The jar of "spices" had begun smelling absolutely awful, at least in my opinion. So, my husband assigned me with the job of finding a replacement.Shabbat havdala consists of:
- Beverage: Wine, Grape Juice, or Chamar Medina
- Wine is always the preferred beverage for all havdalas because it is prestigious.
- Spices
- The extra soul we are given on Shabbat leaves after Shabbat is over, so we sniff a pleasant odor to cover for that loss.
- Flame
- The Shabbat havdala flame commemorates that Adam HaRishon (the first man) created fire after the first Shabbat.
Over the years I'd heard of using cloves and the etrog from Succot. Since we still had this year's etrog lying around, I bought some cloves and decided to make clove-etrog besamim. Of course, I hadn't the vagues idea how to do it.
Sticking the cloves into the already hardening etrog wasn't easy. I had to poke holes first. But as you can see, I did manage somehow to do it. This may not be your ideal etrog-cloves besamim, but it's better than we had before. I do have a feeling that I need to make a box for it, to keep it fresh. That's another project...
Suggestions and corrections very welcome, thanks.
I’ve tried this a few times. I’ve always been disappointed with how long it lasts. First it shrinks to a fraction of its normal size. Then the smell fades too. I’d love to know if there’s a better way of keeping the etrog so it lasts longer. Good luck with yours!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try a wooden box in my mosaics class. I doubt if this year's will last long, but maybe if I'm ready in time, next year's will be much better.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother always put the esrog in a silver filigree basket which lived in her China Closet. The china closet always smelled nice all year.
ReplyDeleteShe also had a marble topped table with a cabinet inside. That always smelled like chocolate covered espresso beans (for obvious reasons.)
Fortunately, both pieces survive in my parents house, and when they close the house and start getting rid of things, I have dibs on both of them. I plan to renew the aroma traditions as well.
Your esrog posting brought me back to all these memories.
Ed, thanks for sharing your memories. And I hope that you get those pieces.
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