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The Beauty and Mystery of Israel’s Olives
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The Founder of Galilee Green, an Olive Oil Company, Shares His Story
BY RABBI SHMUEL VEFFER, AS TOLD TO SARA LIEBERMAN
ost people know me as the in-
Mventor of the Kosher Lamp and founder of Kosher Innovations. In 2009, I sold Kosher Innovations to my partner and moved back to Israel. Eventually, I settled in the Moshava (village) of Yavne’el in the Galilee, southwest of Tiveria.
On a balmy day in November 2013, my neighbor invited me to harvest some olives from the trees on our shul’s property. We picked armfuls of green, fragrant olives all day, and some local children helped us. We drove 15 minutes to the nearby Kibbutz Degania to press the olives. They were so helpful and kind. It was close to midnight when we returned to Yavne’el with jerry cans filled with oil. The local rav came over and helped us take trumos and maaseros – it’s a mitzvah d’oraisa to take tithes on olive oil. Then we tasted the most incredible olive oil ever! It was light, fruity, and fragrant, with just the right balance of tart and sweet.
The oil was so pure and exquisite I knew we needed to share the wealth, so I founded an olive oil company, Galilee Green. My background was in kiruv and marketing, therefore I worked out an arrangement with nearby Kibbutz Degania. They provided us with olive oil made from their own groves, and we did the marketing.
The olive trees are located on the portion of land that was allotted to the tribe of Naftali. The strength of the harvest is directly intertwined with prophecies and blessings from the Torah. Naftali’s bracha was: “Naftali is a deer let loose: he gives goodly words” (Bereishis 49:21). Rashi elucidates that this refers to the Ginosar valley in Naftali’s portion. Similarly to the natural grace and alacrity of the deer, the fertile land in this region will ripen exceedingly fast. Naftali’s bracha embraces most fruits, and farmers plant whatever crop proves most rewarding. In the early days of Israel, citrus and cotton were commonly grown. Currently, many farmers consider mangos to be a lucrative crop. The blessing holds true today, as the eye can behold the flourishing, fertile crops thriving in the Lower Galilee.
The bountiful growth of this region of Eretz Yisroel sends a powerful message. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) states that Mashiach is near when the prophecy of Yechezkel comes true. “But ye mountains of Yisrael ye shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Yisrael; for they are at hand to come” (Ezekiel 36:8).
In a manner that transcends nature, the relationship between the Jews and the land of Israel is so powerful that, according to the prophecy, the land was to remain barren until the Jews returned, at which point it was to give forth abundant fruit. And this is indeed what has happened in recent history.
I merited to see Yaakov’s bracha come true in my own backyard! When I harvested my date tree, I was shocked to see the sheer amount of fruit this one tree bore. There was 440 pounds of fruit! This was more than enough for me and my family for an entire year.
Similarly, our olive oil is among the highest quality and tastiest extra virgin olive oil around. It is an exceptional product, and our customers are discerning and know their olive oil. Over 80 percent of our customers are non-Jewish supporters of Israel in the U.S. and Canada. We sell via our website, to countries around the world, including New Zealand, Norway, Alaska, and Australia.
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Bof the kedusha and blessings of Eretz Yisroel, what else makes our oil so extraordinary? Initially, we cold-press the Barnea and Coratina varieties of olives. Both species are grown in the Galilee and nourished by the Jordan River. Cold-pressed oil retains its high nutritional content and contains numerous health benefits. Then, we fuse the two kinds of oil into a special blend that is smooth and mild with a slightly tangy kick after a few seconds. That peppery tang indicates that the oil is 100% extra virgin.
Our oil is certified kosher under the supervision of Rabbi Shlomo Didi of Kinneret-Emek HaYarden Rabbinic Council and is also certified by Badatz Beit Yosef. The olives are only picked from trees that are over three years old (orlah) and all biblical tithes are taken. We bring the olives directly to the olive press the same day that they are harvested. As part of the kosher supervision, the machines are washed and cleaned before our oil is cold-pressed.
The oils are extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). This means that we coldpress the olives once, and they must be less than 0.8% in acidity. Additionally, our oil is unfiltered, so there may be some sediment, but is healthier because it contains the maximum polyphenols and antioxidants. Processed oil uses heat to extract more oil. In fact, Israeli oil facilities are not built to create lower quality oil that requires 2nd or 3rd processes of refinement.
When you buy our oil, you are supporting a small business in Israel. You are helping Israel prosper after 2,000 years of exile and helping the Land bring forth her fruits!
Finally, we have customers in Italy and Spain (two of the most famous olive oil exporters), and our clients around the world rave about the taste and quality of our oil. Israel does not produce enough olive oil for the needs of the local population. We are a net importer of olive oil. Spain boasts the highest production of olives and olive oil. They provide 40% of olive products around the world. That’s why you won’t see much Israeli olive oil outside of Israel. Chanukah use does not affect our sales because 80-90% of our customers are non-Jewish and they enjoy the flavor of our oil in their food. Also, most people will not use such high-quality oil for kindling lights.
A word about Shemittah. Shemittah for olives becomes relevant for next year’s harvest. The olives will be flowering and budding this spring during a Shemittah year which gives them kedushas sheviis. The olives that were harvested in November and early December of this
year, which was after the Shemittah year started, don’t have the kedusha of shviis because they flowered and budded last March, before the Shemittah year, in the sixth year, so they have the status belonging to the sixth year. Thus, we can harvest them and sell them around the world. In the spring, there will be a new crop budding and that will have kedushas shviis, so even though we will be harvesting them after the Shemittah year ends, they still have kedushas shviis. All the relevant Shemittah laws come into effect for olives in the eighth year.
istorically, during the Roman
HEmpire, the currency and economy of Israel was based on its olive oil. We exported oil throughout the Roman Empire. It was our liquid gold. If you go to an archeological dig in the Galilee, what’s the first thing that you are likely to find? A small olive oil lamp. They are everywhere. You can also find ancient olive presses. In Biblical times, olives were grown for oil, and not for eating whole. The oil was used in food, like it is today, but also in lamps as the best source of lighting.
Olive oil has significant biblical meaning and is one of the seven special species of fruit of Eretz Yisrael enumerated in the Torah. However, the most important role for the olive oil was to ignite the menorah in the
Temple. On Chanukah, it is hiddur mitzvah to light with shemen zayit zach. Our sages tell us that light represents Torah. “Ner mitzvah v’torah ohr.” Ner is a mitzvah, and Torah is ohr. Torah is the big vessel (menorah) that emanates light. It is our instruction manual for living.
Jews are likened to olive oil. When faced with unfathomable challenges and crushing heartbreak, we don’t crack – we produce this beautiful, pure substance that lights up the world. We are indestructible. Also, olive oil represents our mission; we are the light onto the nations, here to spread the knowledge of Hashem and the wisdom of His torah.
“Ki mitzion tetzey Torah, u’dvar Hashem m’Yerushalayim.” The rabbis teach us that the words “teytzey Torah” is the actual Torah and “u’dvar Hashem” was the words of our prophets. We lit the menorah to symbolize lighting up the world with Torah. R’ Zev Leff said that the Jewish people are like olive oil and the nations are like water. If you take even a few drops of oil, pour it on water and place it in the sun, the water can’t evaporate because it’s protected by a sheen of oil. The oil is supported by the water and the water is protected by the oil. It’s a symbiotic relationship. If you shake it up and put it outside – it evaporates.
That’s the relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish world. If we forget who we are and start adopting the customs of the “Greeks,” we are in trouble. But if we stay the course to spread light and remain pure in the ways of the Torah, we will bring blessing and geulah to the world.
