The Torah calls the etrog Pri Etz Hadar - The fruit of a beautiful tree. I've only seen an etrog tree in a picture, and the tree itself is beautiful. The fruit, the etrog, normally, may not be something most people would consider "beautiful". The mark of a more beautiful etrog is in its bumps.; the more bumps, the more "beautiful" the etrog is considered.

Normally, if you were buying fruit in the store, you would stay away from bumpy, bruised fruit. What makes the etrog beautiful with its bumps?

The etrog is symbolic of the person who has both good deeds as well as wisdom. It has both a beautiful smell as well as a taste (which is more bitter than a lemon.) This is seemingly contradictory, but if we understand the analogy, we can say that the exterior would normally appear nicer than its interior (taste). However, the exterior appearance is "hidden" by its bumps.

Similarly, a person's strength comes by overcoming the "bumps" he receives in life. Each bump is a challenge and he gains more experience becoming wiser in dealing with life with overcoming these bumps.

In short, one cannot and should not judge a person or a fruit by its external appearance. Even a bumpy fruit or a "bumpy" person can reveal a beautiful interior and emanate a beautiful fresh, appealing fragrance.

Mazor Guide for Sukkot brings you much more about the holiday, its meaning and its traditions... See the links below.

• Sukkot Home Page

• Sukkot: Many Names Many Themes

• Sukkot: The Days of the Holiday

• Ancient Rituals Shape Sukkot’s Meaning

• The Sukkah, Meaning and Rituals

• The Lulav and the Etrog (Esrog)

• Kohelet: Sukkot Special Reading

• Shop for Sukkot

Articles

• Pri Etz Hadar by Daniel Feldman