The mulberry tree.

I remember my first encounter with a mulberry tree. I was told that this was the tree in which a little fellow called Zacchaeus once climbed in order to get a glimpse of Jesus. That was the translation in the Norwegian Bible. Most English speakers know this tree to be a Sycamore tree. The Experts are still arguing…..and Zacchaeus would have climbed any tree that would have served his purpose.
What fascinated me was that it was full of sweet “raspberries” and that it had no thorns.

Later I was to learn that a mulberry tree is to the silkworms what the eucalyptus tree is to the Koala. It is not about some more “tiny fellows being fond of climbing”, but about food. The silk worm eats the leaves of the mulberry tree.
Today, unfortunately, there are almost no wild silkworms left and the mulberry tree leaves has been changed with an artificial kind of diet.

In the old days the people of the far East developed trade routes for them to earn money on silk production. There was a network of roads going across the Asian continent connecting the silk producers with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe. One of these roads went through the Negev desert.

The town of Safed, up in the Galilean mountains, was once a center for silk production. When the Jews of Spain and Portugal were expelled during the inquisition the Turks actually invited Jews to come and settle in Safed. In order to survive they started lots of businesses and the production of fabrics was one of them. The main production was from sheep wool but also silk production has been connected to this town.

There are no silk factories in Israel anymore so the mulberry trees are left for the ones who enjoy them for their berries.

Elin Elkouby.