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Shmita Year Complicates Etrog Sourcing
trogim have the reputation of
being a fi nicky fruit: Th ey’re
expensive and challenging to
grow, with the trees prone to infection
and bugs.

Th is year, as Sukkot approaches, the
etrog is only becoming more notori-
ous — now more expensive to buy and
harder to get from Israel, where many
prefer to source the citrus.

But local purveyors are saying not to
panic. While they navigate infl ation and
the agricultural implications of the shmita
year, they are trying to make sure these
challenges are not impacting Jews looking
to participate in the Sukkot mitzvah.

Last year marked the shmita year, the
seventh year in a seven-year agricul-
ture cycle, where the Torah instructs the
Jewish people to let the earth lie fallow,
to not tend to their fi elds or harvest
their crops. While few American Jews
abide by these laws, Israel closely follows
them. In 2014, the last shmita year, etrog
production was cut by 50%, according
to Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development.

Depending on where you’re buying
your etrog in Philadelphia this year, it
may be harder to come across one from
Israel and a little more expensive. Bala
Cynwyd-based Meir Badush is selling
etrogim this year from Morocco, where
his brother operates a farm.

Due to infl ation, Badush has increased
the price of his etrogim and lulavim sets
from $60 to $75.

“Th ere’s still a slight increase in price,
like everything else,” he said. “Shipping
costs, all the materials, everything costs
more money.”
Rabbi Yochonon Goldman of B’nai
Abraham Chabad in Center City is expe-
riencing a similar issue. Th is year, all of
his etrogim are coming from Calabria,
Italy; it’s more expensive to buy Italian
etrogim, and because of the Chabad’s
budget, Goldman has put a cap on the
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Jerusalem Gift Shop owner Rachel Gabay checks the quality of the etrogim
she ordered from Israel.

price he’s willing to pay.

“Th ere’s always a range of prices ...

there are people that spend hundreds of
dollars to be able to do this mitzvah in
a beautiful way with a beautiful fruit,”
Goldman said. “But we basically tell our
suppliers, ‘Th is is the price range that we
need to stick to.’”
Th is allows the Chabad to keep the
cost of its etrogim and lulavim sets close
to what it’s been in previous years, but
there’s still a risk that the quality of the
fruit may not be the same as in past years.

Some Jews prefer Calabrian etrogim
even when it’s not a shmita year, Goldman
said. Many believe that Moses instructed
the Jewish people to go to Italy to source
their etrogim.

But for Jews who still want to sup-
port Israel over the holiday, they need
not look too far. Jerusalem Gift Shop
in Rhawnhurst will still source etrogim
from Israel this year.

According to owner Rachel Gabay, it’s
permissible to harvest etrogim during
the shmita year if there is specifi c super-
vision and rabbinical blessings. Just like
other sellers, Gabay paid a bit more this
year for her etrogim.

“Th ey brought them all the way from
Eretz Yisrael by airplane, and they pay
taxes and pay everything, so we try to
compromise with them,” Gabay said.

While local retailers have tried their
best to keep prices low for buyers,
wholesale sellers must also navigate cost
increases and shipping delays. It’s part of
the job and always has been.

Aaron Weider, the owner of Famous
Etrogim in Rockland Country, New York,
who sources etrogim for Germantown
Jewish Centre, said that following 9/11,
fi nding and distributing etrogim in the
Northeast U.S. was more challenging
than it was today. He’s used to a diffi cult
Sukkot season.

“It has its challenges; there’s no ques-
tion about it,” he said.

In 2001, Sukkot began on Oct. 1. In
addition to limited fl ights and transpor-
tation in the United States following 9/11,
it was diffi cult getting products from the
Middle East, including Israel, to the U.S.

Th is year, shipping costs for etrogim
have increased signifi cantly, but Weider
plans to only modestly increase his
prices. He hopes that growing interest
in people completing the mitzvah of
shaking the lulav and etrog will increase
demand for his product.

At the end of the day, local etrogim sell-
ers are keeping with this philosophy, too.

Marcy Bacine, co-manager of the
Little Shop in Germantown Jewish
Centre, doesn’t expect a large profi t
from the 75-plus etrogim and lulavim
sets she plans to sell this year.

Most businesses aren’t relying on
etrogim exclusively to keep them in the
black, and behind these businesses are
Jews who just want to make sure people
have access to the materials they need
for the holiday.

“I view this as a mitzvah that people
are doing, so I don’t look to make a lot
of money from it,” Bacine said. JE
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Photo by Sasha Rogelberg
E SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER