Chanukah
Olive Oil INTO THE LIGHT:
By Gil Marks
O
live oil was among the seven agricultural items with which the land of Israel was praised as, “a land of wheat and barley, and vines and figtrees and pomegranates; a land of zayit shemen [oil-olives] and [fruit] honey.”Olive oil formed part of the trio, along with grain (wheat and barley) and wine, which served as the basis of the diet and economy of Ancient Israel. Thus, money did, in a manner, grow on trees. Olive groves covered Israel in great numbers as evidenced by the gifts that Solomon annually sent to Hiram of Tyre to feed the workers, among which was “20,000 batim of olive oil (II Chronicles 2:9),” an amount totaling about 440,000 liters, the output of nearly 240,000 trees each year. Numerous place-names in Israel reflect olive trees, presses, or oil, most notably the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the location marking the advent of the Messiah (Zechariah 14:3-4). Even the word mashiach (“anointed one”) refers to olive oil. The High Priest was also anointed with olive oil.
Gil Marks, a regular contributor to this magazine, is the author of numerous books, including the highly-proclaimed Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.
8 | Winter 2011/2012-5772 | EMUNAH Magazine | emunah.org