an etrog grows upside down, the stem is on the bottom of this picture. | |
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| Etrog without a pitom. | |
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| Species: | C. medica
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| Binomial name | |
| Citrus medica | |
Etrog, ethrog or esrog are all different pronunciations of the word אֶתְרוֹג, which is the most common Hebrew name for the citron or Citrus Medica.
It is one of the four species used in a waving ritual during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The rest of the species are the lulav (date palm frond), hadass (myrtle bough), and aravah (willow branch).
Leviticus 23:40 refers to the etrog as pri eitz hadar (פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר), which literally means, "a fruit of the beautiful tree." Modern Hebrew translates hadar as "citrus" in connection with the rabbinical definition of the etrog as the fruit referred to by the Torah. Most interesting is the commentary of Nahmanides who states that the word "Hadar" was the original Hebrew word for the citron solely, and the name was later replaced by the word Etrog meaning love and attraction. The new word is from Talmudical Aramaic which was adapted in Babylonia after destruction of the First Temple.
The Arabic name for the fruit itranj اترنج is also cognate with the Hebrew; the itranj is mentioned favorably in the Hadith. Similar names like "turunj" etc. are found in different languages.
The Etrog is typically grown from cuttings that are two to four years old; the tree begins to bear fruit when it is around four years old.[1] If the tree germinates from seeds, it will not fruit until about seven years. Besides, there might be some genetic changes to the tree and its fruits, whenever seed propagation is used.[2]
Marketability
Cleanliness and Shape
The fruit is ready to harvest when it reaches six inches in length, for the best marketing, and is typically picked off the tree while it is still green.
According to Halakha, the Etrog used in the mitzvah of the four species must be largely unblemished and of a nice form and shape. Extra special care is needed to cut around the leaves and thorns which may scratch the fruit. Also, the bearing branch should be curved in order to get the fruit growing in a straight downward position. Otherwise, the fruit will be forced to make the curve on its own body when turned downwards because of its increasing weight.
There is a favorite amongst some Hasidim is to take an Etrog with a gartel (an hourglass-like waist running around the middle). Professor Bar Joseph discovered that the gartel is indicating that the tree was infected by a certain virus or viroid which decreases the albedo on the specific spot. Those viroids has been around since the time of Bar Kokhba, and archeologyists have unearthed a mosaic depicting an Etrog with a gartel.[3]
Researchers also mentioned that only the Etrog is susceptible to those viroids, and that the phenomenon is providing evidence that the Etrog is of pure genetic, and didn't change too much during centuries. [4]
Otherwise, people look for an Etrog which resembles a tower, being built with nice long almost straight walls and a pointy roof.
Pitom
An etrog that still has a pitom at its tip (a pitom is composed of a style called in Hebrew "dad", and the stigma which is called shoshanta, and it usually falls off during the growing process) is considered especially valuable. However, those varieties that shed their pitom during growth just like other citrus species − are also kosher. When only the stigma break off even post harvest, it could still be considered kosher as long as part of the style is remained attached.
Many Pitom's are preserved today thanks to an auxin discovered by [ Dr. Eliezer Goldschmidt], professor of horticulture at Hebrew University. Working with the Picloram hormone in a citrus orchard one day, he discovered to his surprise that some of the Valencia Oranges of nearby had preserved beautiful, perfect Pitom's.
Usually a citrus fruit besides an Etrog or citron hybrid like the Bergamot, does not preserve its Pitom. When it occasionally does, it should be at least very dry and intended to break. In this case the Pitam's where all fresh and healthy just like those of the Moroccan or Greek citron varieties.
Experimenting with the Picloram in a laboratory, Professor Goldschmidt eventually found the correct “dose” to achieve the desired effect: one droplet of the chemical in three million drops of water. An invention which is highly appreciated by the Jewish community.[5]
The Ritual and Costumes
The primary mitzvah of using the Etrog is to take it along with the rest of the four species before and during the Hallel prayer. After the holiday, some people boil the peel of the etrog to make jam, fruit cake, and candied fruit. Others prefer to slice the Etrog thinly and add it to a bottle of vodka in order to make an interesting libation. There is an Ashkenazic tradition to eat the Etrog in the sacred day of Tu B'Shevat, in order to maximize the variety of fruits eaten on that holiday to praise the Creator of the trees, and to establish a prayer to God to provide a nice clean non-grafted nor hybridized etrog for the next Sukkot.
Grafting and Breeding
A general DNA study was arranged by the world known researcher of the etrog, Pro. E.E. Goldschmidt & colleagues, who positively testified 12 known accessions of citron for purity and being genetically related. This is all about genotypeic classification which could be changed by breeding for e.g. out cross pollination etc., not about grafting which is not suspected to change any genes.
A brief documentation of this study could be found at the Global Citrus Germplasm Network.
The etrog in popular culture
The purchase of a beautiful etrog is an important part of the plot in the Israeli film Ushpizin.
See also
References
- ^ Chiri, Alfredo. (2002). Etrog
- ^ Orange County Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers. Accessed online: 1 August 2007.
- ^ Bar-Joseph, M. 2003. Natural history of viroids-horticultural aspects, pp. 246-251. In: Viroids. CSIRO Publication, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia.
- ^ The Search for the Authentic Citron: Historic and Genetic Analysis; HortScienc 40(7):1963-1968. 2005
- ^ Style Abscission in the Citron. American Journal of Botany, Vol. 58, no 1. pp. 14-23
External links
- The complete list of professional research done Pro. Eliezer Goldshmidt, at The Hebrew University Jerusalem
- http://www.esrogfarm.com/esrogvarieties/web/default/
- http://www.milechai.com/judaism/esrog.html
- http://www.hamafitz.com/esrog.asp
- http://www.flohrsesrogim.com/about_esrog.htm
- http://members.aol.com/zrsesrog/book.htm
- http://www.esrogworld.com/Videos.html
- http://www.google.com/Top/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Judaism/Shopping/Holidays/Sukkot/
- Yemenite Ethrogim Examined The Preservation Of An Ancient Fruit
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)