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Rimon

Pomegranate

The pomegranate or, in Hebrew, rimon is a much-loved theme in Israeli and Jewish art, and you will find many different versions of it in our shop: the one pictured here is in Laura Bolter's print and you'll find it in Irith Dekel's mezuzot , Ruth Doron 's and Avihu Zur's jewelry ... It is an ancient Jewish symbol.
When Moses sent spies to scout the Promised Land, they returned carrying pomegranates and other fruits as evidence of the lands bounty and fertility. Because of its many seeds it has remained a symbol of fertility. Pomegranates are also a symbol for righteousness, because a midrash tells us that the pomegranate contains 613 seeds, exactly the number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Tora.

The pomegranate has been a perennial motif in Jewish art, dating to the Temple in Jerusalem. Images of pomegranates were woven into the borders of the priests'robes (Shemot/Exodus 28:33-34) and in a description of Solomon's Temple we read that it, too, had images of pomegranates (Melachim/1 Kings 7:13-22): bells shaped like pomegranates are thought to have adorned the Temples columns. The only known archaeological object attributed to King Solomons Temple is a tiny carved ivory pomegranate that can be seen in the Jewish Museum in Jerusalem.

According to the encyclopedia of Jewish symbols the ornaments that crown the Tora rollers are called rimonim because in the Middle Ages, artists used the pomegranate motif to decorate the tops of Torah staves.

The pomegranate is also an important symbol in other cultures. It is said that the profet Mohammed blessed it, because eating a pomegranate would expell hatred and jealousy. Early christianity saw it as a symbol of God's blessing and heavenly love and its seeds, huddled together in the protective peel, as a symbol for the christian community. It is often depicted on ancient christian paintings.