From the wonders of the myrtle

By: Amots Dafni and Saleh Akel Khativ

The one who sees myrtle in his dream

According to the Gemara (Berakhot, 17: 11) "A person who sees a person in a dream, his assets succeed him, and if he has no assets, his inheritance falls to him from another place." According to Lustig in his book "Wonders of the Sages of the Kabbalah and the Ancient Past" it matters who the dreamer is" and he qualifies "a poor man dreams of a myrtle, a teacher who will take a wife or an inheritance." Artemidorus writes "a wreath of myrtle means like the olive, especially success for farmers because of Demeter (goddess of the earth and crops) and for women Because of Aphrodite (the goddess of love), since the myrtle is sacred to these two goddesses," and in another place, "for those who start businesses, myrtle signifies tricks, for the sick medicine and good health, and for other people useless work." In European folklore, the dreamer of myrtle will have many lovers and an inheritance. If the dreamer is married After all, a dream about a myrtle portends a second marriage, and if the person is married a second time, another marriage is expected. A myrtle seen in a dream means a rich and old family You were approved for careless behavior.

Myrtle, brides and wedding bouquets

It is similar that among all the plants of the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean, there is none like the myrtle for stimulating the forces of love, guarding for days and giving life force to its subjects. The myrtle was sacred to the ancient goddesses of love (Ashtoreth, Venus and Aphrodite). In the ancient Greek tradition, the myrtle, the evergreen, is also a symbol of youth, beauty and eternity. Venus is sometimes depicted with a wreath of myrtle adorning her head, in light of the story that when Aphrodite rose from the foam of the sea she was crowned with a wreath of myrtle. According to Greek mythology, Hymen, the god of marriage, held a myrtle wreath in his hands. In ancient Greece, brides used to wear myrtle wreaths in honor of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. One of the sources knows how to tell that the grooms in Rome used to decorate their heads with myrtle wreaths, just like victors and heroes did. In the encyclopedia dedicated to magical plants we found that "myrtle at a wedding promises that the bride will get pregnant". The folklore researcher Folkard explicitly states the reason for the use of myrtle in weddings: "The myrtle, the favorite plant of Venus, is known for its ability not only to stimulate love but also to guard it... among the Greeks and Romans"

It is narrated in the Gemara: "They said about him about Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, who used to take a cloth of myrtle and dance before the bride, saying: A beautiful and pious bride. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzchak danced at Athalat" (Kituvot, 14:12). Rashi's commentary: "Atlat - three in the law throws one and receives one." Yehuda Felix comments on this: "There are some of the sages of Israel who used to throw myrtle branches: R. Yehuda would take a cloth of myrtle and dance before the bride. R. Shmuel bar R. Yitzchak danced while alternately throwing three dassis. Some believe that this is where the verb "Lahadas" is derived from, meaning to play or dance. We learn from the Gemara about the use of hadassims in order to make a bride and groom happy and the prohibition to bring them in times of grief (Babili, Shabbat, KI: 11a): Osa and gidmi at the heart of Hilula in the tabla [that they do not bring myrtle and palm branches to the wedding house accompanied by bells], and Ozel Ihu Amti Osa and gidmi at the heart of the hilula in the tabla, Trakia [and he went and brought myrtle and palm branches for the wedding house. and died] the same official. R. Ovadia of Bartanura emphasizes "a veil of myrtle that they make for virgins" (Mishna, Ketubot, Chapter 2, Mishna 1). To myrtle is a verb that signifies a unique gait, something like a limp, and by extension also a dance." A similar custom exists today in northern Persia, where the groom dances before the bride with a branch of myrtle in his hand. It is reasonable, therefore, to assume that the custom of dancing before the bride was common in ancient times in Babylon, not only among The Jews and a remnant of this is still found today.

