rosh hashanah

9

Why this
ancient fruit
is a Jewish
symbol.

I

mages of pomegranates
are mainstays of Rosh
Hashanah cards, Jewish
jewelry and a range of Jewish
ritual objects, and the fruit
itself makes frequent appear-
ances in Jewish cuisine. But
what’s so Jewish about this
ancient treat? Quite a lot!
1. The pomegranate is one
of Israel’s “seven species.”
The pomegranate is one
of the seven species of Israel
(along with wheat, barley,

JULIEN MENICHINI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

MYJEWISHLEARNING.COM

Jewish Things
About Pomegranates

88

September 14 • 2017

AVI DEROR/WIKIMEDIA

RIGHT:
Rimonim
(pomegranate-
shaped
ornaments)
top this Torah
scroll.

jn

grapes, figs, olives, and dates)
listed in the Torah in Parshat
Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25).
2. Pomegranates decorate
many Torah scrolls.
The decorative ornaments
at the top of many Ashkenazi
Torah scroll covers are often
shaped like pomegranates and
are called rimonim, the Hebrew
word for pomegranates.
3. Pomegranates tradition-
ally symbolize fertility and
love.
In Jewish tradition, pome-
granates are a symbol of fer-
tility and love, winning them
frequent mention in, among
other biblical texts, the Song
of Songs. For example (Song of
Songs 4:3): “Your lips are like a
crimson thread; your mouth is
lovely. Your brow behind your
veil [gleams] like a pomegran-
ate split open.”
4. Pomegranates are
part of the Sephardic Rosh
Hashanah seder.
The pomegranate is one of
several symbolic foods incorpo-
rated into the Rosh Hashanah
seder, a ritual. Before eating the
pomegranate seeds, Jews tradi-
tionally say, “May we be as full of
mitzvot (commandments) as the
pomegranate is full of seeds.”
5. A pomegranate is often

the “new fruit” on the second
night of Rosh Hashanah.
Many Jews use pomegranates
on the second night of Rosh
Hashanah for the custom of
saying a blessing over a “new
fruit,” one that people have not
eaten in a long time.
6. Pomegranate seeds are
associated with the 613
mitzvot (commandments).
The pomegranate is often
said to have 613 seeds, cor-
responding to the 613 mitzvot
derived from the Bible. While
this is not actually true (the
number of seeds in each pome-
granate varies widely), some
have theorized that this belief
stems from a misinterpretation
of a passage in the (Berachot 4),
which concludes that even “the
empty ones among the Jews are
full of mitzvot like a pomegran-
ate is [ full of seeds.]”
7. Pomegranates continue
to grow in Israel.
Pomegranates have been
cultivated in Israel (and
throughout the Middle East)
for thousands of years, and
they continue to grow there
in abundance. When pome-
granates are in season, fresh-
squeezed pomegranate juice is
available in kiosks throughout
the country. According to the

Israeli Agriculture International
Portal, Israel harvests approxi-
mately 60,000 tons of the fruit
annually, of which about half
are earmarked for export.
8. Pomegranates are fre-
quently mentioned in Jewish
texts.
Pomegranates make frequent
appearances in the Bible and,
including: In Parshat Sh’lach
(Numbers 13:1-15:41) in the
Torah, a pomegranate is one
of the items brought back by
the 12 spies when they return
from scouting out the Land of
Canaan. Images of pomegran-
ates adorn the robes of the high
priest, as described in Parshat
Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10)
of the Torah. And in one story
in the Talmud, the wife of a
rabbi (Hiyya Bar Ashi) tests him
by disguising herself as a pros-
titute and then seducing him,
demanding he pay her with a
freshly picked pomegranate
(Kiddushin 81b).
9. Pomegranates are found
on ancient Judean coins.
An image of a pomegranate
decorated some ancient Jewish
coins, including a recently
discovered one from the era of
the Bar Kochba revolt (second
century C.E.). •