For Love of Olive Oil

This episode did not appear in the Modern Torah podcast, but I wrote it and wanted to share it with you anyways.

—Nate

I love a good olive. Spanish. Italian. Californian. Israeli. It doesn’t really matter to me. They’re all a little different, but if it’s really good olive oil, pure olive oil that’s been well pressed from olives grown in on a sunny, rocky hillside somewhere in the world; if it’s that perfect golden hue that you can see right through, then give me some sea salt, a slice of bread, maybe a little labneh and I’m good. And if it’s really good oil, then it’s almost heavenly, and you can skip the labneh.

Eating olive oil has tremendous health benefits, which isn’t news, but from looking at the literature, it seems that the quality the olive oil you’re eating actually affects the magnitude of those benefits. Natural olive oils, those that aren’t refined or processed, have the most benefits. And within the category of natural olive oils, extra virgin olive oil rises to the top. This oil, gathered from the juice olives release on their very first pressing, is considered the most pure form of olive oil today, and it contains compounds that have a seemingly endless list of benefits. One study I read stated that “extra virgin olive oil is responsible for a large part of many health benefits associated to Mediterranean diet as it is a fundamental ingredient of this diet.” So it tastes good, and it’s good for you. Not bad.

Olive oil isn’t just for eating though, it burns pretty nicely. You can use any grade of olive oil as fuel in an oil lamp. It will burn slowly, with relatively little smoke, or smell, and a small lamp can give off hours steady light. But just like how the quality of the oil affects health benefits, quality of oil affects quality of the light your olive oil lamp will give off.

So if you’re interested in getting good light from your olive oil lamp, the kind of steady event light that you can say study Torah by, you’re going to need some really good olive oil. Clean. Clear. Pure. And if the light you’re lighting has extra significance, like symbolizing the presence of G-d, you need some super clean, extra clear, so pure it’s holy olive oil. Extra virgin just won’t cut it. And getting olive oil that pure, in quantities large enough for the task at hand, well that takes an entire community, which is why this weeks Torah portion opens with the commandment that the whole congregation of Israel is to bring pure olive oil, for kindling the lamps of the Tabernacle, including the light that represents the presence of G-d in the Israelite camp.

It makes absolute sense that the oil for this particular light needs to be extra pure. The purity affects how steady the light burns, how brightly, and with how much smoke. This light, G-d’s light, should shine bright and steady, a smokeless and ever lasting beacon. But how does one ensure theyre getting the highest level quality of olive oil for the task? Well, careful preparation, of course. And picking the best olives available, which the Sages interpret to mean that “the olives should be so ripe that the oil drips from them while they are still hanging their olive tree, without them needing to be pressed.” The Sages, it seems are okay with using a stone to grind the olives, but carefully.

Rashi comments on the importance of the clarity and purity of the lamp oil, saying that the olives from the tallest branches should be beaten, by hand, after ripening on the trees. The resulting oil is permissible, and the olives can be ground after to produce even more oil, but that oil isn’t permissible for the light, it isn’t clear and pure enough.

It’s fair to say that there’s generational disagreement among Jewish scholars about how much hand grinding vs stone grinding really affects the quality and purity of the resulting olive oil.Regardless, the olives are beaten slowly and pulverized carefully, so they break open gently, releasing their first drops of precious oil, which drips through a strainer to be collected—as pure as pure gets.

I love a good olive, if you haven’t noticed. And oil they produce. I appreciate all the benefits it brings and uses it can be put to. But I haven’t started dreaming of olives yet, in any form. And after writing this d’var I realized maybe I should pay attention to that, because olive dreams can mean good things.

We learn in Berakhot 57a:8 that “One who sees olives in a dream, and they were small, it is a sign that their business will flourish, increase and be durable like olives. However, the Gemara adds a caveat, saying that this applies only when he sees the fruit of an olive tree; but, one who sees olive trees, it is a sign that he will have many children. And some say that one who sees an olive tree in a dream, it is a sign that a good reputation will be spread for him.

As for the oil, the Gemara says that one who sees olive oil in a dream should anticipate the light of Torah, as it is stated: “That they bring unto you pure olive oil beaten for the light” (Exodus 27:20).