In the "Otzer Midrashim" by Yehuda David Eisenstein, there is a story about Judith: "Immediately they dressed the girl in royal clothing and made a canopy of myrtle from the house of the Hasmoneans to the house of the ruler and there were no harpers, violinists and singers, and they sang and danced until they came to the ruler's house." (Page 55, 45) And from another story, this time about Rabbi Reuven's son, "And Rabbi Reuven went to his house and did not tell anyone about it, and he took his son a wife and gave his son Ali Hades in his hand and said to him: "Go, invite all the people of the city." (Page 19, 11) These two stories are indirect evidence of the use of myrtle in weddings.

Among Libyan Jews, it was customary to sprinkle myrtle flower powder on the bride's hair along with other perfumes sent by the groom. An echo of the use of myrtle wreaths at a wedding appears in the poem of Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, who writes, in the cycle of poems "Groom's Voice" (song 1): "The bridegroom put his hand on the bride / let her heart and eyes be consumed by you / and see the wreath of her palm trees / the smell of oil Let the streets be filled with peddler dust / And they cried out before her / Hadesa's maidservant looked like a crescent moon / and on Hades she gave her clouds" and in Song 10: "A bridegroom will bloom like a lily in the midst of friends / And she was Like a king in his army covered with a canopy / he falls on them and they are sixty and in the onion of his branches they come in / like the hawks standing around him and he stands among the hawks" . Nissan Rubin, the researcher of the ceremonies in the Talmudic life cycle and midrash, summarizes this issue by saying that the use of myrtle in weddings existed during the time of the Tanaim and the aforementioned both in Israel and in Babylon "as a symbol of eternity, vitality and resurrection".

There is much controversy in the literature regarding the connection between the myrtle plant, and the wedding, and the myrtle is Esther. Some connect the original "myrtle" with the Babylonian word "hadashtu" which means a bride who is the leading symbol (attribute) of Ishtar, the great goddess of love, sexuality and fertility. Esther - Hadassah may be translated as "Ishtar the Bride". There was someone who suggested that "Hadasa" is the Aramaic form of "Newness" which is a common adjective for Ishtar. Another source explicitly claims: "Esther is the same, in Babylonian, as Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. Hadassah (Hadas = bride) was used as a title for that goddess Ishtar in a ceremony in her honor." There are even those who have gone so far as to suggest that his "innovation" is the myrtle plant, but the Assurologists disagree with this identification. Without going into all the subtleties, one can clearly see that the myrtle plant was sacred to the goddess Ishtar, the goddess of love and weddings. Thus, despite the disagreement between the researchers, the connection of his novelty-bride-myrtle-myrtle-Esther-Ishter is still tempting in light of the dedication of the myrtle plant to Ishtar, the goddess of love and later for wedding ceremonies. It is told in the second translation of the Book of Esther (2:7) "...Esther whose name was Hadassah: for as the scent of the myrtle wafted forth, so did Esther's name and her good deeds go forth throughout the land...and why is her name Hadassah called? He answered that the righteous are compared to the myrtle, and the prophet Isaiah prophesied about her: under The cypress will come up under the nettle and the myrtle will come up under the nettle (Isaiah 15:13)... ...under two convictions Esther will reign" (translation by Y. A. Handelzaltz). And in another place in the same translation: "And just as the myrtle is not withered and dry neither in summer nor in winter, so the righteous have a share both in this world and in the world to come" (ibid., 2:7). The midrash adds to this: "Just as the myrtle is not dry, no In the summer and not in the winter, the righteous do not dry up either in this world or in the next world" (Midrash of Other People, Bover, 192, 2; Yalkot Shimoni, Esther, 1933).

