Etrog (Hebrew:אֶתְרוֹג, plural:etrogim;Ashkenazi Hebrew:esrog, plural:esrogim) is the yellowcitron (Citrus medica) used by Jews during the weeklong holiday ofSukkot as one of thefour species. Together with thelulav,hadass, andaravah, theetrog is taken in hand and held or waved during specific portions of the holiday prayers. Special care is often given to selecting anetrog for the performance of the Sukkot holiday rituals.[1]
Theromanization of the Hebrew asetrog fromSephardi Hebrew is widely used. TheAshkenazi Hebrew pronunciation isesrog oresrig. It has beentransliterated asetrog orethrog in scholarly works.[2] The Hebrew word is thought to derive from thePersian name for the fruit,wādrang, which first appears in theVendidad.[3] Related words are (Persian:ترنج,romanized: toronj) andJewish Babylonian Aramaic:אַתְרוּגָּא,romanized: ʾaṯruggā.[4] It has also made its way intoArabic asأُتْرُجَّةِutrujjah notably in ahadith collected in theSahih Muslim.[5][6] A rare Aramaic form,eṯrungā (אֶתְרוּנְגָּא), is significant because it retains thealveolar nasal sound (as indicated by thenun) ofwādrang, also observable in the English word 'orange'.[7]
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InModern Hebrew,etrog is the name for anyvariety or form of citron, whether kosher for the ritual or not. In general usage, though, the word is often reserved to refer only to those varieties and specimens used ritually as one of thefour species. Sometaxonomic experts, likeHodgson and others, have mistakenly treatedetrog as onespecific variety of citron.[8][9] The variousJewish rites utilize different varieties, according to their tradition or the decision of their respectiveposek.
On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
— Leviticus 23:40, New Revised Standard Version
According to one study, the biblical phraseperi 'etz hadar (פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר) (translated above as "fruit of majestic trees") is syntactically and lexically ambiguous, and has been interpreted or translated in at least fifteen distinct ways.[10] Some of the best-known approaches are "fruit from beautiful trees", (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan;Martin Luther; NRSV cited above), "beautiful tree-fruit", (theSamaritans;Septuagint;Abraham ibn Ezra), or "branches of beautiful trees" (King James Version). Most Rabbinic translations directly linkperi 'etz hadar to the etrog, e.g., "tree-fruit, that is etrogim" (Targum Onkelos), "etrog fruit from the etrog tree" (Nachmanides), or "fruit of the etrog tree" (Saadia Gaon). Some other approaches to the ambiguity have been "cone of the cedar tree" (Shmuel Tolkowsky), "fruit of the olive tree" (Irving Koller), or "branches of the myrtle tree" (Arnold Ehrlich).[11]
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In modern Hebrew,hadar refers to the genusCitrus.Nachmanides (1194 – c. 1270) suggests that the word was the original Hebrew name for the citron.[citation needed] According to this view, the wordetrog was introduced over time and adapted fromAramaic. TheArabic name for the citron fruit,itranj (اترنج), mentioned inhadith literature, is also adapted from Aramaic.
Etrogim were extensively cultivated in theHoly Land at the time of theSecond Temple, and images ofetrogim are found at many archaeological sites of that era, including mosaics at theMaon Synagogue,Beth Alpha Synagogue, andHamat Tiberias Synagogue. At all of those sites, theetrog is depicted alongside other important religious symbols, like theshofar ormenorah. Theetrog is also found on numerousBar Kokhba coins.
Archaeological evidence for citrus fruits is limited, as neither seeds nor pollen are likely to be routinely recovered in archaeology.[12] The earliest evidence ofetrogim in Israel is the 2012 discovery of citron pollen from the second century BCE in excavations at theRamat Rachel site.[13]
After thefall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, exiled Jews planted citron orchards wherever the climate allowed: in Southern Europe (Spain,Greece, andItaly) as well as in North Africa andAsia Minor. Jews who settled north of the warmer citron-growing areas depended on importedetrogim, which caused much anxiety given the dangers and uncertainties of sea travel. By the seventeenth century, some of the most popular sources foretrogim were the islands ofCorsica andCorfu.[citation needed]
Since the late 1850s, theFruit of the Goodly Tree Association inMandatory Palestine representedetrog farmers who marketed their crops to Jews in Europe. Some Jewish communities still preferred citrons from Italy, Greece, Morocco, or Yemen, but many Jews seeking citrons turned back toEretz Yisrael, theland of Israel.
