Lemon

Hebrew: לִימוֹן, lemon
Family: Rutaceae
Scientific name: Limoetta

The lemon tree is an evergreen from the citrus family. Citruses can be classified into three natural groups: pomelo, citron (etrog), and mandarin, from which all other citruses developed. Lemons are apparently the product of a hybrid of citron and hushhash or another type of mandarin. The tree originates in southeast Asia in areas with tropical climates.

Common lemon varieties include lime, limetta, limquat (Chinese lemon), Eureka lemon.

Most lemon varieties are characterized by high fertility, rapid fruit-bearing, vigorous growth, and significant thorniness. The lemon tree blooms almost all year round, but the main flowering occurs in spring and summer, sometimes even in early autumn. Since the tree can bloom multiple times throughout the year, there are also several waves of fruit production— a trait rarely found in other fruit trees. Various methods can be used to direct fruit production to seasons when fresh fruit is scarce. Due to this characteristic, a single lemon tree can simultaneously bear fruits of different sizes, each maturing at different times.

Terumot & ma’aserot (offerings & tithes): The Sages determined that the obligation to separate terumot from an etrog is based on the time of its harvest, not only its formation (chanatah). The posekim have debated whether these laws also apply to lemons and other citrus fruits.

Kilei ilan (grafting mixed species): While many rootstocks are professionally suitable for lemons, since lemons belong to an independent citrus group along with the etrog, they can only be grafted onto lemon-compatible rootstocks, such as rough lemon and macrophylla.

Grafting an etrog tree onto a lemon tree: One of the significant halachic debates in recent centuries concerns grafting an etrog tree onto a lemon rootstock. The etrog tree is relatively weak, leading some to graft it onto a lemon rootstock for support. However, this practice raised halachic questions regarding the kashrut of the etrog grown on such a tree. In practice, most posekim maintain that such etrogim should not be used.

Shemitah (Sabbatical year): The laws of shemitah apply to lemons in several ways:

Usage: Shemitah fruits must be used for food and not wasted. Therefore, a shemitah lemon should not be used for cleaning, deodorizing, or similar purposes, as this would be considered wasteful.
Agricultural activities: Certain activities aimed at increasing fruit production during shemitah are restricted.
Timing of chanatah (fruit formation): Lemons sometimes bloom in late summer and early autumn, with some fruits forming just before or after Rosh Hashanah. This results in trees bearing both sixth-year and shemitah-year fruits at the start of shemitah. Similarly, at the end of shemitah, trees may simultaneously have both shemitah and eighth-year fruits.

מוקדש עבור חיילי צה”ל מוקדש ע”י משפחת לנקסנר
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לרפואת טליה ברכה בת רחל שמחה