The carob as a "blessed" tree

By: Amots Dafni and Saleh Akel Khativ

From: Amots Dafni and Saleh Akel Khatib (2024). Roots, roses and kings. Pardes Publishing. Haifa.

Among the Druze, the carob tree enjoys quite a lot of prestige, and accordingly you can find blessed carob trees in several holy places: in the village of Kasra, there is a blessed carob tree that bears the name of Set Sara, who was one of the propagators of the religion. Until the middle of the twentieth century, the elders of the village used to gather on Sundays and Thursdays under the tree and discuss religious issues. Near the village of Samie grew an ancient carob tree and an ancient common oak tree, which dried up a few years ago. The place is known as "Al-Mubarakah" (the blessed one) according to the narrator Al-Sheikh Al-Fadel, born in the 17th century from Lebanon, came to Kafr Samia and met the religious sages of the village under this carob tree.

The common sayings about the carob are: "A good tree, there were people who slept under the tree", "The carob is a good tree, there were important people who slept under the carob", "The whole village slept under the carob and nothing happened to them", "The carob tree is always blessed", "Every fruit tree is blessed." Here and there you can find sacred carob trees in the Arab sector as well. Near the village of Puridis, at the foot of the Carmel, there was a carob tree consecrated to Sheikh Saleh. In years of drought, the people of the village would pray for rain near the tree, and when the prayer was over "it would rain for a few days".

At the entrance to Ebalin there was a cherub tree consecrated to Mr. Elias called "Kheruvat Mar Elios" (he is Elijah the Prophet). The narrator's sister saw Elijah the prophet near the tree that he used to visit from time to time. He who slept under the tree had no desire to work; The smell of the wood was narcotic, and the elders warned not to sleep under this carob, as it would cause invalidity. The sacred carob trees in Peki'in are called "the carob trees of the sons of Jacob", and miracles and wonders are attributed to them. The Jewish villagers attribute the carob trees in Paki'in to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and the Christians to Bnei Jacob.

The legend tells about the miraculous power of these trees: "The sons of Ras Abad used to collect a human tax from the sons of Paki'in, and every year they would come and take one of the young girls of the village. One year it was the turn of a certain girl and the delegation of tax collectors arrived at her house, which was near the cherubs. The young woman escaped through To the window, she hid among the nearby carob trees, and the tax collectors were chasing her. When the young woman saw that the pursuers were approaching her, she raised her voice in prayer, called out to God to save her from the carob trees, and asked for protection from the carob trees.

Her prayer was granted, and tongues of fire came out of the ruins of the sons of Jacob and burned everyone who tried to get close to the girl. The flames chased the other members of the delegation and burned their clothes, and they tried for their lives, away from the lands of Paki'in. From that day the human tax was abolished, thanks to the carob trees of the sons of Jacob." Jacob […] It seems to be a remnant of idolatry that the Muslims are trying to eradicate, but it cannot be rooted out of the hearts of the masses."

In Asia Minor and Syria (at the time of writing the Land of Israel was considered part of Syria) Muslims and Christians dedicate the carob to St. George, and sometimes his temples are under carob trees. In Cyprus there is even a church called "Saint George of the Carob Trees".

Praise the carob

In Jewish sources the cherub is practiced with great respect. The thread was made by Rabbi Zvi Shortz, who wrote an article called "The Jewish Tree Carob", in which he enumerates, among other things, his praises. The carob is a symbol of modesty and contentment with little: "Each and every day a voice comes forth and says: The whole world is nourished for the sake of my children, and my children's mercy is enough in the crucible of carobs from Shabbat evening to Shabbat evening" (Babil Talmud, Tractate Ta'anit 24, 12). Much is said about the juiciness and sweetness of the carob fruit, and Rabbi Yochanan said: "I remember when a child was breaking a carob, and a string of honey was drawn on both of his arms."

According to Rabbi Hanina: "When I came up here (to the Land of Israel) I took a belt (belt) of mine and my son's and my husband's to encircle the root of the carob in the Land of Israel and there were no matins (and they still had not surrounded the entire root). Cut one carob And a hand full of honey (which was zeb from the carob) was drawn." Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (1954-1884) comments on the importance of the carob as a fruit-bearing tree in his commentary to the Zohar book: "As R. Yossi said, the carobs from which great wisdom is seen, namely, the carob, and the palm, and the pestoka, which is from a nut [...] all the carobs that make Fruits [...] because every tree has a special path that shines through it."

In the eyes of botanists, carob is not considered long-lived, and it is rare to find a carob tree that is over a hundred years old. Some claim that the carob may reach an age of up to 150 years 23 and even up to 400-300 years, 24 but they do not bring any findings to confirm these data. According to Rabbi David Altshuler of Prague (1769-1687), one of the leading commentators of prophets and scriptures, the carob is a symbol of longevity. "Because the chemistry of the tree - the chemistry of the length of time the tree lasts long as a carob tree and the like; the chemistry of this tree will be the days of my people."