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, TOSKI In the last 20 years. Bob Toski has taught hundreds of people to play better golf. And now he's offering you the one thing that can improve your game as much as lessons from Toski himseff:BobToskiGolfClubs. Toski clubs are designed from the ground up tofu just one person: you. And when we measure you for Toski clubs, our pro analyzes every detail ofvourswing. 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