Shabbat Gathering: What's an etrog?

Gud Shabbos Khaveyrim, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

Etrog? Surely this must be the ugliest lemon ever, except it isn’t a lemon. Yes, it is a citrus, and it’s yellow, but … read on.

Sukkot, the holy days we’re observing, has several different parts to it. There’s the sukkah we’ve built, the fragile hut that’s open to the elements. And there’s the lulav we wave made from the branches from palm, myrtle, and willow. And we wave the lulav while holding the etrog.

And the pitam?

The etrog is a citrus fruit. It’s like a prehistoric lemon before Luther Burbank got his hands on it. A kosher etrog is kosher when it has a nubbin left on the end where it was attached to the tree. That nubbin is known as the pitam. If the pitam is lost through a natural accident, say it just falls off, it is still considered kosher. If someone takes off the pitam deliberately, then the etrog is not kosher. It’s appropriate to admire the etrog, smell it, closely inspect its skin, caress it, but don’t lick it as that would be kind of gross.

Of course, there’s symbolism in all our observances. Each different branch of the lulav means something different and the etrog does too. Some believe that the etrog represents the heart of a person. Others believe that the etrog represents people who possess both learning and good deeds.

Abracadabra.

And the etrog has a magical property. Once the etrog has fulfilled its mission as a revered ceremonial object, it can take on a whole other purpose. Here’s how it works: Take the etrog, skin and all, and turn it into marmalade. (Ask your favorite AI for a recipe because the etrog is intensely bitter and needs special preparation, and I have no idea what the recipe is. Basically, the etrog is inedible.) Once the marmalade has been prepared, serve it to someone who wants to have a baby because the etrog marmalade is a fertility potion. Now you know and be careful what you wish for.

I’ve never bought an etrog or lulav. I’ve always relied on the shared set at my synagogue. Next year, I think, I’m going to acquire a lulav and etrog. (But I don’t think I’ll make any marmalade.)

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Mit vareme grusn,
(With warm regards,)

All my love,
brian.

PS

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