Moroccan citron
Encyclopedia
The Moroccan
sweet citron was first described in detail by Professor Henri Chapot, in his article named Un curieux cedrat Marocain (1950). He discovered that the acidity in the more common citrons or lemon
s, is represented by violet pigmentation on the outer side of the flower blossom, and also by the new buds that are reddish-purplish. The Moroccan citron which is acidless is completely lacking the red colour.
This designation was cited by Webber
and Batchelor the editors of the fundamental treatise on citrus
, namely The Citrus Industry, which was published by the University of California, Riverside
in year 1967.
is unknown. According to the local Jewry, it was with them since they were exiled to Morocco after the destruction of the Second Temple
. From then on it was highly revered by all the rabbis and communities of Northern Africa, without any interruption or controversy. During time, it got accepted also by Ashkenazi communities all over Europe
.
The precise location of cultivation is at the village Assads in the region of Tarrudant, and a 100 km east of Agadir
, as was numerously reported by rabbinical and secular sources.
In 1995, Professor Eliezer E. Goldschmidt together with a delegation of rabbi
s were hired by a rabbi in Israel, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, to check out if Morocco is still in the same state of kashrut
, and if any grafted etrog
is to be found over there. Professor Goldschmidt asked the Moroccan professor of horticulture, namely Mohamed El-Otmani from Agadir
, to come along to help.
All together they climbed up the Anti-Atlas
canyon where the local Berber
s have been cultivating the Moroccan Citron for many centuries, and they were very impressed from the old tradition which is practiced there, finding not one grafted citron tree. (Grafted citrons are not kosher for ritual use on Sukkot, according to halachah.)
The delegation presented their finding to Rabbi Elyashiv, who was very happy about the information that the Moroccan wilderness still presents the unbroken lineage, of a non-grafted etrog.
from Umm al-Fahm
.
As to the Yanover
and the Corfu
he argued based on the booklet from the Salant partners, that since some of them are proven to be graft
ed, no certification may be granted to the rest, since it is impossible to determine if the non-grafted citrons are not descendents of the grafted ones.
As to the Moroccan and Yemenite
he argued, that although there were no grafted trees ever discovered among those kinds, they should be unfit, in light of the differentiation from the Ashkenazi types. The Moroccan citron is allegedly noted for its seedlessness, and the Yemenite for its pulplessness, both are too much different in morphology from the usual yanove
and Israeli esrogs
.
He was than disputed by Rabbi Shmuel David Munk in his responsa
"Pe'ath Sadcha" chapter 62, that at least with those who are surely ungrafted, the differentials cannot regret them, since the etrog of one country must not match the morphology of that of another origin.
In 1980 when the market in Brooklyn changed very much in favor of the Moroccan, Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam
, the Klausenberg
er Rebbe, banned the Moroccan citron for religious use. His ruling (printed in 1980) was based on the fact that some of them have no seeds, and seeing that the Shiyurei Kneseth haGedola (Orach Chaim 648) discuses what direction the seeds should be facing to prove their purity, he concluded that an authentic citron should always be seedy.
The seeds of the Moroccan Citron are actually facing utmost vertically as required, and the partial seedlessness cannot be a result of graft, as proven by Dr. Goldschmidt. The only question is about natural hybridization that may have occurred to certain types of citron, some hundreds or thousands of years ago, which is also unlikely in light of the DNA comparison conducted by Dr. Goldschmidt among researchers around the globe.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
sweet citron was first described in detail by Professor Henri Chapot, in his article named Un curieux cedrat Marocain (1950). He discovered that the acidity in the more common citrons or lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s, is represented by violet pigmentation on the outer side of the flower blossom, and also by the new buds that are reddish-purplish. The Moroccan citron which is acidless is completely lacking the red colour.
This designation was cited by Webber
Herbert John Webber
Herbert John Webber was an American plant physiologist who was born in Lawton, Michigan and grew up on a farm in Marshalltown, Iowa, originally wanting to be a lawyer. In 1889 he graduated from the University of Nebraska...
and Batchelor the editors of the fundamental treatise on citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
, namely The Citrus Industry, which was published by the University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
in year 1967.
Use as etrog
The exact date when the variety came into use for etrogEtrog
Etrog refers to the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jews on the week-long holiday of Sukkot.While in modern Hebrew this is the name for any variety of citron, its English usage applies to those varieties and specimens used as one of the Four Species...
is unknown. According to the local Jewry, it was with them since they were exiled to Morocco after the destruction of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
. From then on it was highly revered by all the rabbis and communities of Northern Africa, without any interruption or controversy. During time, it got accepted also by Ashkenazi communities all over Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
, as was numerously reported by rabbinical and secular sources.