Grooms crowns

The myrtle also "stars" in the ceremony of blessing the grooms, as the Rambam writes, "and if there was wine there (during the blessing of the bride and groom, before the wedding) - they bring a cup of wine, and bless the wine And arranges them all on the glass; And we find a blessing of seven blessings. And there are places where it was customary to bring Hades with the wine, and a blessing on the Hades after the wine, and after that the blessing of the six" (Mishna Torah, Sefer Nashim, Laws of Marriage 4). The practice of decorating bridegrooms on the day of their wedding is first mentioned in the Song of Songs in connection with Solomon's wedding The king: "Tsena and Rayna Daughters of Zion in King Solomon's crown that his mother adorned him on the day of his wedding and on the day of his heart's joy." During the Mishna period it was customary to use crowns for brides and grooms that were made of various materials including precious metals (gold), minerals and dyes as well as various plants. We learn about this from the prohibitions on the Driver at the time that after the destruction of the house that appear in three different places: "And which are the bridegroom's crowns? of salt and brimstone but of rose and myrtle they allowed. In Titus' polemic they ruled on bridal crowns. What are bridal crowns? What golden rays but it comes out in the dome of salt in the house; "The crown of our heads has fallen" What are the crowns of bridegrooms? This is the golden ray. Rabbi comes in the name of Rabbi: of salt and of brimstone. Rav Jeremiah in the name of Rav: of salt and of olive. Rav Nachman bar Ya'akov even said Dhilfi."

"Rabbi said: Nothing but salt and brimstone, but of myrtle and rose - permitted, and Shmuel says: Nose of myrtle and rose - forbidden; of reeds and hilt (= khilaf) - permitted, and Levi said: Nose of reeds and hilt - It is forbidden. Likewise, Levi gives it in his Mishnah: the nose of canes and of the army - it is forbidden" (Babili, Sota 19:12). The plants and flowers that appear in the wreaths are: rose, myrtle, olive leaves, common reed, and sandalwood. According to Avraham Ofir Shemesh, who researched the components of grooms' crowns, roses were also used as preferred flowers for making grooms' crowns. The rose is known as a symbol of beauty and it has already been said: "Our heads are crowned with rose buds before they wither" (Hakimat Shlomo, translation of Avraham Kahana, 2:8). In light of the beauty and intense fragrance of the myrtle and the rose, it is not surprising that they were used in the crowns of the grooms, especially as this was also accepted by other peoples. The olive, which is one of the seven species with which the earth is praised, symbolizes family happiness as it is written: "Your wife, like a fruitful vine in the midst of your house: your sons, like olive trees, around your table. Behold, let him bless you." Fear Jehovah" (Psalms, 28:3) Avraham Ophir Shemesh emphasizes that the olive is mentioned in the Haaretz Talmud, but not in the Babylonian, and explains this in the distribution of this tree, which was important in Israel, but not in Babylon To understand the use of the red color to decorate the crowns, but it is not clear what beauty or symbolism there is in the reed or the khilaf. According to Shem, the use of the khilaf for bridegrooms is due to the fact that this plant was cheap and convenient, the use of the khilaf holot (if indeed the identification of the plant is correct) is evocative since the leaves are sharp and wounded (hence the name of the plant Khilaf means knife) and are not suitable for making wreaths.

The crowning of brides and grooms with garlands of gold and silver or of olives and myrtle are elements that appear both in wedding ceremonies and in royal coronations, for example in Rome. In both cases these elements symbolize victory over the forces of evil and death at critical transition stages in the life cycle and social status.

