The holiday of Sukkot, which started Sunday evening, isn't complete without a lulav and an
etrog, the four species that Jews are commanded to wave on the harvest holiday.
Continue reading "'Reb Aryeh's
Etrog': A Story for Sukkot by Israeli Novelist Haim Be'er, in a First English Translation" at...
Following his advice, on each day of Sukkot, hoping that she was already pregnant, Rachel bit off and chewed the pitom or stem of an
etrog in order to ensure a safe delivery.
Celebrations are held with four types of plant, palm, myrtle and willow and
etrog, a citrus fruit.
Born in the small Romanian city of Iasi in 1933, Sorel
Etrog rose to fame in his adoptive country of Canada, though he remains too little known abroad.
He was so small that his cradle was the curved, carved lid of an
etrog (citron, a fruit from Israel).
Halakhic use of DNA fingerprinting of botanical species has focused on the
etrog (Citrus medica), as there were concerns as to its purity, particularly, whether it was grafted to a lemon tree.
One of the unique rituals of this holiday is taking the arba'ah minim [Four Species], which are defined as the lulav [palm branch],
etrog [citron fruit], hadassim [myrtle branches], and aravot [willow branches], reciting a blessing over them, and then waving them in six directions.
A major component of Sukkot involves waving the lulav (palm, willow and myrtle) and
etrog (citron) in each of the four directions--or six, if "up" and "down" are included in the ritual (which is my custom)--which represents our acknowledgment of God's dominion over Creation.
The main Sukkot ritual is taking four types of plant material: An
etrog (a citrus fruit), a palm branch, a myrtle branch, and a willow branch to commemorate the story.
Yet, involvement of the Group of Seven artists and other famous cultural producers (such as sculptor Sorel
Etrog) raised the Guild's profile and contributed to its national visibility both as a craft centre and as a resort.