Editing Pomegranate (section)

==={{anchor|Ancient Israel and Judaism}}Ancient Israel and Judaism===
{{See also|Rimmon}}

====Hebrew Bible====
Some Jewish scholars believe the pomegranate was the [[forbidden fruit]] in the [[Garden of Eden]].<ref name=PomRel>[http://www.beliefnet.com/story/179/story_17974_2.html "A Pomegranate for All Religions"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521201241/http://www.beliefnet.com/story/179/story_17974_2.html |date=21 May 2008 }} by Nancy Haught, ''Religious News Service''</ref>

Pomegranates were known in [[Land of Israel|Ancient Israel]] as the fruits that the [[The Twelve Spies|scouts]] brought to [[Moses]] to demonstrate the fertility of the "[[Promised Land]]".<ref>''Why Hebrew Goes from Right to Left: 201 Things You Never Knew about Judaism'', Ronald H. Isaacs (Newark, 2008), page 129</ref> The [[Book of Exodus]]<ref>{{bibleverse-nb||Exodus|28:33–34|}}</ref> describes the ''[[me'il]]'' ("robe of the [[ephod]]") worn by the [[Kohen Gadol|Hebrew high priest]] as having pomegranates embroidered on the hem, alternating with golden bells, which could be heard as the high priest entered and left the [[Holy of Holies]]. According to the [[Books of Kings]],<ref>{{bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|7:13–22|}}</ref> the capitals of the two pillars ([[Jachin and Boaz]]) that stood in front of [[Solomon's Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] were engraved with pomegranates. Solomon is said to have designed his coronet based on the pomegranate's "crown" ([[Sepal|calyx]]).<ref name=PT />

Pomegranates are one of the [[Seven Species]] (Hebrew: שבעת המינים, ''Shiv'at Ha-Minim'') of fruits and grains enumerated in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|8:8|HE}}) as special products of the [[Land of Israel]], and the Songs of Solomon mentions pomegranate six times<ref name="Seeram-2006" /> and contains this particular quote: "Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks." ({{Bibleverse|Song of Solomon| 4:3}}).

====Historical and traditional use====
[[File:Shekel_from_third_year_of_the_first_Jewish-Roman_war.jpg|thumb|A sprig of pomegranates (right) depicted on a silver [[shekel]] of the [[First Jewish Revolt coinage|Great Jewish Revolt]] (66–73 CE), featuring the inscription '[[Jerusalem]] the Holy' in [[Paleo-Hebrew script]]]]
The pomegranate appeared on the ancient coins of [[Judaea]], see [[Hasmonean coinage|Hasmonean]], [[Herodian coinage|Herodian]] and [[First Jewish Revolt coinage]].

[[File:Zeughausmuseum Köln. Rimonim, Torakrone, Mantel, Zeiger und Schild.jpg|thumb|Jewish [[Sefer Torah|Torah]] ornaments in the shape of pomegranates]]

The handles of [[Torah scroll]]s, when not in use, are sometimes covered with decorative silver globes similar in shape to pomegranates (''[[Torah rimmonim]]'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mobley |first=Beth |date=2009 |title=Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of Rabbi David A. Whiman |url=https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=exhibits |access-date=6 February 2024 |website=Digital Commons @ Touro Law Center}}</ref>

[[File:Girl with a pomegranate, by William Bouguereau.jpg|thumb|upright|''Girl with a Pomegranate'', by [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]], 1875]]

Consuming pomegranates on [[Rosh Hashana]], the Jewish New Year, is traditional because, with its numerous seeds, it symbolizes fruitfulness.<ref name="PomRel" />

====Talmud and Kabbalah====
The pomegranate is said to have 613 seeds representing the [[613 commandments]] of the [[Torah]],<ref name="Seeram-2006">{{Cite book |last=Seeram |first=Navindra P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ofMBQAAQBAJ&dq=pomegranate+torah&pg=PP8 |title=Pomegranates: Ancient Roots to Modern Medicine |publisher=CRC Press |year=2006 |isbn=9781420009866}}</ref> but it is a misconception. There is no clear source for this claim, although it is used as a metaphor in the [[Talmud]] for numerous good deeds.<ref>{{cite web |title= What's the Truth about... Pomegranate Seeds? |website= Ou.org |date=5 June 2008 |access-date=14 June 2012 |url= http://www.ou.org/index.php/ou/print_this/44394/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911171203/http://www.ou.org/index.php/ou/print_this/44394/ |archive-date=11 September 2012}}</ref>