Information AboutEtrog |
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translates ''hadar'' as "citrus," in connection with the rabbinical definition of the ''etrog'' as the fruit referred to by the Torah . The Arabic name for the fruit, ''itranj'' اترنج is cognate with the Hebrew. The ''itranj'' is mentioned favorably in the Hadith . The etrog is a slow-growing fruit. The citron tree is typically grown from cuttings that are two to four years old; the tree begins to bear fruit when it is around three years old {Link without Title} . The fruit is oblong in shape, and sometimes as much as six inches in length. Its skin is thick, somewhat hard, fragrant, and covered with protuberances; the pulp is white and subacid. It is typically bought before the holiday of Sukkot while it is still green, and ripens to a deep yellow during the course of the holiday. According to Halakha , the ''etrog'' used in the Mitzvah of the Four Species must be unblemished and of perfect form and shape. An ''etrog'' that still has a ''pitom'' at its tip (the ''pitom'' is a small growth that usually falls off during the growing process) is considered especially valuable. The exact details of what constitutes a fitting ''etrog'' are included in Halakha primers. Because of the rarity of finding a perfect ''etrog'', prices for this species can go as high as $1,000. Many stories are told of poor people in the Shtetl s of Eastern Europe who paid princely sums for the privilege of owning a Kosher ''etrog'' for Sukkot . This is also a theme in the Israeli motion picture '' The Guests .'' Although the ''etrog'' gives off a pleasing smell, one is not allowed to smell the fruit until the holiday of Sukkot is over, since the primary Mitzvah of using the ''etrog'' is in waving the Four Species , not in enjoying its smell. After the holiday, however, many people boil the peel of the ''etrog'' to make jam, fruit cake and candied fruit. Modern naturalists assume the north of India to be the ''etrog's'' native home, but it passed to the countries of the Mediterranean from Media or Persia ; hence the name of the tree, "Citrus medica," and of the fruit, "Malum medica," or "Malum Persica". It is possible that the Jew s brought the tree with them from Babylonia to the Land Of Israel on their return from Babylonian Captivity . However, this theory has been rejected by later scholars (Isaac, Science 129:179-85, 1959). Andrews (Agr. Hist. 35(1):35-46, 1961) associates the Biblical word ''hadar'' with the Assyrian "adaru" (citron), thus placing the ''etrog'' firmly in Jewish hands in Biblical times. ''Etrog'' was also a Nickname used for the Canadian Film Awards in the 1970's.'' SEE ALSO |