Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

Charuv

The word חרוב/charuv means destroyed and desolate and, therefore, is of the same root word for sword, חרב/cherev. It is surprising, then, that a long-time central symbol of the Tu Bi-Shevat holiday, which Jews around the world recently celebrated, is the Charuv.

A holiday celebrating the birth, beauty and bounty of nature would not seem to be consonant with destruction and desolation. With the arrival of Tu Bi-Shevat, in Israel, the ground is saturated with water, the sap is rising and trees begin to bud and bear fruit.  חרב/Chareiv, however, often indicates that which is dried up, as in ve-nahar יחרב/yecherav ve-yavesh – “the river shall be parched and dry”. Similarly, the Sea of Reeds and the Jordan River become “חרבה/charavah”, dry land, so Israel can cross through them. חורב/Chorev, the biblical mountain/site of divine revelation, (synonymous with or other than Sinai) might owe its name to the dry and desolate desert in which it is found: “And, he (Moshe)… led the flock to the far end of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Chorev”.

The חרוב/Charuv, which we eat on Tu Bi-Shevat, is called Carob, in English. The word passed from Hebrew and its Arabic cognate خَرُّوب/Kharrub to Caroube in French. While some believe that the charuv fruit derives its name from חרב/cherev, because of its sword-shaped pod, many claim its origin lies in chareiv due to the dryness of the fruit and its ability to grow in arid and dry climates.

Though not one of the celebrated seven species of Israel, the Charuv became a staple of Tu Bi-Shevat celebrations outside of the Land because it was one of its few fruits that could withstand long distance shipping without refrigeration. However, it is perhaps our tradition’s stories and symbolism of the Charuv that has made it a meaningful mainstay of this holiday.

The Talmud relates that when hiding from the Romans, for thirteen years in a cave, Shim’on bar Yochai and his son were sustained by a Charuv (and a stream of water). Antithetical to its name, the tree represented resilience and persistence. This story is somewhat reminiscent of the account of Eliyahu who, with threats upon his life, seeks refuge in a cave at “Chorev, the mountain of God”, where, like Moshe, he receives a divine revelation and is encouraged to persist in his mission.

In a well-known story, Choni, the wonder-worker, comes upon a man planting a חרובא/charuva Aramaic for Charuv tree. When he asks how long before the Charuv will bear fruit, he is told 70 years. Choni asks: “Do you expect to live seventy years”? The planter responds: “I found a world full of חרובא/Charuv trees. As my ancestors planted for me, so do I plant for my descendants”.

When the Garden of the Righteous was first created at Yad VaShem, Israel commemorated those who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews, by planting a Charuv, a Carob tree, in their honour.

On Tu Bi-Shevat, as we begin to emerge from winter, the חרוב/Charuv reminds us that even in the most adverse conditions, we must persevere, sustain those in need and provide life for future generations.