In 1995, Professor Eliezer E. Goldschmidt together with a delegation of rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s were hired by a rabbi in Israel, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, to check out if Morocco is still in the same state of kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
, and if any grafted etrog
Etrog
Etrog refers to the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jews on the week-long holiday of Sukkot.While in modern Hebrew this is the name for any variety of citron, its English usage applies to those varieties and specimens used as one of the Four Species...
is to be found over there. Professor Goldschmidt asked the Moroccan professor of horticulture, namely Mohamed El-Otmani from Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
, to come along to help.
Anti-Atlas
The Anti-Atlas or Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt,...
canyon where the local Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
s have been cultivating the Moroccan Citron for many centuries, and they were very impressed from the old tradition which is practiced there, finding not one grafted citron tree. (Grafted citrons are not kosher for ritual use on Sukkot, according to halachah.)
The delegation presented their finding to Rabbi Elyashiv, who was very happy about the information that the Moroccan wilderness still presents the unbroken lineage, of a non-grafted etrog.
The lack of seeds
However, Schraga Schlomai, a renowned etrog grower recounted the misfortunes of all the used etrog types besides the one he was cultivating, which he claimed to be a descendant of the BaladyBalady citron
Balady Citron , is a variety of citron, or etrog, grown in Israel for Jewish ritual purposes. Balady is Arabic for "native." Local Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to distinguish this variety from the Greek citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore.The Balady...
from Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm is a city in the Haifa District of Israel with a population of 43,300, nearly all of whom are Arab citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm mountain ridge, the highest point of which is Mt. Iskander , overlooking Wadi Ara...
.
Diamante citron
The Diamante citron is a variety of citron named after the city of Diamante which is its most known cultivation point. Diamante is located in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, on the south-western coast of Italy...
and the Corfu
Greek citron
The Greek citron variety of citrus medica was botanically classified by Adolf Engler as the "variety etrog". This is remarking on its major use for the Jewish ritual during Sukkot, due to its supposedly extraordinary natural beauty. It was also called Pitima, or the Cedro - Citron with a Pigolo -...
he argued based on the booklet from the Salant partners, that since some of them are proven to be graft
Grafting
Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
ed, no certification may be granted to the rest, since it is impossible to determine if the non-grafted citrons are not descendents of the grafted ones.
As to the Moroccan and Yemenite
Yemenite citron
The Yemenite citron is a distinct variety, usually containing no juice vesicles in its fruit's segments. The bearing tree is fairly bigger than the trees of the different varieties of citron, and the fruit's albedo is notably juicier.- Classification :...
he argued, that although there were no grafted trees ever discovered among those kinds, they should be unfit, in light of the differentiation from the Ashkenazi types. The Moroccan citron is allegedly noted for its seedlessness, and the Yemenite for its pulplessness, both are too much different in morphology from the usual yanove
Diamante citron
The Diamante citron is a variety of citron named after the city of Diamante which is its most known cultivation point. Diamante is located in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, on the south-western coast of Italy...
and Israeli esrogs
Balady citron
Balady Citron , is a variety of citron, or etrog, grown in Israel for Jewish ritual purposes. Balady is Arabic for "native." Local Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to distinguish this variety from the Greek citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore.The Balady...
.
He was than disputed by Rabbi Shmuel David Munk in his responsa
Responsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
"Pe'ath Sadcha" chapter 62, that at least with those who are surely ungrafted, the differentials cannot regret them, since the etrog of one country must not match the morphology of that of another origin.
In 1980 when the market in Brooklyn changed very much in favor of the Moroccan, Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam
Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam
Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam was an Orthodox rabbi and the founding rebbe of the Sanz-Klausenburg Hasidic dynasty....
, the Klausenberg
Klausenburg (Hasidic dynasty)
Klausenburg , also known as Sanz-Klausenburg, is a Hasidic dynasty that originated in the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca , Romania....
er Rebbe, banned the Moroccan citron for religious use. His ruling (printed in 1980) was based on the fact that some of them have no seeds, and seeing that the Shiyurei Kneseth haGedola (Orach Chaim 648) discuses what direction the seeds should be facing to prove their purity, he concluded that an authentic citron should always be seedy.
The seeds of the Moroccan Citron are actually facing utmost vertically as required, and the partial seedlessness cannot be a result of graft, as proven by Dr. Goldschmidt. The only question is about natural hybridization that may have occurred to certain types of citron, some hundreds or thousands of years ago, which is also unlikely in light of the DNA comparison conducted by Dr. Goldschmidt among researchers around the globe.
See also
- History of the Jews in MoroccoHistory of the Jews in MoroccoMoroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of Israel in 1948, there were about 250,000 to 350,000 Jews in the country, but fewer than 7,000 or so remain.-Under the Romans:...
- Berber JewsBerber JewsBerber Jews are the Berber-speaking Jewish communities which used to live in certain parts of Atlas mountains in Morocco. Their origins are not clear as one theory builds the case for "Judeo-cized Berbers" while another defends the "Berber-ized Jews" thesis....
- Jews and Judaism in Africa
- History of the Jews of Bilad el-Sudan