The Etrog Citron in Rabbinic and Kabbalistic Literature

The term “Pri Etz Hadar” (Lev. 23:40) was interpreted in the Talmudic literature as referring to the fruit of the etrog citron trees. Much of the Talmudic discourse dealt with the details of the etrog fruit, form, structure, and splendor. In some cases, the word “hadar” was interpreted as remotely resembling the Greek word “hydro,” meaning water, thereby attributing the selection of the etrog for the fall Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) festival as a symbol of the significance of water to vegetation and human life. Other symbolic properties of the “Four Species” (ritually used during the Sukkot festival) related to their resemblance to different parts of the human body, were similarly suggested to signify the spiritual relationship between an observant Jew and nature. Medieval thinkers, especially kabbalists, introduced novel motives for these symbols, which eventually led to changes in the practice of holding the etrog fruit during the Sukkot prayers. Indeed, from the thirteenth century onwards, the blessing over the etrog fruit was recited while the etrog fruit was held in close contact with the three other species, thereby serving as a sign of the ideal unity between body and soul, both of the individual in prayer as well as his close ties to his community. Other kabbalistic interpretations of the ways of holding the etrog fruit during the Sukkot festival prayers, and the folkloristic attributes of the four species as traditional symbols of feminine qualities, are detailed throughout this chapter.