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Exotic Fruit Adventures for Tu B'Shevat

By Joel A. Moskowitz, M.D.
San Diego Jewish Press Heritage, January 17, 2003

SAN DIEGO, Calif. —The Tu B'Shevat seder, according to various authorities, should include many different fruits. Our world's biodiversity offers us a cornucopia of delightful options that are attractive to the eye, pleasing to the nose, satisfying to the appetite and healthy for the body.

The ceremonial meal is said to have its origins in Safed in the 16th century, when mystic Kabbalists shared dried fruit to recognize the rich
bounty of the land. This tradition has taken on modern-day significance in our increasing sensitivity to preserving our environment. The Tu B'Shevat
meal is designed to bring to the table the excitement of our senses of sight, touch, smell and taste. It might be said that the sound of shelling nuts stimulates our sense of hearing as well.

The table decorated with white, festooned with flowers of the new trees and spread with an assortment of fruit delicacies is designed to thrill the
participants. Some suggest candles and incense (preferably myrtle gathered at Sukkot), but the aroma of fresh fruit still attached to their leaves
should suffice.

Reciting a blessing is the act by which one recognizes and appreciates the goodness of HaShem. In Kiddushim (the Jerusalem Talmud),
Rabbi Ebon went further, admonishing: "In the Day of Judgment, those who saw choice fruit and did not partake of them, will have to give a reckoning." Without the blessing, it is charged that one can be said to have stolen the bounty.

Some firmly advocate that the Tu B'Shevat seder must include the seven species for which Eretz Yisroel is noted: wheat, barley, grape, figs,
pomegranates, olives and dates.

Literally, Tu B'Shevat means the 15th of Shevat. One tradition holds that the Tu B¹Shevat table should be laden with 15 types of fruit in honor of the
day. A mystical tradition suggests there should be 30 fruits, symbolizing 10 times three — each 10 symbolizing the 10 sephiros in each of the three
phases of the creation of the world.

The Tu B'Shevat seder is loosely based on the Pesach seder. In particular, just like the Pesach seder, there are four glasses of wine (or grape juice)
consumed during the meal. At the Tu B'Shevat Seder, however, the color of the wine in each glass is varied. The first cup is white wine, preferably
dry, served chilled to represent nature's dormancy during winter.

Fruit with an inedible covering (e.g. bananas, avocados, melons) represents a body covering a soul. This type of fruit is served after the first glass
of wine. Of this type/class, the almond is distinctive. It is the first to blossom and the last to be harvested. Its flowers signal the earliest
beginnings of nature's rebirth. Extracting such fruit from their inedible packaging is worth the effort.

If you want an adventure, try mangosteen. The purple fruit is similar to an orange in size, thickness of the rind and segmentation. A highly-priced
tropical fruit with a flavor similar to a grape-apple mixture, mangosteen is cultivated in the West Indies. Other interesting fruit in this class include
pomelo, the ancestor to our common grapefruit, which is grown in California and Israel and can reach one foot in diameter.

In honor of the fact that Israelis take their nickname of "Sabra" from a type of cactus, you may want to include a cactus fruit in this portion of
the meal. Recognizable with its large flat pads and thorny fruits, these "prickly pears" or "cactus pears" have become popular despite tough spiky
skin and numerous hard seeds. Dragon fruit and kuobo are other increasingly popular cactus varieties being grown in Israel.

The second cup is mostly white wine mixed with some red, producing a pale mixture. This serves to represent the beginnings of spring with sap rising
in the trees. Fruit that is edible except for a pit (e.g. plums, apricots, peaches and cherries) are likened to the heart that is protected. I like to
remember this portion as a "pit stop" nearly midway through the meal.

For the adventurous eater, try the fruit from an Old World tree, zizuphus jujube, which thrives in hot, dry regions. It is a plum-like fruit with a
very nut-like apple texture. It is also called Chinese jujube or just jujube.

