Balady citron

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Balady citron (etrog)
Balady citron (Braverman cultivar).jpg
Braverman sub-variety of Balady citron
Species C. medicaL. var. Balady

The balady citron is a variety of citron, or etrog , grown in Israel and the West Bank, mostly for Jewish ritual purposes. Not native to the region, it was imported around 500 or 300 BCE by either Jewish or Greek settlers. Initially not widely grown, it was promoted and popularized in the 1870s by Rabbi Chaim Elozor Wax.

Contents

Etymology

Balady (Arabic : بلدي) is Arabic for "native." Local Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to distinguish this variety from the Greek citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore. [1]

The balady citron is an acidic variety, alongside the Florentine and Diamante citron from Italy, and the Greek citron. [2]

History

Citrus fruits are not native to Palestine. [3] According to Gallesio, Jews from Babylonia introduced the citron into Judea in around 500 BCE, [4] [5] while Tolkowsky believed that Greek settlers brought it from India around 200 years later during the 3rd century BCE. [4] It is thought that the citron is the oldest cultivated fruit in the country. [6] Being of ritual significance for Jews, the citron was exported abroad in small quantities during Roman times. [7] [8] During the 1800s, the Balady was grown on the outskirts of Nablus, Nazareth, Tiberias, Safed and Alma al-Shaib, in Umm al-Fahm and in Lifta village near Jerusalem. [9] It was only in the middle of the 19th-century that Balady citrons began to feature significantly in the European market and a religious Jewish controversy subsequently erupted as to whether the citrons had been grafted and therefore deemed disqualified for ritual use. [10]

In the 1870s, Rabbi Chaim Elozor Wax devoted himself to its cultivation and organized shipments to Europe. He felt the Balady citron had the strongest traditional lineage of species pureness, and claimed it was to be found in the wild when Nahmanides (d. 1270) arrived in the country. He wrote many letters to the rabbis hoping to influence the diaspora to use the Balady citron. These letters were published in his responsa Nefesh Haya and the responsa of his correspondents, as well as in pamphlets addressing the Greek citron controversy. [11] Under his influence, many Jews began to purchase the Balady instead of the Greek citron. [12] While the variety was not domesticated, it was used by important scholars and pious Jews who believed in its purity and appropriateness. [13] Rabbi Wax also saw the trade in this citron as an important source of economic income for the Jewish community in Palestine. He invested large sums establishing orchards in Hittin donating the profits to charity. [12] In 1875, Wax planted 600 trees and by 1883 over 40,000 citrons had been exported. [14]

The pro-Zionist newspapers HaMelitz and HaLevanon were instrumental in stirring up interest in etrog cultivation in Palestine, which was seen as important in paving the way for Jewish independence. [15] The Greek citron has been introduced for plantation in the 1840s by Sephardic Jews with the financial backing of Sir Moses Montefiore. The new Greek-Jaffa variety was more commercially successful than Balady. [16] Despite all efforts, the Balady was still unable to compete with the Greek citron and at the beginning of that 20th-century its cultivation was very primitive and limited. [17] The Balady was considered unattractive and some of the new immigrants continued using varieties they were accustomed to in the diaspora. [18]

The supporters of the Balady were strained in a conflict of interest. While the Greek citron grown in Jaffa showed a good economical future, the Halachic intentions were against it. As a partial solution, the Greek-Jaffa citron was occasionally grafted onto Balady rootstock. The progeny achieved the beautiful properties of the scion type, while the possible influence of lemon rootstock was assumed to be flushed, and replaced with that of the most kosher Balady rootstock. [19] At some point, Rabbi Wax was forced to relent and commence topworking to part of his orchard, in order to replace part of the crop with the Greek citron. [20]

