Etrog Topics

• northern negev
• barrel shape
• negev israel
• citron fruit
• pyramid shape
• hebrew name
• gartel
• downward position
• viroids
• viroid
• bearing tree
• bar kokhba
• shapes and sizes
• increasing weight
• arabic name
• single tree
• albedo
• menorah
• specks
• aramaic

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Etrog, Etrog

In any case, it doesn't apply only to one specific variety Etrog page by the CVC of UCR.

Nahmanides (1194 – c. 1270) suggests that the word was the original Hebrew name for the citron. According to him, the word etrog was introduced over time, adapted from the Aramaic. The Arabic name for the citron fruit, itranj (), mentioned in hadith literature, is also associated with the Hebrew.

Furthermore, a specific variety or even a single tree may also bear fruit in several shapes and sizes. An etrog of completely round shape is not-kosher, whilst a slanted or bent specimen is permissible but not the best. The bearing branch must be arched down with care, in order to get the fruit growing straight in a downward position. Otherwise the fruit will be forced to make the curvature on its own body, while turned downwards because of its increasing weight. This practice must be performed very delicately in order not to break the stiff citron twig. While many prefer the pyramid shape of variety etrog, and others for the barrel shape of the Diamante, some look for an etrog with a gartela hourglass-like strip running around the middle, more commonly found on the Moroccan citron. in northern Negev, Israel, depicting garteled etrogs at the base of a Menorah According to researchers, this gartel indicates when the bearing tree was infected by a certain virus or viroid, which decreases the albedo on the specific spot. These viroids have been around since the time of Bar Kokhba (circa 130 CE), as obtained from the fact that archaeologists have unearthed a mosaic depicting an etrog with a gartel.

The same gas is also naturally released from apples, so some growers simply put the fruits in the same box as apples. The etrog used in the mitzvah of the four species must be largely unblemished, with the fewest black specks or other flaws. Extra special care is needed to cut around the leaves and thorns that may scratch the fruit. It is also important to protect the fruit-bearing trees from any dust and carbon, which may get caught in the stomata of the fruit during growth, and may later appear as a black dot.

A pitam is composed of a style (Hebrew: dad ), and a stigma (Hebrew: shoshanta ), which usually falls off during the growing process. However, varieties that shed off their pitam during growth are also kosher. When only the stigma breaks off, even post-harvest, it could still be considered kosher as long as part of the style has remained attached. If the whole pitam i.e. the stigma and style, are unnaturally broke off till the bottom, it is not kosher for the ritual use. without a Pitam Many pitams are preserved today thanks to an auxin discovered by Dr. Eliezer E. Goldschmidt, formerly professor of horticulture at the Hebrew University. Working with the picloram hormone in a citrus orchard one day, he discovered to surprise that some of the Valencia oranges found nearby had preserved beautiful, perfect pitams . Usually a citrus fruit, other than an etrog or citron hybrid like the bergamot, does not preserve its pitam . When it occasionally does, it should at least be dry, sunken and very fragile. In this case the pitams were all fresh and healthy just like those of the Moroccan or Greek citron varieties. Experimenting with the picloram in a laboratory, Goldschmidt eventually found the correct dose to achieve the desired effect: one droplet of the chemical in three million drops of water. This invention is highly appreciated by the Jewish community.

Those traditional specifications were preserved by continues selections accomplished by professional farmers. Article by Professor Goldschmidt, published by Tehumin, summer 5741 (1981), booklet 2, p. 144 The most accepted indicators are as following: 1) a pure etrog has a thick rind, in contrast to its narrow pulp segments which are also almost dry, 2) the outer surface of an etrog fruit is ribbed and warted, and 3) the etrog peduncle is somewhat buried inward; a lemon or different citron hybrid is opposing one or all of the specifications. Letter by rabbi Shmuel Yehuda Katzenellenbogen of Padua midst the 16th century, printed in Teshuvat ha'Remo chapter 126 A later and not so widely accepted indicator is the orientation of the seed, which should be pointing vertically by an etrog, except if it was strained by its neighbors; by a lemon and hybrids they are positioned horizontally even when there is enough space. Shiurey Kneseth Hagdola and Olat Shabbat, cited by Magen Avraham, Orach Chaim chapter 648, comment 23 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. Chiri, Alfredo. (2002).

After the holiday, a common Ashkenazi custom is to save it until Tu Bishvat and eat it in candied form or as succade, accompanied by prayers that the worshiper will merit a beautiful etrog next Sukkot.

Source: Wikipedia > Etrog