The Bible (Leviticus 23:40) tells us that we are supposed to take the fruit of a goodly tree and use it on the holiday of Sukkot. But which tree is the "goodly" one? Tradition says that it is a citrus tree. Indeed, the English name for etrog is citron, and you can see how the name citron is related to citrus. But that still doesn't tell us why the etrog was the type of citrus fruit that was considered good. It all goes back a long time ago to a king. This king, unlike most kings, was poor; he also was fat, felt life was tasteless, and was very unhappy.

One day he prayed to God to find the answer to all of his problems. That night he had a dream. In the dream he was told that he would find the answer to his problems in a citrus fruit. The next morning he sent for his wise men. Since there were no citrus fruits growing at that time in the Middle East, he sent them out to bring back the right fruit.

After a few weeks one of the wise men returned with an orange. "This fruit is very good," the wise man said, "it is sweet, and if you squeeze it, its juice makes a wonderful drink. If we plant these trees and grow the fruit we will be able to squeeze the oranges and put the juice in cans and export it to our neighbors. We will become rich." The king did as the wise man suggested and within a few years he and his country were rich and prosperous. However, the king still was not happy because he was still fat and life still seemed tasteless.

He called his wise men together and told them that this citrus fruit could not be the one in his dream. He sent them forth to find another citrus. After a couple of months one of them returned with a grapefruit. The wise man explained that the grapefruit was low in calories. Like the orange it could be squeezed and sold in cans. It also could be sold in sections for salads, and people on diets would love it. The king had grapefruit trees planted and ate the grapefruits regularly. His diet was a success and he was no longer fat. But he still was not happy. Life was tasteless.

The king called his wise men together and sent them out once again to find a citrus which contained the answer to his unhappiness. After six months one of the wise men returned with a lemon. He gold the king that the lemon could be used in salads, in tea, on fish or chicken and that it would give to almost all foods an extra zing and a special taste. The king used the lemon and many others on his food. His food was tasty. He now was a rich, slender king with tasty food. But he still wasn't happy. And to make it worse, he didn't know why he wasn't happy. He called all his wise men together. But none of them could figure it out either. One of them suggested that he ask a Jewish sage who was traveling through the country at the time. When the sage was told of the king's problem, he produced an etrog. "What will it do for me?" the king asked. "Nothing," the Jewish sage said, "but God has made everything for a purpose so, it's up to you to figure out what the purpose is of an etrog. It doesn't taste good. It won't make you thin or rich. It's for a person who has everything."

The king began to think about the etrog. "It's true," he said, "I do have everything I need. I have my family, and my work, and my home, and my friends. I really don't need any more things." He began to feel happy. He prayed to God, and instead of asking for something, as he had always done
in the past, he thanked God for all that he had.

That is why the Bible tells us to use an etrog for Sukkot. The etrog doesn't do anything for us. It just reminds us to be thankful for all that we have. It's the perfect gift for the person who has everything, because by understanding and appreciating what we have we realize that we really have all that we need to make us happy. The etrog is the only fruit that doesn't rot. You can keep it for months or even years. In the same way, the person who is satisfied with what he has will never be unhappy when he loses something. His happiness comes from within. The etrog is indeed a goodly fruit because it teaches us what is really good for us.

This is part 2 of a number of facts associated with THANKSGIVING. This is an all American holiday. Although the US and Canada celebrate the day on different dates, the purpose is the same.

Thanksgiving Historical Precedents:

Yesterday it was mentioned that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American event. In some ways that is true, but the Romans celebrated a similar event. The Romans held the rite of supplicatio. In their religion the rite of supplicatio was celebrated either as a thanksgiving to the gods for a great victory or as an act of humility after a national calamity. During times of supplicato the public was given general access to some or all of the Roman gods. The statues or sacred emblems of the gods often were placed on platforms or couches. The people would then kneel or prostrate themselves in Greek fashion (thus the name supplicatio). On some occasions an expiatory supplicatio was celebrated in association with a lectisternium, in which images of pairs of gods were exhibited on couches before tables spread with food. Originally a supplicatio lasted from one to five days, but in later times it was extended to 10, 20, or even up to 50 days.

The supplicato had some elements that might be associated with the American Thanksgiving, but it cannot seriously be seen as a prototype of the American holiday. The Hebrews celebrate the Sukkot (Succoth, Sukkos, Succot, Succos), which is better associated with Thanksgiving Day. The celebration of Sukkot is also called the Feast of the Tabernacles or the Feast of the Booths. (Sukkot is hebrew for huts or booths). Sukkoth is a Jewish autumn festival of double thanksgiving that begins on the 15th day of Tishri (in September or October), five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals of the Old Testament.

The Bible refers to hag ha-asif ("Feast of the Ingathering," Exodus 23:16), when grains and fruits were gathered at the harvest's end. There is also reference to hag ha-sukkot ("Feast of Booths," Leviticus 23:34), recalling the days when the Israelites lived in huts during their years of wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. The festival is characterized by the building of huts made of branches and by the gathering of specific plants, with prayers of thanksgiving to God for the fruitfulness of the land. As part of the celebration, a sevenfold circuit of the synagogue is made with the plants on the seventh day of the festival, called by the special name Hoshana Rabba ("Great Hosanna").

Many of the early American settlers were very cautious not to celebrate or create secular feasts. They would limit their celebrations to the feasts of the Old Testament or similar events. Even Christmas was not celebrated due to its pagan association. To celebrate and give thanks to God was a natural expression of their faith. To set aside a day (or several days) for thanksgiving was an Old Testament tradition that would have been welcomed and easily tolerated.