Myrtle in Havdalah

Although the Havdalah ceremony is not considered a ceremony in the human life cycle, it represents an important transition stage between the holy and the profane and in the state of the person's soul. At every stage of the transition, a person is exposed to many dangers, hence the need to ward off the evil eye both in prayer and in blessings and in the ceremony that has them as a means of healing. The custom instituted by sages to bless the heavens and have mercy on them on Shabbat evening is intended to facilitate the departure of the remaining soul that accompanies the person during Shabbat and the return to the upper worlds at the end of the holy day. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: "God gives a spare soul to a person on the eve of Shabbat, and on Shabbat evening we take it from our right hand" (Bizza, 1480:1540, Ta'anit XNUMX:XNUMX). This idea was greatly expanded in the Kabbalah Rabbi Meir ben Yehezkel Ibn Gabbai (XNUMX - XNUMX), who was one of the most important Kabbalists during the expulsion from Spain, writes about the custom of smelling myrtle in the Hafdalah ceremony: The place of the souls from which the people of Israel go forth on Shabbat and from which they exist and the tree from which the souls blossom is called the myrtle, which is said to be "and it stands among the myrtle." After all, at first they were clothed from the back of the upper garden, and now they are from the garden of the earth, and they will come out of the garden. And those who were ashamed were putting up smells and perfumes of the garden in which the soul dwells and rejoices in them. It is written that he smelled a smell in his clothes and blessed them, for the soul and spirit of Isaac rested in that smell. That's why, when you go out on the Sabbath, you have to smell the perfume to rest your soul in that smell, the holy smell that went away from him, and that is the smell of the Meel The one in the perfumes is Hadas, since the existence of the holy place from which the souls come out is Hadas. And this is the existence of the soul as above, in order to be resurrected from the same torpor that remained. When the sabbath came out, a man clothed himself in those heavenly garments of the earth that raise up a scent and perfume, to raise the soul upon it, the Holy Spirit is extinguished That she walked away from him. And Hades is surely the existence of the soul, according to the supreme example, that the existence of the soul arose" (Parashat Vikhael, page XNUMX). According to the symbols of the Zohar Tefarat, the source of the remaining souls, is identified with the myrtle. Every Shabbat the souls descend from this tree and live among the Israelites and must return to El Al on Shabbat evening. Smelling the myrtle on Shabbat night, at the time of the separation, shows this return since the myrtle leaves emit a kind of scent of the upper myrtle, the source of souls and thus, according to Kabbalah, the myrtle symbolizes a connection between the divine soul and the human soul.

Myrtle for the mother

In one of the books of traditional Jewish medicine it is written: "He makes it difficult to give birth - he will take myrtle leaves and soak them in wine and rub them, and give her to drink in a hot drink." In books about medicinal plants, we did not find any evidence that hadas had any ability to ease labor pains. It is clear that this is a magical medicine that stems from the "right" of the plant as one of the four species as it is written - "Myrtle are nothing but righteous" (Babili, Sanhedrin, 33:11) and righteous, as we know, are extremely powerful.

A birth event (like other important events in a person's life such as a happy marriage and entering a new apartment) was struck by a "time gap" that may be exploited by the forces of evil that are ready to harm a person in his moments of weakness. Childbirth is considered a "priceless opportunity" for injury to both the mother and the newborn. Among the Jews of Yemen, it is customary to use pygmy to ward off the evil eye: "..the shad'ab plant (pygmy)...and they give the woman who gives birth this plant so that she puts some of it on her clothes and on the clothes of her newborn baby, this plant is used against the evil eye, and protects against all kinds of pests..check it out and experienced". Similarly, among the Jews of Thessaloniki, the pygmy is considered a valuable virtue: "Among the plants, the pygmy had various virtues, especially when it was picked and fully bleached. It keeps demons and the harmful from the maternity bed. The proverb in Ladino says "Ruda minuda guarda las kriaturas", and it means "a thin pygmy guards On babies". Most likely the reference is to a fresh pygmy. Among the Muslims in Israel, it is customary that when a baby is born, they place it on a fresh bed of triple sage leaves, known for its virtue against the evil eye, and the mother drinks an infusion from the leaves of this plant.

Myrtle in the blessing of circumcision

In the circumcision ceremony there are, among the Spaniards, the custom of saying the blessing "Creator of trees in heaven" in the ceremony. They usually bring myrtle. And this is the course of the ceremony:

The blesser [holding a myrtle]: Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the world, creator of trees in the heavens.

Audience: Omen.

The blesser: Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the world, who sanctified a friend from the womb and a law in his rest there, and his offspring signed a holy covenant, therefore in this praise to the living God Buy our form, command to save friendship, holy seed, leave us anointing for the sake of his covenant that is in our flesh, blessed are you Lord of the covenant maker.

Audience: Omen.

