Paper short abstract:

The making of ritual objects including vegetal elements requires the observance of specific rules. The most interesting phenomenon is the way in which traditional knowledge is enriched, and not deprived, by the progress of science. The paper analyses the case of the citron, etrog.

Paper long abstract:

Jewish traditional knowledge does not fall into the category of lost or forgotten knowledge. The very notion of traditional knowledge can be questioned with regard to Jewish culture, insofar as what is considered "tradition" is the product of an intellectual elite. In the field of what might be called ecology, that of environmental control, Jewish traditional knowledge is instrumental especially in the ritual field. The making of ritual objects including vegetal elements, such as the bouquet of the four species and the Sukkot hut, requires the observance of a certain number of rules, such as identifying each of the four species, ensuring that its freshness is maintained throughout the festival, etc. The most interesting phenomenon to study with regard to this traditional knowledge is the way in which it is enriched, and not deprived, by the progress of science. In my paper I will present the case of the citron, etrog, in terms of how contemporary biological research is helping the practice of ritual. The etrog is the species that, among the four that must compose the ritual bouquet, raises the most questions about its production and preservation. The work of the researcher Eliezer E. GOLDSCHMIDT, a specialist in plant genetics, will be used as a starting point for an anthropology of Jewish knowledge at the crossroads of the past and the present.