Rescue and selections

The Old Yishuv rabbis Shmuel Salant and Meir Auerbach supported the progeny of Umm el-Fahm, but those declined quickly. Later, some Israeli rabbis did their utmost for the rescue of Balady. Each collected propagation material from a different place and brought it into cultivation under close supervision. This is how a diversity of sub-varieties or selections with different names developed. [21]

The list of rabbis who were instrumental includes (arranged in order of date): Rabbi Zarach Reuven Braverman founder and dean of the Yeshiva Mea Shearim and Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld; [22] which both where close disciples of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin. [21] Braverman's citron was planted by in the orchard of Yehoshua Stampfer and Zonnenfeld's (today known as 'Kibilewitz')' in the same orchard, but in the time of his son-in-law, Pinhas Globman. [23]

When the Chazon Ish reached the Holy Land, he made his own selection according to his satisfaction. To Yakov Halperin, founder of Zichron Meir in Bnei Brak, he gave plantings of the variety called Halperin-Chazon Ish; and to Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, the variety called Lefkowitz-Chazon Ish. [24]

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook promoted the intraspecific graft from the Greek citron onto Balady citron rootstock, and granted his Hechsher for this, believing that it was a practical solution to grow beautiful etrogs that were also kosher. However, he still acknowledged the halachic promotion of those etrogs cultivated at different Arabic villages, that were never as nice but were praised for not being grafted. [25]

Balady citron varieties are still grown and sold today in diaspora as well as in Israel, and are favored by the followers of the Brisker Rov and the Chazon Ish. [26]

Local cultivars are also used in Israeli cuisine for jams, juice and alcoholic drinks.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Etrog</i> Edible fruit cultivar

Etrog is the yellow citron used by Jews during the weeklong holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the lulav, hadass, and aravah, the etrog is taken in hand and held or waved during specific portions of the holiday prayers. Special care is often given to selecting an etrog for the performance of the Sukkot holiday rituals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citron</span> Species of citrus plant

The citron, historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. Though citron cultivars take on a wide variety of physical forms, they are all closely related genetically. It is used in Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, traditional medicines, perfume, and religious rituals and offerings. Hybrids of citrons with other citrus are commercially more prominent, notably lemons and many limes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yisrael Meir Lau</span> Polish-born Israeli rabbi and Holocaust survivor (b. 1937)

Yisrael (Israel) Meir Lau is a Holocaust survivor who served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003. He was previously Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel. After his tenure as chief rabbi, he was appointed chairman of Yad Vashem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz</span> Belarusian-born Israeli haredi rabbi

Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, also known as the Chazon Ish after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his final 20 years, from 1933 to 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz</span> Israeli Torah leader

Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz was an Israeli Haredi Torah leader and rosh yeshiva in Bnei Brak for over 70 years. He was a maggid shiur at Yeshivas Tiferes Tzion from 1940 to 2011 and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ponovezh L’Tzeirim from 1954 to 2009, raising thousands of students. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah, a member of Mifal HaShas, and nasi (president) of the Acheinu kiruv organization, and played a leading role in the fight for Torah-true education in yeshivas and Talmud Torahs in Israel. In addition to his own Torah works, he published the teachings of his rebbi, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, in the two-volume Chiddushei Shlomo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir Yeshiva (Jerusalem)</span> School in Beit Yisrael, Jerusalem

The Mir Yeshiva, known also as The Mir, is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Beit Yisrael, Jerusalem. With over 9,000 single and married students, it is the largest yeshiva in the world. Most students are from Israel and the United States, with many from other parts of the world such as Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Switzerland, Argentina, Australia, Russia, Canada and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaakov Meir</span> First Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine (1856–1939)

Yaakov Meir CBE (1856–1939), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi appointed under the British Mandate of Palestine. A Talmudic scholar, fluent in Hebrew as well as five other languages, he enjoyed a reputation as one of Jerusalem's most respected rabbis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek citron</span> Edible fruit cultivar

