The Jewish Book of Flowers: Hyssop (with drash by Naomi Stein)

Bumblebee pollinating hyssop flowers.

This essay below comes from The Jewish Book of Flowers by Naomi Spector, ending with a drash written by Naomi Stein.

Hyssop

Hebrew: אזוב 

Yiddish: אזובֿ

Latin: Hyssopus officinalis 

Hyssop is a humble flower with dark green leaves and clusters of blue, white, or pink blossoms. Its name derives from the Hebrew Esov, meaning holy herb, which may have been a common term for certain plants which shared similar qualities and were eaten as food and used in medicine. There is great mystery and disagreement among scholars surrounding the true identity of Esov. I have chosen to focus on Hyssopus officinalis, also known as hyssop, because so many Jews have connected hyssop to Esov, a fact which is even reflected in Jewish languages. For example, Yiddish linguist Mordke Shaechter, in his botanical dictionary Plant Names in Yiddish, translates Hyssopus officinalis as אזובֿ, Eyzov, demonstrating that many Yiddish speakers believed in the connection between Esov and the hyssop plant. 

Esov thrives in unexpected places, growing on rocks and springing from walls. The Torah teaches, regarding the wisdom of King Solomon: “He discoursed about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.” Hyssop is strong and resilient, adaptable to different climates, able to withstand drought and growing back even stronger when cut down.   

Hyssop was historically gathered in the Jerusalem hills and exported to North Africa. According to the Cairo Geniza, a special kind of honey is made by bees from hyssop nectar. The plant is enjoyed in diverse ways in Jewish food: in sauces, salads and soups, in meat dishes and liqueurs. 

From cedar to hyssop

In Jewish tradition, hyssop can be considered the flower of purification. Hyssop is one of several ingredients, along with cedar, featured in a mysterious ritual described in the Torah for cleansing a person of leprosy.

According to Rashi, “The cedar is the loftiest of all trees and the hyssop the lowliest of all — a symbol that the man of high position who displays pride and on that account falls into sin should make himself as lowly as the hyssop and the worm, and he will then gain atonement.” The cedar tree is tall, proud and majestic, long associated in Jewish tradition with righteousness: “The righteous bloom like a date-palm; they thrive like a cedar in Lebanon.” 

No one could ever overlook or ignore the stunning cedar. Hyssop, on the other hand, is easy to miss, growing low to the ground. Yet Solomon in his wisdom did not forget hyssop, and recognized that this humble and lowly flower is both powerful and precious. Hyssop teaches us to look beyond appearances. It is easy in our arrogance to misjudge or overlook the worth of a plant, much as it is easy to overlook the worth of a person. 

Hyssop the cleanser

According to the Cairo Geniza, Iraqi Jews historically used hyssop, which they called zūfā, to treat eye diseases. Hyssop strengthens the sight both physically and spiritually, cleansing us and allowing us to see clearly.

 In Jewish tradition, hyssop is a powerful purifier and protector. In multiple rituals for cleansing people and spaces that have had contact with the dead, the Torah instructs that hyssop be dipped in water and sprinkled “on the tent and on all the vessels and people who were there, or on the one who touched the bones or the person who was killed or died naturally or the grave.” 

Maimonides recommends hyssop in a remedy for cleansing the lungs of phlegm. He boils hyssop in water with several other herbs: basil, mint, ginger, lavender, summer savory, and six figs, then strains the infusion and adds honey. Maimonides advises that this remedy should not be taken when in fever.

Despite its humility–or perhaps, because of it–hyssop is very powerful. King David, who sang beautiful psalms full of yearning and praise, implored the Creator to “teach me wisdom about secret things.

Purge me with hyssop till I am pure.”

In these haunting words, David connects the idea of attaining wisdom and truth with the purifying power of hyssop. This humble flower can cleanse and reset our vision on the world and on ourselves, inspiring us to live in truth.  

Hyssop purification bath

Take a generous handful of hyssop flowers, either fresh or dried, and place in a strainer in a glass or wooden bowl. The more hyssop you use, the stronger your bath will be. If you do not have a strainer, you can put the herbs directly in the bowl and later strain them out with a colander. Pour boiling water over the herbs and allow to steep for 5+ minutes. Strain and add tea directly to a hot bath. 

Inquisition records describe a historical example of the Jewish practice of bathing in hyssop for purification. Leonor of Cifuentes, who had converted to Catholicism from Judaism in order to remain in Spain after the expulsion of the Jews, was prosecuted by the Inquisition in 1494. According to her testimony, a Christian neighbor of hers named Juan del Castillo had asked her for help in curing his son, who was about two years old and was sickly, cried a lot and did not want to eat. She describes performing an elaborate ritual to cleanse the child of evil eye. The final step was to bathe him in a bath infused with rosemary and hyssop.

