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Legend has it that three brothers from the Oak family fell in love with a beautiful girl called Ela (the Hebrew name for the terebinth, see June’s tree). She invited the three brothers to a party where she would choose the brother to marry. Tabor Oak curled his hair and Boissier Oak shaved carefully. Only Palestine Oak stayed as he was, saying said that if Ela truly loved him she would love him as he was, and that is how he came to the party. Ela realized he was her true love and chose him, and they remain together to this day reigning over Israel’s native woodlands.
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Many parts of the oak tree are used in traditional medicine: tea can be prepared from oak bark, flowers and acorns and is used for stomach ailments, bed wetting in children and to prevent miscarriage in pregnant women. |
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Although the oak is traditionally considered a symbol of strength, most of the oaks we see in Israel look more like tall shrubs than trees, mainly due to being subjected to years of overgrazing and cutting. But in some places oaks have been left undisturbed and have grown into tall impressive trees, usually because they were planted at a site considered holy. One of the most famous sites is Abraham’s Oak near Hebron. The great tree at the site is believed to be a remnant of an oak grove – the Oaks of Mamre – mentioned in Genesis (18, 4): “And the LORD appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre”. According to popular tradition this is where Abraham received the three angels who came to tell him that he would have a son. The site is holy to all religions, but is now under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. There are a number of other sites in Israel where impressive oak trees, hundreds of years old, can be seen: Hurshat HaArba’im on Mt. Carmel, in Odem Forest in the Golan Heights, the Alona Nature Reserve are a few of them. |
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The oak is sometimes called “King of the Trees”. The genus contains 450 species, 5 of which grow in Israel, of which two grow only on Mount Hermon. Oak trees can be found both in cool temperate regions of the world and in the warm Mediterranean region. Some oaks are deciduous – their leaves fall as winter approaches – but the Palestine oak is an evergreen tree. |
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What is the relation between jays and oaks? Jays help oak trees disperse and spread – they collect acorns and hide them away in caches, usually in the ground, to eat at a later time. The acorns in these caches come from different trees, and some of them germinate and grow into new oak trees, far from their parent trees. |
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Oak trees have many uses. Their wood is strong and used in traditional agriculture for plow shanks and ox yokes. Oak barrels are considered the best for storing and aging wine. Oak bark was the original source of tannin used for tanning leather – the process of preparing leather from animal hides. |
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The oak’s Hebrew name – alon – is often mentioned in the Bible as a symbol for strength – “Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks” Amos 2, 9, as a place of idol worship – “They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and offer upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths” Hosea 14, 13, and as raw material for sculpting and for industry (oars) – “Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars”Ezekiel 27, 6. |
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