Rabbi Avraham Ofir Shemesh emphasizes "that the blessing on the engagement myrtle and circumcision is first mentioned in the period of the Geniuses (seventh century to the eleventh century) and it is possible that its integration in this period is related to its being an important perfume and its symbolism of fertility and success regarding circumcision is a widespread custom among the Jews of the East." An examination of the uses of the myrtle in different postcards and among different communities in Israel today may explain some of the aspects related to the use of the myrtle by our ancestors. In Iraq, the myrtle is known as "Yas" in Arabic. In light of the similarity in the sound of the words, the Jews of Baghdad connect "Elias" is Elijah the prophet and the myrtle is the "Yas", therefore they customarily decorate Elijah's throne in the circumcision ceremony with branches of myrtle.

Avraham ben Ya'akov details in his book "The Folk Medicine among the Jews of Babylon": "The myrtle is used as a blessing perfume...especially in "circumcision" ceremonies. There is no such ceremony without the myrtle. On the night of the Covenant Day a solemn and impressive ceremony is held...and it is called by everyone the "Night of the Myrtle" , because the leaves of myrtle are tied to the four corners of the "chair of Elijah the Prophet" which is brought from the synagogue and stands in front of the mother's bed...in addition to the fact that a large bundle of myrtle is placed on the chair of Elijah the Prophet...it remains there until the end of the covenant In addition to all of these, fresh myrtle is distributed to everyone during the covenant ceremony so that the juice is sanctified and blessed by the "Creator of Heaven" (p. 55-54). spoken at the time of the word.

David Shlomo Sasson explains that the hadads are used "for purposes of protection against demonic forces". Another researcher adds his own explanation "Elijah the prophet is eternal and does not die and the myrtle is also a symbol of eternity". There are those who explain that eternal life is an important attribute of Elias and in Syria the saying "Our Lord Elijah is alive" (Mr. Elias al-Hayi, Mar. Elias al-Hayi) is known. This custom of decorating Elijah's throne with Hadassim at the time of the covenant is still accepted today in Israel among the members of the community.

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu interprets the custom of blessing the myrtle at the time of circumcision "and this is for two reasons: 16. After our father Abraham circumcised all the children of his household and himself, he made a hill of all the foreskins, and when the sun came, the foreskins did not stink, but the smell of heaven came from them (Midrash Rabbah in Genesis chapter XNUMX), and therefore bless in heaven in memory of this thing. on. It is known that for every circumcision, Elijah the prophet comes remembered for good, and maybe someone will notice his presence, and so that his soul does not blossom, they smell perfumes. Among Libyan Jews, the myrtle is blessed during the covenant, on the eve of the word, the midwife and other relatives gather at the birthing house and grind together the myrtle and other herbs for the prayer of the creator of sex in heaven, which is said at the time of the word. Avraham Ofir Shemesh cites Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe who lived in Poland in the XNUMXth century, who suggests that smelling the myrtle "is intended to prevent the baby from fainting as a result of the pain of the covenant. The myrtle is intended to restore the spirits of people in the audience who are overly excited by the event or who faint at the sight of the baby's blood." This explanation seems forced since we have not found anywhere that the smell of the myrtle is so strong that it has the power to wake up people fainting and there is no indication in our sources that they used to let the baby smell the myrtle.

Myrtle in circumcision and newborn care

During the time of the Talmud, it was customary to sprinkle myrtle powder during the prayer as it is written: "You cut your nose like Rabbi Yossi who cuts it and cleans it and sprinkles myrtle dust on it and the like" (Mishna, Shabbat, Chapter 18, Mishna 3). They also used to use cumin powder for this purpose. : "We do all the needs of the word on Shabbat, mohlin and furin, and we put on it ispelanit and cumin" (Shabbat, 33:1a). They used to grind its seeds and put them on the wound to stop the blood Rosemary (Tunisia), gum goddess (Morocco) and yarrow (Turkey) are all known for their antiseptic properties.