The Greek citron variety of Citrus medica was botanically classified by Adolf Engler as the "variety etrog". This refers to its major use for the Jewish ritual etrog during Sukkot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamante citron</span> Variety of fruit

The Diamante citron (Citrus medica cv. diamante − {{lang-it|cedro di diamante} is a variety of citron named after the town of Diamante, located in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, on the south-western coast of Italy, which is its most known cultivation point. This is why this variety is sometimes called the "Calabria Esrog". "Esrog" is the Ashkenazi Hebrew name for citron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemenite citron</span> Variety of fruit

The Yemenite citron is a variety of citron, usually containing no juice vesicles in its fruit's segments. The bearing tree and the mature fruit's size are somewhat larger than the trees and fruit of other varieties of citron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moroccan citron</span> Variety of fruit

The Moroccan citron is a true citron variety native to Assads, Morocco, which is still today its main center of cultivation.

Chaim Elozor Wax was a well-known Hasidic rabbi, posek, and a Jewish leader in Poland. He was a philanthropist and accomplished student of the Talmud.

The Old Yishuv were the Jewish communities of the region of Palestine during the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah waves, and the consolidation of the new Yishuv by the end of World War I. Unlike the new Yishuv, characterized by secular and Zionist ideologies promoting labor and self-sufficiency, the Old Yishuv primarily consisted of religious Jews who relied on external donations (halukka) for support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meir Auerbach</span>

Rabbi Meir Auerbach (1815–1878) was president of the Jewish court at Koło, and author of Imrei Bina. After his immigration to Ottoman Palestine in 1859, he headed the Poland Kollel and became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Klein (scholar)</span> 20th-century historical-geographer

Samuel Klein was a Hungarian-born rabbi, historian and historical geographer in Mandatory Palestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Kendall (urban planner)</span> British urban planner

Henry Kendall (1903–1983) was a British architect, who worked as an urban planner, in British colonies and former colonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moshe Chelouche</span>

Moshe "Musa" Chelouche was a Jewish politician and businessman in Mandatory Palestine and Israel who served in 1936 for 10 days as the mayor of Tel Aviv.

Yisrael Bak was a printer, a publisher and public figure in the Old Yishuv in the Land of Israel in the 19th century. He revived Hebrew printing in the Land of Israel after a hiatus of more than two hundred years and established the first Hebrew printing house in Jerusalem.

Uriel Rappaport was an Israeli historian. His area of research focus was the Second Temple period, including Hellenistic Judaism, the Maccabean Revolt, the Hasmonean kingdom, and the First Jewish–Roman War. He became a professor of Jewish History at the University of Haifa and served as a rector of the university from 1983 to 1985. He was a member of the Council for Higher Education in Israel in 1987–1989 and 1998–2001, and served as a chairman of the Humanities Committee at the Israel Science Foundation. Rappaport took emeritus status at Haifa in 2003, and served as president of Kinneret College in 2002–2006.

