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23 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

23

APPELLANTEN



A

German word used

to

designate the assistants of the chief rabbi of Prague called also " Oberjuristen " generally three in number (see Prague).

g.

8.

APPLE.—Biblical Data



The word " apple

" is

the commonly accepted translation of tappuah, from the sweet-scented). the root na pah (to exhale It is of pleasant smell (" the smell of thy nose like apples," Cant. vii. 9 [A. V. 8]), and is used to revive the sick ("comfort me with apples, for I am The tree offers a pleasant sick of love, " Cant. ii. 5). shade ("As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under its shadow with great delight," Cant. ii. 3, " I raised thee up under the apple-tree Hebr. there thy mother brought thee forth," Cant. viii. It is mentioned also in Joel i. 12, together with 5). the pomegranate and it gave the name " tappuah" to a number of towns (Josh. xv. 34, 53 xvi. 8 xvii. "Apples of gold in pictures ["baskets," R. V.] 7). of silver " are mentioned in Pro v. xxv. 11. Whether so called because of their red color, or whether oranges are here meant, is uncertain. The Septuagint renders it jif/kov, a fruit "sweet to the taste"

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(Cant. ii. 3). In the time of the Mishnah the " tappuah " was cultivated in large quantities and many varieties (Kil. i. 4; Ter. xi. 3; Ma'as. i. 4; Tappuhim of Crete, Men. 28S). Apple-wine is spoken of in Tos. Ber. iv. 1 and Ab. v. 12. About the correctness of the translation of "tappuah " there is a wide difference of opinion among botanists and linguists, especially as the Greek irifhm, Latin malum, originally comprised the

pomegranate, the quince, and other fruits similar to the Apple all more or less symbolical of love, and therefore sacred to Aphrodite (see Helm, " Kulturpflanzen," 1874, ii. 203-207). The Arabic name tuffah is probably derived from the Syriac (see Erankel, " Aramaische Eremdworter," p. 140). The

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tappuah distinguished in the Mishnah from the quince, which is called parish (Ma'as. i. 3), and from the Ipazor (the crab-apple), (Kil. i. 4, Yer. Ter. ii. 3) is declared by most authorities to be none other than the Apple that, if not as delicious as the European or the American Apple, is planted in orchards and near the houses in Palestine and Syria, and is especially prized for its aroma (see Credner, Commentary on Joel, pp. 135 et seq., who refers to Ovid's "Metamorphoses," viii. 676; Winer, "B. R."— following Robinson's "Researches," ii. 355, iii. 1295; and with reference to Josephus, "Ant." xvii. 7, [where its use in case of sickness is testified to by the story of King Herod] and to Avicenna, quoted in "Harmar," i. 369; Immanuel Low, "Aramaische Pflanzennamen," pp. 155 et seq. W. R. Smith, in The Apple is "Journal of Philology," xiii. 65). handed to the sick or faint to revive them by its aroma. Rosenmuller ( " Handbuch der Biblischen

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and Houghton

"Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archeology," xii. 42-48), however, seek to identify it with the quince, which, according to Post, " has a sour, acrid taste, and Others identify it with the citron is never sweet."

Alterthumskunde,"

(see Delitzsch's

iv. 308)

Commentary

to Cant.)

(in

and the

arti-

Apothecaries

Apple

"Apfel" in Riehm's "Diet."); but the citron (a Persian fruit) was not transplanted to the Mediterranean shores before the common era (according to Pliny, "Naturalis Historia," xii. 3; Theophrastus, "Historia Plantarum," iv. 4). The same objections hold good against the identification of the Apple with the apricot, as proposed by Tristram, " Fauna and Flora of Palestine," p. 294. j. jk. K. cle

In Rabbinical Literature



The Apple men-

tioned in Cant. ii. 3 is taken symbolically see the following examples from Cant. R. ad he. " 'As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood offers no shade in the heat like other trees, so would the nations not seek the shade of Sinai's God; Israel only



'

would

sit under His shadow with delight. Or, as the apple-tree unfolds blossoms before leaves, so did the Israelites show their faith in God before they heard the message [Ex. iv. 31 " And the people believed; and when they heard"]. The same applies when on Sinai they said 'All that the Lord said we will do and hearken [Ex. xxiv. 7, Hebr. compare with Cant. R. ii. 3, Shab. 88a, where the erroneous word piryo (its fruit), instead of nizzo (its blossoms), puzzled the Tosafists]. Or, 'as the apple-tree ripens its fruit in the month of Siwan, so did Israel display its fragrance at Mount Sinai in Siwan [Ex. xix. 1,3]. Again, as for the apple-tree the time from the first blossoming until the ripening of the fruit is fifty days, so was the time from the Exodus to the giving of the Law on Sinai fifty days. Or, as for a small coin you may get an apple and derive enjoyment even from its sweet odor, so may you obtain your redemption easily with the help of the Law. Or, as the apple excels in fragrance all trees, so does Israel excel the nations in good works. " As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so even those that are void of merit are still full of good The heathen deeds, as the pomegranate is of seeds. are the trees in the wood without fruit, and Israel among them is as the apple-tree " (Yalk. Cant. 986). " has God been likened to the Ex. R. xvii. apple-tree? Just as the apple offers its beauty to the eye without any cost, and has a delicious taste and perfume, so God's law (His mouth) is most God had appeared sweet. He is altogether lovely. " to all the nations, but they would not accept the '

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Why

Torah. not realizing what is said in Ps. xxxiv. 9 [A. V. 8] " O taste and see that the Lord is good, " and in Prov. viii. 19, " My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold. " But Israel said " I sat down under ,



his

shadow with great

delight and his

Symbolical fruit is sweet to my taste " (Cant. ii. 3). Meaning. Also the words "Comfort me with apples

"

(Cant.

ii.

5)

are referred to the

words of the Law, especially the Haggadot, which have delicious taste and fragrance combined like apples (Pesik. R. K. xii. 101*; Cant. R. ad he.). The Targ. translates "tappuah" in Cant. ii. 3 " ethrog " (orange or citron) in ii. 5 and vii. 9 " tappuah di gintha di Eden " (paradise-apple). In Cant, viii. 5 tappuah is taken symbolically for Mount Oli;

vet as giving forth all the dead at the time of the resurrection, or is taken for Sinai as in Cant. R. Aquila seems to take Cant. viii. 5 as referring to the fruit " shamma of the tree of knowledge, as he translates