In the Druze household, the powder prepared from dried myrtle leaves has a place of honor as a valuable medicine. When they come to visit the village after the birth, they bring a bouquet of myrtle as a gift, especially in places where the plant does not grow. The trouble in preparing the preparation from the leaves is extremely high and the housewife who devotes herself to this difficult craft is especially appreciated. Sometimes the members of the household are recruited for this exhausting work. So if you want to indicate that someone is closest to the family circle, you will say "she participated in the preparation of the myrtle". The meaning is clear, if someone took the trouble to prepare the myrtle powder for you, then you owe it to them until the end of your days. The preparation of the powder is difficult and therefore one does not give up the finished product obtained in the matter of circumcision from the city of Rabbi Ovadia of Bartanura "who cuts it and cleans it and sprinkles myrtle powder on it and the like" (Bartanura, Tract Shabbat 15:XNUMX). Rabbi Ovadia arrived in Jerusalem at the end of the XNUMXth century and it is likely that this custom was known among the community in Jerusalem where he worked. Regarding the Rabbi's comment on this matter: "And it is simply permissible to desecrate the Sabbath for the sake of the myrtle, such as bringing myrtle from place to place and grinding it since there is no danger" (Sefer Zamanim, Halachot Shabbat, Chapter XNUMX, Halachah XNUMX). From this comment it is possible to understand that they did not use pre-prepared myrtle powder but ground it on the spot, also it permits the bringing of myrtle from place to place and grinding it on Shabbat when there is a danger to the newborn. Among the Druze, it is customary to put myrtle powder on the fresh circumcision wound to prevent bleeding and to disinfect it, and every time when changing the bandages. Hence the saying "You didn't get tired of preparing the myrtle" (مشْ تَعْبَانِ فِي دَقْ رْهانُ) (مشْ تَعْبَانِ فِي دَقْ رْهانُ). And the meaning is to indicate that someone has given up property, inheritance, gift, winning, etc., meaning that what comes easily goes easily. Among the Bedouins in the Tivon region We wrote down the following saying: "You didn't work hard in my myrtle" (You didn't work hard in my garden, you didn't work hard in my garden). The curse about the mother was derived from the same usage: Curse your scent, curse the one who scented you) which means a curse will come on your mother or alternatively the midwife, the one who "scented" you). The proverb "Imek um rihantik" literally means "did your mother smell you" and the meaning is your mother invested in your education. Rihan is the Arabic name for the myrtle and from this is derived the verb "larchan" which means to treat with the powder of ground myrtle leaves.

Myrtle powder

The myrtle powder is known to be praised especially for the treatment of the soft and delicate skin of babies, sometimes they are satisfied with the powder only and sometimes they mix it with olive oil. This custom is common even today among the Druze. The myrtle treatment in newborns is intended "to prevent odors in the future when the child grows up". According to Saleh (one of the authors of this book), his late mother used to tell us that myrtle helps to grow hair in the different parts of the body, which are a symbol of masculinity, so it was often used to anoint the male babies. "Father of Myrtle" (Abu Rihan, Abu Reyhan) We found in our sources that this use of Myrtle powder was known to our ancestors in the Cairo Genizah Rabbi Natronai (one of the Sura sages, in the ninth century) who deals with the issue of diapering the baby on Shabbat: "A baby is washed [a baby from one month to a year old whose mother bathes him and rubs him with oil] and sprinkles his whole body with dried and worn myrtle" s). In the Talmudic source (Babylonian, Shabbat, 62th, OT) it is about swaddling (lapopi), washing and salting, but the myrtle is not mentioned at all. The Jews of Iraq used to smear the baby's skin with myrtle paste in olive oil to "strengthen and refine it" (Ben Yaakov p. 389)

The use of myrtle powder to prevent skin irritations in babies is also known from Turkey, Cyprus and Western Saudi Arabia. Hence the custom is widespread in the eastern Mediterranean basin. The reason for this is that the powder of dried and crushed myrtle leaves has been known as a valuable medicine for the treatment of wounds and skin lesions since Assyrian times. Myrtle powder has a good smell and its action is proven against bacteria. This is what our ancestors practiced like their neighbors in Babylon and this custom has survived to this day in exactly the same form - a combination of myrtle powder with olive oil and sometimes with the addition of salt.