"[All kinds of wood may be used for sacrifices] except for olive tree and grapevine" (Mishna Tamid 2:3) Why were these excepted? — Rav Papa said: Because they have knots. Rav Aha bar Ya'akov said: Because {they make pleasant] the settlement of the Land of Israel... Rabbi Eleazar adds [other kinds of wood not suitable for sacrifice]: also wood from the matish and the oak and the date tree and the carob and sycamore. ... But to the one who says, 'it is because of the settlement of the Land of Israel,' we can object, does not the date tree contribute to the amenities of the Land of Israel? — He can reply to you: By the same reasoning does not the fig tree contribute to the amenities of the Land of Israel? But what do you answer to this? That we speak of a fig tree which does not produce fruit. Similarly we speak of a date tree which does not produce fruit. But are there fig trees which do not produce fruit? Yes, as stated by Rahabah... [translation adapted from Judaic Classics Library translation]