Simon says: "Let's taste a fresh Israeli date!"

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Dates

The date palm (Tamar in Hebrew) appears over 40 times in the Hebrew Bible, though the fruit itself is referred to only once: "Your stature is like that of the palm, your breasts like clusters of fruit" (Song of Songs 7:7). The Hebrew word d'vash usually means bee honey. Jewish tradition, including Rashi, interprets the "honey" referred to as one of 'the 7 species' (Deuteronomy 8:8) as date honey, a sweet syrup (silan) made by boiling then pressing the fruit

The date was a staple food in biblical times. Eaten fresh, dried or pressed into cakes for travellers (1 Chronicles 16:3; 2 Samuel 6:19)

Israel's hot, dry climate is perfect for date cultivation. The Jordan Valley, the Arava & the Dead Sea area are the primary growing zones

The date harvest runs from late summer through autumn. A common sight on Israeli roads are trucks laden with palm fronds sagging under bright red & golden fruit.

Medjool is the king; large, sweet, richly flavoured, it makes up 85% of Israel's date exports. Other common varieties include the soft yellow Barhi, the reddish-brown Hayani, semi-dry or dry types like Deri, Deglet Noor, Halawy & Amri

In 2005, a 2,000-year-old date pit found at Masada was successfully sprouted. The tree was named Methuselah. Later efforts sprouted female trees, which have produced fruit

Avshalom Feinberg, a co-founder of the Nili Spy Ring - which originated in my home town of Zichron Ya'akov -was shot & killed by Ottomans in the Sinai Desert in January 1917. A date pit in his pocket sprouted miraculously; the tree survived, & it was moved to the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery

Pictured are:
*Joyous Festivals 5720 stamp - 350 mil - The Seven Species:
Inscription on tab: "A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey"

*Israel 10 New Shekels 2011
Palm tree with seven leaves & two baskets with dates, the words "for the redemption of Zion" in ancient & modern Hebrew alphabet.

*Kibbutz children presenting Prime Minister Levi Eshkol & his wife Elisheva with little baskets of home-grown dates at the entrance to Kibbutz Yotvata in the southern Negev.

Fancy a date? (The fresh kind!)

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