The
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
ite citronThe citron is a fragrant fruit with the botanical name Citrus medica, which applies to both the Swingle and Tanaka systems. It is a prominent member in the genus Citrus, belonging to the Rutaceae or Rue family, sub-family Aurantioideae. The designation medica is apparently derived from the similar...
is a distinct variety, usually containing no
juice vesiclesThe juice vesicles of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit’s endocarp. The vesicles contain the juice of the fruit. The pulp is usually removed from fruit juice by filtering it out....
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 much juicier.
Classification
Despite its differences from standard varieties, the Yemenite citron was attested by a group of citrus and genetic experts to be a true variety of citron and possessing a close
geneticGenetics, , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding...
relation with the rest of the
typesEtrog 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 citron, its English usage is commonly applied only to those varieties and specimens typically used for the Jewish ritual as one of the Four...
. A brief documentation of this study was presented at the Global Citrus Germplasm Network.
Although other varieties of pulpless citron, such as
Buddha's handBuddha's Hand, Buddha's Hand citron, or Fingered citron is a fragrant citron variety whose fruit is segmented into finger-like sections....
etc., can be found in India and China, most
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish cultures are not aware of them. The
Yemenite JewsYemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen Yemenite Jews (Hebrew: תֵּימָנִים,
Standard Temanim
Tiberian ; singular תֵּימָנִי,
Standard Temani
Tiberian ) are those Jews who live, or...
say it went with them through tradition, and even believe it was in their hands since The First Temple.
Some argue that the absence of pulp is clear evidence for its purity, and that other varieties developed a pulp due to being
grafted
Grafting is a method of asexual plant propagation widely used in agriculture and horticulture where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to fuse with those of another. It is most commonly used for the propagation of trees and shrubs grown commercially.In most cases, one plant is selected...
upon
LemonThe lemon is a small evergreen tree originally native to Asia, and is also the name of the tree's oval yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
or
OrangeAn orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus ×sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine...
rootstock. This assertion is contested by virtue of the fact that the fruits of a grafted tree at the
Citrus Variety CollectionThe UCR Citrus Variety Collection is one of the most important collections of citrus diversity in the world. It is used for research, breeding, and educational extension activities on the UC Riverside campus in Riverside, California....
contain no pulp despite being grafts.
Today's research believe that grafting would not result in any hybridization, which can only be obtained be cross breeding achieved by applying the
pollenPollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
of one variety or species to the
styleStyle may refer to:* Design, the process of creating something* Fashion, a prevailing mode of expression, e.g., clothing* Literary style, an aspect of literary composition* Format, various terms that refer to the style of different things...
of another specie. In light of this, there is no reason to question one traditional variety more than another, especially when the above
geneticGenetic may refer to:*Genetics, in biology, the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms**Genetic, used as an adjective, refers to heredity of traits...
study showed equal purity for all. In perticular it showed high afilliation between the "Yemenite" kind and the
Diamante citronThe Diamante citron is named after the city of Diamante which is in the center of its cultivation point, the province of Cosenza, in the region of Calabria, on the south-western coast of Italy...
. However this is not a proof for the etrogs from every individual grower.
Etrog haCushi?
Etrog haCushi is mentioned in the
MishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah" and the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
as well as in both the Babylonian (Succa 36a) and the
Jerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi , often the Yerushalmi for short, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah...
(Succa 3:6). The most common interpretation is that the
Biblical CushCush was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Canaan and the father of Nimrod, and Raamah, mentioned in the "Table of Nations" in the Hebrew Bible...
refers to
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
, and therefor
Etrog haKuschi should also refer to something which could be called the
Ethiopian citron.
The Ethiopian Jews (
the Falashen) did not follow the mitzva of
four speciesThe Four Species are mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to Sukkot. Karaite Jews build their Sukkot out of branches from the four specified species, while Talmudic Jews take three types of branches and one type of fruit which are held together and waved in a special ceremony during the Jewish...
, even though they did anticipate the
SukkotSukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei...
festival, as well as the rest of the
Jewish ethnic divisionsJewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population. Although considered one single self-identifying ethnicity, there are distinct ethnic divisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the result of geographic branching from an...
. According to those who accept their validity as Jews, it was due to their lack of ability to procure the species. Those who oppose their validity would rather believe that this is due to some Karaite influence, whose biblical interpretation indicates that the four species are only used as roofing for a
sukkahA sukkah is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic themes...
(
the S'chach), and not for a separate waving ritual.
However, the
Yemenite citron is available in Ethiopia and its markets, where it is sold for consumption. According to Erich Isaac, the late researcher of citrus distribution, the Yemenite citron is synonymous with the Ethiopian citron as a result of Ethiopian rule of Yemen in the past..
See also
- Schraga Schlomai about Yemenite citrons.
- Rabbinical Positions about Ethiopian Jews