And soon they came
With cutters
To snip them off the tree
Each fruit just sat there
Swaying
“They’ll be picking me!”
“It’s me!” declared the apple
I’m handsome red and sweet!
I’m every doctor’s nightmare!
And every teacher’s treat!
“They dip me in the honey
This special time of year
I am the most delightful fruit!
I openly declare!”
“Excuse me,” said the date tree
“That honey’s from my fruit
And like a tzaddik I’m compared”
The date, his horn, did toot!
“They sing the songs
‘Bout dipping you
But you are dipped in me
We all know that your
Honey comes
From dates and not a bee!”
And suddenly
A voice was heard
It sounded like a whine
They turned to see
That purple ball
Kvetching from its vine!
“Silly apple! Silly date!
You know that I’m the best
Without the wine for Kiddush
You guys would have to rest!
“I begin each Shabbos meal
And Yom Tov meals as well
And that sweet juice
They squeeze from me
Certainly does sell!
“I know they’ll come to get me
As part of Arba Minim
While you shall sit here
In the sun
I will sure be grinnin’”
But all the men
Went somewhere else
A corner with old trees
They pointed to some
Yellow fruits
“Rabbosai! Look at these!”
The apples looked in horror
The peaches with aplomb
“Why are those men
Collecting those?
How could they be so dumb?
“Their skin it is so bumpy!
It’s filled with seeds, not fruit!
It takes so long to grow each one
Years just to take root!”
And then a man
Reached out for one
He wore a cotton glove
And gently he held on to it
And cradled it with love
Inspected it from head to toe
For specs, the smallest dot
And shouted to the other men
“Look at what I’ve got!
“From pitum to the uketz
This esrog is a gem”
He laughed at all
The other fruit
“They think that I need them?
“For beauty is
What the Torah says
And not what florists say
The greatest beauty that there is
Is just the Torah’s way
“The apple may be pretty
The grape may get you high
The peach is cute
And plums are sweet
And dates do grow so high
“But what some people
Think is great
Or fashionable today
The Torah thinks
Quite differently
It has a different say
“For when it comes to Sukkos
The esrog is the one
“The Torah says it’s ‘beautiful’
That’s how the mitzvah’s done!”