The carob is the traditional choice for this portion of a Tu B"Shevat seder. A poor man's chocolate, the seeds of this ancient Mediterranean treat are
thought to have been the original measure of carats for diamonds. Another possibility is the loquat, a yellowish, oval fruit that grows in
clusters and tastes somewhat like apples or pears but is slightly tart. Found from India to the Mediterranean, they are commonly eaten fresh but are
used also for making jam, jelly, pie and sauces. Yet another possibility is the small, aromatic, pulpy fruit in a thin rough shell from the lychee tree. It is a favorite among the Chinese, who use it fresh, dried or preserved. In commerce, it is usually seen dried, in whichform it appears as a nut with a raisin-like center. The juicy pulp is also canned.

Here are two additional choices: longun, a small but very sweet one-seeded, greenish-brown fruit of a large evergreen tree, and rambutan, a
two-inch-sized fruit borne in clusters of 10-12 and resembling a chestnut burr in appearance. Rambutan is usually bright red when ripe, sometimes
orange, with the skin covered with soft, fleshy spines. The flesh is white, adhering to a flattened seed whose flavor varies from sweet to subacid.

The third cup of wine should be mostly red mixed with some white. It is more intensely colored but is still light (a darker rose). This cup symbolizes
the blooming trees and the sowing of seeds. At this portion of the seder one eats fruit that can be eaten in its entirety (e.g. blueberries, strawberries, grapes, apples and pears). These fruits, we are told, symbolize pure spiritual creation.

Sharon fruit, a type of Fuyu persimmon, also fits in this class and is now available fresh from Israel. Because it is one of the few fruits that can be
obtained from Israel fresh in this season, it warrants special mention.

For the adventurous, here are some other fruits that can be completely
consumed:
Carambola — The fruit has five very prominent ridges, and in transverse section it appears as a five-pointed star and thus is often called star
fruit. It contains high levels of oxalic acid, which makes it sour to the taste. Cultivated varieties have been selected to be sweeter when eaten raw.

Sapote — Grown in Southern California but mainly from Central America, sapote are sweet and pulpy. In taste, they are a cross between banana and
pear.

Quince— Cultivated from ancient times in Asia and in the Mediterranean area, its fruit is similar to that of the related apple and pear, but is
astringent and hence is used chiefly in preserves. Marmalade is said to have first been made from quince.

Ein Shemer— Like the Anna apple developed in Israel, it is grown locally.

The fourth wine is entirely red. The rich color represents trees that are heavy with ripe fruit and crops ready for harvest. The Kabbalists felt that
this highest level was so pure and spiritual that there was nothing consumable in this world that could possibly be used to symbolize it. Thus,
no fruits are assigned to represent it during the seder. However, passing around a fragrant fruit such as the etrog or another citrus can lift one's
spirit.

Outside of China, India and Africa, where could people find these fruitful treasures? San Diego, a new home for many from the Indian subcontinent, Asia, Persia, Mexico, Central and South America, has become rich with fruits from these regions in markets that cater to people from those lands.
Vien Dong III, 6935 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111, telephone (858) 292-7176, and the 99 Ranch Market, 7330 Claremont Mesa Blvd., telephone (858) 565-7799, are great resources for Chinese, Malay and Vietnamese fruits, fresh, preserved and canned.

Mexican produce markets offer seasonal delights not readily found in your neighborhood grocer. Alternatively, become friendly with a rare-fruit
enthusiast who will proudly share his or her bounty. Sharon fruit is imported from Israel and can be found at some local supermarkets or ordered
from distributors.

Use this opportunity to request that the produce manager of your local supermarket arrange to import fruits from Israel. Israel needs the
agribusiness and the non-Jewish population should learn to identify Israel as a source for goodness, not only terrible stories of conflict.
A source for those interested in fruits of the Bible is the Biblical Fruit Society of Israel, P.O. Box 53134, Tel Aviv, 61531 Israel, telephone
972-3-6496316, telefax 972-3-6470291, e-mail biblicalfruits@hotmail.com.

Napol, jejube, white sapote, carambola, carob, loquat, quince, mangosteen, pomelo, longan, lychee, guava, durian, ein shemer and pitaya are just some
of the possible delights one might put on the Tu B'Shevat seder table. When one considers such plentiful varieties, one is tempted to believe that
for Adam and Eve the expulsion from the Garden of Eden may have had some compensations. Having eaten from the "tree of knowledge," they could with newly found understanding examine the many responses in the plant world to HaShem¹s injunction to be "fruitful and multiply."