References

  1. קונטרס פרי עץ הדר, ירושלים תרל"ח Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Meena, Ajay Kumar; Kandale, Ajit; Rao, M. M.; Panda, P.; Reddy, Govind (2011). "A review on citron-pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and medicinal uses". The Journal of Pharmacy. 2 (1): 14–20.
  3. Friedrich Simon Bodenheimer (1951). "1. The History and Extent of Citrus Cultivation in Palestine". Citrus Entomology in the Middle East: With Special References to Egypt, Iran, Irak, Palestine, Syria, Turkey. Dr. W. Junk. p. 3. Citrus plants are no natives of Palestine.
  4. 1 2 Elisabetta Nicolosi (2007). "3. Origin and Taxonomy". In Iqrar Ahmad Khan (ed.). Citrus Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology. CABI. p. 21. ISBN   978-0-85199-019-4.
  5. Alan Davidson (21 August 2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. OUP Oxford. p. 191. ISBN   978-0-19-104072-6. From there it reached Babylonia, where it came to the notice of the exiled Jews, who later brought it back to Israël.
  6. Report FS. United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics. 1935. p. 2. Of the fruits now grown in Palestine, it is believed that the citron (Ethrog in Hebrew) is the oldest known in that country.
  7. Isaac, Erich (1958). "Rise of the Palestinian Citron". The Citron in the Mediterranean: A Study in Religious Influences. Economic geography. University of California. p. 76. Etrogim were, of course grown from ancient times in Palestine and individual citron reached European Jewish dignitaries, but there was no significant trade until the latter part of the nineteenth century.
  8. R. E. Hunter (1946). "Review: Hesperides. History of citrus fruits, Tolkowsky, Samuel, London, 1938". The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society. Vol. 19–20. The Society. p. xlii. The fruits were cultivated in Palestine and exported to Jewish communities settled in Europe.
  9. Letter by Rabbi Meir Auerbach, printed at the end of the 4th chapter of first volume of the responsa Nefesh Chaya by Rabbi Chaim Elozor Wax שו"ת נפש חיה או"ח סי' ד סוה"ס
  10. Issac, (1958). "Israëli" citrons began to figure in the European market in the late 1850s. These etrogim, however, met considerable opposition from certain Orthodox communities on the grounds that they were grafted. To counteract this unfavorable propaganda, a group of Palestinian rabbis investigated the situation and published a volume to inform world Jewry in which areas grafting was practiced and which exporters could not be relied upon, thus by implication putting the seal of approval upon the rest. The rabbis denied that grafting was universal in Palestine."
  11. תולדות הנפש חיה, י.ד. בית הלוי, פרקים ח-י. שו"ת ביכורי שלמה סי' לח
  12. 1 2 תולדות הנפש חיה, י.ד. בית הלוי, פרקים ח-י.
  13. שו"ת נפש חיה או"ח סי' ב-ד
    • תולדות הנפש חיה, י.ד. בית הלוי, פרקים ח-י.
  14. Our History, Kupath Rabbi Meir Baal Haness.
  15. יוסף שלמון, הפולמוס על אתרוגי קורפו ואתרוגי ארץ ישראל - 1875–1891, ציון - רבעון לחקר תולדות ישראל, שנה סה (תש"ס) עמוד 75 והלאה.
  16. קונטרס פרי עץ הדר, השותפים סלאנט, ירושלים תרל"ח Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
    • יוסף שלמון, הפולמוס על אתרוגי קורפו ואתרוגי ארץ ישראל - 1875–1891, ציון - רבעון לחקר תולדות ישראל, שנה סה (תש"ס) עמוד 75 והלאה.
  17. Taharat Haetrogim page 299.
  18. Letter by Rabbi Shneor Zalman of Lublin, in Igros Baal Torath Chesed Chapter 9, אגרות בעל תורת חסד סימן ט
    • Responsa Imrei Binah by Rabbi Meir Auerbach, chapter 11 of the last cycle of the first volume שו"ת אמרי בינה או"ח-יו"ד סוה"ס סי' יא
  19. Igros HoRaye 114
  20. תולדות הנפש חיה, י.ד. בית הלוי, פרק ח.
  21. 1 2 אתרוגי ארץ ישראל, זהר עמר, תשע"א
  22. According to Professor Eliezer E. Goldschmidt (Hilkhot Sadeh, issue 146, Elul 5765, Page 24) the Kibilewitz-etrog was obtained in 1910 at the remote nature of Wadi Qelt. According to the Widow Kibilewitz and Mr. & Mrs. Kelli, it was obtained by Rabbi Sonnenfeld.
  23. Rozenfeld article in Kobetz Etz Chaim
  24. Menachem Pines, (September 2009). "The Chazon Ish's Magic Esrog Tree", Mishpacha .
  25. .אגרות הראי"ה, חלק א, סימן נב, עמוד סא
  26. See Etrog in Hebrew Wikipedia

Further reading