American Jews continue to import the majority of their holidayetrogim fromIsrael, except duringshmita when there arehalachic complications in exporting the produce of Israel. The only commercial grower of etrogs in the United States is John Kirkpatrick, the former chairman of the Citrus Research Board, on a ranch in the town ofExeter in theSan Joaquin Valley of California. Kirkpatrick, who is not Jewish, began growing etrogs in 1980 following a phone call with Yisroel Weisberger, an employee at a Judaica store in Brooklyn. In 1995, Weisberger's brother, Yaakov Shlomo Rothberg, became involved in the operation and has since become Kirkpatrick's business partner. As of 2010[update], Kirkpatrick has 250 etrog trees and produces 3,000 suitable etrogs per year, with 9,000 that do not qualify due to halakhic requirements.[14] While there are other growers in California, such as Inga Dorosz and David Sleeth in the town ofGorda near Big Sur, these are not rabbinically supervised and are therefore not kosher.[15]
Apitam orpitom (Hebrew:פיטום; pluralpitamim) is composed of astyle (Hebrew:דַד;dad), and astigma (Hebrew:שׁוֹשַׁנְתָּא;shoshanta), and usually falls off during the growing process. Anetrog with an intactpitam is considered especially valuable, but varieties that naturally shed theirpitam during growth are also considered kosher. When only the stigma breaks off, even post-harvest, the citron can still be considered kosher as long as part of the style has remained attached. If the wholepitam, i.e. the stigma and style, are unnaturally broken off in their entirety, theetrog is not kosher for ritual use.
Many morepitamim are preserved today due to anauxin discovered byEliezer E. Goldschmidt, emeritus professor of horticulture at theHebrew University. While working with thepicloram hormone in a citrus orchard, he unexpectedly discovered that some of theValencia oranges found nearby had perfectly preservedpitamim. Citrus fruits, other than anetrog or citron hybrid like thebergamot, usually do not preserve theirpitam. On the occasions that they do, theirpitamim tend to be dry, sunken and very fragile. In Goldschmidt's observation, thepitamim were all fresh and solid like those of theMoroccan or Greek citron varieties.
Experimenting with picloram in a laboratory, Goldschmidt eventually found the correct "dose" to achieve the desired effect: one droplet[clarification needed] of the chemical in three million drops of water.[16]
In order for a citron to be kosher, it must be neithergrafted norhybridized with any other species. Only a few traditional varieties are therefore used. To ensure that no grafting is performed, preferred plantations are kept under strict rabbinicalsupervision.
The citron varieties traditionally used asetrog are theDiamante citron from Italy, theGreek citron, theBalady citron from Israel, theMoroccan andYemenite citrons.
A general DNA study was conducted by Eliezer E. Goldschmidt and colleagues which tested and positively identified twelve famousaccessions of citron for purity and being genetically related.[17]
Thefingered andFlorentine citrons, although they are also citron varieties or maybehybrids, are not used for the ritual. TheCorsican citron fell into disfavor but has recently been reintroduced for ritual use.
In addition to the above, there are rabbinical indicators used to distinguish pureetrogim from possible hybrids. These traditional indicators have been preserved by continuousselection performed by professional farmers.[18]
The most accepted indicators are: 1) a pureetrog has a thick rind, contrasting with its sparing pulpsegments which are also almost dry, 2) the outer surface of anetrog is ribbed and warted, and 3) theetrogpeduncle is somewhat buried inward. By contrast, a lemon or different citron hybrid is missing one or all of the specifications.[19]
A later and not as widely accepted indicator is the orientation of the seed. In a pureetrog, the seeds are oriented vertically, unless crowded by neighboring seeds; in lemons and hybrids, the seeds are oriented horizontally even when they are not crowded.[20]
Theetrog is typically grown from cuttings that are two to four years old. The tree begins to bear fruit about four years after planting the cuttings.[21] If the tree is germinated fromseed, it will not bear fruit for about seven years, and there may be somegenetic change to the tree or fruit.[22]
To protect theetrog during the holiday, it is traditionally wrapped in silky flax fibers and stored in a special decorative box, often made from silver.[23]
After the holiday, eating theetrog oretrog jam is considered asegula (efficacious remedy) for a woman to have an easy childbirth.[24] A common Ashkenazi custom is to save theetrog untilTu BiShvat and eat it in candied form or assuccade, while offering prayers that the worshipper merit a beautifuletrog next Sukkot.[25] Some families make jam or liqueur out of theetrog or make apomander by insertingcloves into the skin for use asbesamim at thehavdalah ceremony afterShabbat.
Etrogim grown in Israel are not classified as food and are therefore not recommended to be eaten due to the large amount of pesticides used in their agriculture.[26]
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