Nadene Goldfoot
The pomegranate is significant in Jewish custom. Tradition holds that a pomegranate has 613 seeds to represent the 613 commandments in the Torah. It is on the dinner table at Rosh Hashanah.
The design of the pomegranate was woven into the high priest’s robes,
and brass representations were part of the Temple’s pillars. It is mentioned six times inch Song of Solomon. We see the pomegranate again in ancient Greece and Rome. In the verses of the Odyssey, Homer mentions it as part of the gardens of Alcinous (probably in Sicily). The Romans imported their pomegranates from African Libya, and Pliny the Elder gave instructions for its storage. Lest the pomegranate be neglected in the East, it appears in China during the Han and Sung dynasties.
The outside is hard, protecting the small seeds inside within pulp that holds the juice. I have one sitting on my table and it's like a porcelain piece of china; it stays the same. The color is a gorgeous red. To eat one, you should score the outside with a knife along its 6 seams, then peel open.
As befits a fruit with many seeds, the pomegranate is the traditional representation of fertility, and seems to have its origins everywhere. We see it in the Middle East and India. The pomegranate was cultivated in Egypt before the time of Moses. It was found in the Indus valley so early that there is a word in Sanskrit for pomegranate. Indian royalty began their banquets with pomegranate, grape, and jujube. Arab caravans, many emanating from the lush oasis that was ancient Baghdad, probably spread its use.
The pomegranate was used often in art decorations in ancient Israel. Pomegranate is one of the “seven kinds” mentioned in the Bible which Israel was blessed with long ago. It grew in the region for thousands of years and is very much adapted to it: it sheds its leaves in the cold of our winters, while it sprouts in early spring when temperatures rise. It ripens at the end of the summer, very close to the beginning of the Jewish New Year. It was and is used for decoration and blessings in ceremonies of the New Year celebrations and the later holidays. It decorated temples in the past and appeared on ancient coins.
Because of its decorative value in Israel, its selection was done mainly for external appearance, not so much for eating quality. Nice color and crown are very important characteristics of the fruit.
They were the perfect fruit that was made for dry climates, like the cactus. It's different from most fruits as it grows on a shrub instead of a tree with the usual requirements of not eating the fruit when it first produces the pomegranate in the first year.
Young shrubs in Side, Turkey (looks like trees to me-but where is the main trunk? )
The pomegranate is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between 5 and 10 m tall (16.4042 feet to 32.88084 feet) . The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean region.
Pomegranates are widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, north and tropical Africa, Iran, Armenia, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the drier parts of Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean Basin.
Pomegranates are drought-tolerant, and can be grown in dry areas with either a Mediterranean winter rainfall climate or in summer rainfall climates. In wetter areas, they can be prone to root decay from fungal diseases. They can tolerate moderate frost, down to about −12 °C (10 °F).
The pomegranate tree is native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe. The fruit was used in many ways as it is today and was featured in Egyptian mythology and art, praised in the Old Testament of the Bible and in the Babylonian Talmud, and it was carried by desert caravans for the sake of its thirst-quenching juice.
It traveled to central and southern India from Iran about the first century A.D. and was reported growing in Indonesia in 1416. It has been widely cultivated throughout India and drier parts of southeast Asia, Malaya, the East Indies and tropical Africa. The most important growing regions are Egypt, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, India, Burma and Saudi Arabia. There are some commercial orchards in Israel on the coastal plain and in the Jordan Valley.
With all these reasons why the pomegranate was an important fruit , it is so nutritious. Pomegranate: 10 Health and Nutritional Benefits
Pomegranates are low in calories and fat but high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Benefits include antioxidants, heart health, urinary health, exercise endurance, and more. The only people who should not eat the seeds are those with diverticulosis, but the juice is highly praised for all.
- Packed with nutrients. ...
- Rich in antioxidants. ...
- May help keep inflammation at bay. ...
- May have anticancer properties. ...
- May offer heart health benefits. ...
- Support urinary health. ...
- May have antimicrobial properties. ...
- May improve exercise endurance.
Resource:
Tanakh, Stone Edition
https://maderachamber.com/pf/?page_id=67
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate
https://maderachamber.com/pf/?page_id=67
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-proven-benefits-of-pomegranate
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