Everything is Alive - Luciana the Etrog

General personality traits:

• Joyful
• Has close relationship with a few people; feels positively towards them
• Regularly scrutinized for appearance
• Fear of rejection
• Proud of history and their many uses
• Slightly self centered
• Wants to be a source of joy for as long as possible

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!
There is a podcast, called Everything is Alive, hosted by Ian Chillag, where Ian interview different objects and learns more about them, their view of the world and their inner lives. This morning, we have a special like Sukkot edition of Everything is Alive with Luciana, who is an Etrog. Welcome Luciana to AAC!

• What exactly is an Etrog?
• Tell us about yourself.
• How did you get from your birthplace to here?
• You mentioned being kosher for the ritual? What makes an Etrog kosher? What exactly is the ritual? Sounds very mysterious.
• I imagine it must be hard to live up to a standard of beauty at that level. What do you think about that standard of beauty for a kosher Etrog? What happens to etrogs that do not match that standard?
• Are you ever mistaken for a lemon or other citrus fruit?
• What is it like being waved during Sukkot? What is the experience like?
  • I think it's interesting that the other three species, the palm, myrtle, and willow are usually bound together and even though you are held together with them, you are not part of the bundle. Are they closer to each other than you?Do you like this arrangement? Would you rather be all bundled together as the four of you?
• How do you relate to the other three species?
• The four species are often referred to as as group "the lulav," referring just to the long palm branch. What do you think about the four of you being referred to as just on of your names?
• People often just think of you as the unusual citrus fruit used for waving or shaking the lulav on Sukkot. What else would you like people to know about you?
  • Other than a flavoring ingredient for certain brands of Vodka, what else do people use you for?
• There is an old story about etrogs from the Talmud.
  • During one Sukkot in the first century BCE, an unusual event occurred during the Simchat Bet Hasho'eva, the joyous celebration of water libation during the intermediate days of Sukkot. Alexander Yanai, the sixth and last of the Maccabean ruler high priests, had angered the Pharisee population by his Hellenized, military behavior. The outrage at this soldier-priest climaxed when he brazenly expressed Sadducee beliefs by pouring the water libation on his feet (Succah 4:9), and he was pelted with etrogim by the multitudes gathered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
    • What do you make of this story?
• You are depicted in a lot of Jewish art in the early 1st century.
  • We find numerous examples of the etrog on mosaic floors and frescoed walls of synagogues from the Roman and Byzantine period. Sometimes it appears with the lulav and other times alone. It's such an important Jewish icon that it is also found on numerous coins of the Great Revolt in the year 66 CE, and is a common theme on the coins of the Bar Kochba rebellion of 132-135 CE. In fact, its appearance in non-Jewish art is considered to be a sign of Judaizing influences.
  • What would make you a good symbol for the Jewish people?
• As Jews lived further and further from the Mediterranean Sea, it became harder and harder to get a kosher Etrog for Sukkot, sometimes a small town or village could only manage to get one or two for the Sukkot. [What's the question here?]
• What is your greatest fear?
• What is your greatest joy in life?
• If you could be any one of the other four species, which one would you like to be? Why that one?
• If you could be any other fruit, which fruit would you like to be?
  
• Any final thoughts as we come to the conclusion of Sukkot tomorrow?