October 1, 2004/Tishri 6 5765, Vol. 57, No. 5
Supersized etrog
LEISAH NAMM
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 Yitz Garfinkel shows the difference between a typical etrog and a 5-pound supersized version, which was picked from a Yeminite etrog tree in Scottsdale. Photo by Yossi Wolfe |
Each year, one of the couple's eight etrog trees grows especially large fruit. This year the tree, planted from the seed of a Yeminite etrog, produced about a dozen of these extra-large citrons, along with many regular-sized versions.
The Salits planted the eight trees about 15 years ago and their daughter, also in Scottsdale, has a ninth in her yard. Together, the nine trees produced about 200 etrogim this year. Besides the one Yeminite tree, the rest were planted with seeds from Israeli etrogim.
For the past three years, family friend Yitz Garfinkel risked the tree's thorns to help pick the etrogim and ship them around the country to the Salits' friends and family members.
After Sukkot, Garfinkel embalms one or two of the large etrogim, sticks whole cloves through the peel and uses it as the spice for Havdalah during the rest of the year. "The fragrance of the cloves and the etrog itself is unbelievable," he says. The process takes about four or five hours per etrog.
An etrog is a citron fruit and is one of the four species used during Sukkot. The other three are myrtle, willow and lulav. The Torah refers to them in the following passage: "You shall take ... the beautiful fruit (etrog), a palm frond (lulav), myrtle twigs and willow branches of the stream - and rejoice for seven days before the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:40).
Kabbalists say that each of the four species represent a different type of Jew, according to Aish.com.
The etrog has a good taste and fragrance and represents a person with both wisdom (Torah learning) and good deeds. The myrtle, or hadas, has a good fragrance, but is inedible. It represents a person who does good deeds, but lacks wisdom.
The lulav, or date palm, is edible, but has no smell. This represents a person with wisdom, but no good deeds. And the willow, aravah, has neither taste nor smell, representing a person without good deeds or Torah learning.
On Sukkot, all of these are brought together to signify unity between all Jews.