THE DETROIT JEWISH MEWS
Friday, October 9, 1981 11
T-.+F
200 Israeli Families Harvest Etrogim for Sukkot
(Continued from Page 1)
those not, as well as a
vocabulary for classify-
ing them for the market.
The etrog (citron) is part
of the four species over
which the blessing is recited
during Sukkot, together
with the other three, the
lulav (palm branch) hadas,
(myrtle) and arava (willow).
Unique among the ag-
ricultural varieties that
grow in this small country
with its widely divergent
climatic zones, the etrog has
the shortest in-season of
any fruit: seven days of the
Sukkot festival. Yet it pro-
vides year round livelihood
for about 200 families.
Furthermore, export is in-
creasing steadily each year.
The sale of etrogim is cen-
tered in Tel Aviv around the
Great Synagogue and on the
Ibn Gabirol Street in the
square of the municipality.
It begins immediately after
Yom Kippur, but weeks be-
fore that the fruit has been
picked and crated at Lud-
mir's big warehouse and
carefully prepared for
shipment to all parts of the
world.
"We start praying for
rain for the coming sea-
son in Heshvan and for
the winters to be mild and
tender to the fruit," Lud-
mir observes as he shows
us the way it is picked,
thezi wrapped in soft,
natural cotton imported
from Bangladesh. Non-
insulating, this flax-like
material keeps the fruit
at the same temperature
and preserves its aroma
for its long journey ab-
road and over the seven
days of Sukkot.
America is the number
one customer and accounts
for about 85 percent of Is-
rael's export, with about
80,000 etrogim being ship-
ped there annually.
Another 7,000 have Euro-
pean destinations, despite
competition from those
grown in Italy and available
at a lower price. The
lulavim which grow in good
supply in El Arish are
equally in dema-tid with
about 100,000 being ex-
ported.
Israel-grown etrogim face
problems which do not have
bearing on the fruit grown
elsewhere: during Shmitta
year (sabbatical year for
produce) extremely Or-
thodox Jews will not use
any fruit from the land, and
even in Israel the very pious
will not use and etrog that is
murkav (grafted).
Nevertheless, exports are
larger than official statis-
tics indicate, as many
tourists send or bring Is-
raeli etrogim with them for
relatives. Revival of Jewish
tradition among youth, the
influx of Soviet Jews and ef-
forts by the Lubavitcher
Hasidim to stimulate ob-
servance of the mitzva of the
four species during Sukkot,
all these have helped to
draw new attention to the
etrog in recent years. Its use
symbolizes appreciation of
the fruits and plants of
Eretz Yisrael and basic te-
nents of Judaism which
changing times cannot al-
- ter.
turret shaped top, its pit-
tum (flowered blossom at
the tip) and ikutz (the
stem which is sunk in the
broad base) face each
other and are intact. The
fruit's furrowed surface
and bumps distinguish it
from the ordinary lemon.
Tastes in its shape are as
individual as ther personal-
ity of the customer, Ludmir
observes. For example,
Orientals generally like
round, fat etrogim; Euro-
peans the smaller, lighter
product. Jews from Hun-
gary show a preference for
oval shapes and smooth sur-
faces; Galician customers
like rough exteriors and
Yemenites tend toward
large etrogim. Why? That is
a subject for psychologists
and sociologists, Ludmir
shrugs.
Right now Ludmir is
over-occupied. Neverthe-
less, he is enjoying the sea-
even such a high structure
was permissable.
It was permitted to build
one sukka on top of another.
However, only the upper
one was legal for use.
Furthermore, the sukka
had to be covered with
enough branches or foliage
so that the sukka would
have more shade than sun.
The most interesting
snkkot in ancient times
were those erected on the
backs of camels and
elephants. The Iraaeli
army matches that today
with the sukkot build on
open army tracks. They
are mobile, and similar to
the ancient animal suk-
kot, can be sent to the
most isolated bases
where soldiers are
stationed.
Leviticus 23:42 com-
mands us to "live in booths"
during the week of the holi-
day itself. This has been lit-
erally interpreted by Jews
through the ages to mean
one must actually abide in
the sukka, to eat in it, study
and even sleep in it. In the
Israeli climate this living in
the sukka is possible be-
cause the first rains come
after the holiday is over. In
other countries, however,
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How do you choose an
etrog? Ludmir will tell
you the perfect one has a
Sukkot in Jerusalem
(Continued from Page 1)
celebration.
The rabbis of the tal-
mudic period discussed the
sukka in depth. A sukka of
more than 37 feet in height
was declared to be invalid,
though Rabbi Jodah's
minority opinion noted that
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army required me to submit
a very detailed work order
for the "construction of my
temporary Jewish annex"
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jargon.
Since there were several
hundred men, women and
children who would use the
sukka, including the post
commander, a two-star gen-
eral who each year was our
honored guest, the detail of
soliders, all non-Jews, sent
to erect the "Jewish annex"
were ordered to make sure
that no expense was spared.
When the sukka was
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enjoyed it. That "Jewish
annex" also was an excel-
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non-Jewish visitors, includ-
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Jews still constructed their
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