 Hyssop: the flower of boundaries 

Hyssop and Rose Tea for Strengthening the Voice

According to the Cairo Geniza, hyssop was known in Jewish communities for its ability to cure heart problems, chest and lung problems as well as malaria and chronic coughs. With its reputation for supporting the heart, the lungs and the throat, I consider hyssop to be an herb that empowers the voice. It is a dear friend in those moments when we need support in drawing boundaries to protect ourselves.

Ingredients:

• 2 parts dried rose (either loose petals or whole flowers)

• 1 part dried hyssop

Follow the instructions on How to Make Herbal Tea  for further guidance.

In the Torah, hyssop protected the Jews in Egypt by creating a boundary between them and the people who had enslaved them for hundreds of years. Jewish tradition teaches that the ancestors were instructed to mark their homes with hyssop flowers dipped in the blood of a lamb they had sacrificed for Passover. 

In Egypt, hyssop was a popular herb that grew wild and was also cultivated in gardens for seasoning food, so it would have been nearby in this time of need: “Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the [lamb’s] blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts.” The people were told to stay inside all night, under the protection provided by the lamb’s blood and hyssop. By dawn, the Jews were the only people left untouched by the devastating plague that had passed during the night. For thousands of years, Jews continue to remember and honor the important role hyssop played in the story of their liberation from Egypt. 

In contemporary and western herbal traditions, hyssop is also known as an antimicrobial, lung tonic, and expectorant, due to its volatile oils, polyphenols, and triterpenes. Hyssop’s spiritual strength to set boundaries against the plague in Mitzrayim mirrors its biochemical power to defend the body against viruses, bacteria, and infections.

According to historian Susan Weingarten, Maimonides provided the first real recipe for haroset, a Passover food that symbolizes the Jewish memories of slavery in Egypt: “Haroset is a mixture which has in it acidity and something like straw in memory of the clay. We make it like this: Soak figs or dates and cook them and pound them till they get soft, and knead them with vinegar and put in spikenard or thyme or hyssop without grinding them.” Weingarten wonders if Maimonides inherited a tradition, lost to everyone else, of using hyssop in haroset. 

In Aleppo, the traditional Seder plate contains a few stalks of celery. Celery with the leaves bundled resembles the hyssop plant that was used by the Jews in Egypt on the first Seder night. In light of this legacy, hyssop can be understood not only as the flower of purification but also as the flower of the dead or the flower of death. It kept away death in Egypt, and it was used by ancient Jews to purify people and places after death.  

This powerful and mysterious plant has been deeply appreciated by Jews as a food, as a medicine, and as an ingredient in amulets worn for protection. Traditional Ashkenazi amulets, called baytele, were drawstring bags often made of leather or  linen  that were filled with protective objects and then hung around the neck. Some baytele contained herbs such as hyssop and rue.

Jewish herbalist Mazal Etedgi infuses hyssop flowers in arak and honey to support the respiratory and nervous systems. Hyssop cleanses and comforts us during times of instability and change.

Brief ode to Hyssop | Ezov (Hebrew) | Alzuwfa (Arabic)

By Mazal Etedgi

You of many names,

dressed in purple blossoms and expansive, stops-you-in-your-tracks type of scent!

You contain mystery in your story, many of us say you are siblings to thyme, marjoram, oregano and lavender. And your name Ezov in the Torah has been debated for centuries. But when we hold you and take in your powers, we are cleansed and comforted. We are reminded of the Rabbis & Grandparents & Mystics who say You grew on walls & at the bases of mountains. A portal keeper. A firm, grounding Protector.

You who say you were there in the Liberation story of Passover cleansing our ancestors before entering the waters of the Red Sea.

Thank you Hyssop, Ezov, Alzuwfa, and many more names we have yet to know. Thank you for being here now again, years after the Red Sea, as we enter a season of fire storms on the westcoast. 

I see how you show up fearlessly in moments of collective change, grief, and destruction.

-

Hyssop syrup recipe and Pesach Drash

Jewish ethnoherbalist Naomi Stein wrote this beautiful Drash honoring hyssop for this book: What will we keep out of our houses, and what will we pull in as we safely sleep through the night? 

The most auspicious time to make this syrup is on Rosh Chodesh Nisan. This new moon of the month of Passover is a very special one. We are taught that Nisan is the month of miracles, redemption, and freedom. A time ripe with the power of transformation for us now, as for our ancestors. The new moon represents new beginnings, and we’ll utilize this special night to begin the hyssop syrup that will grace our Pesach seder.

 For hiddur mitzvah (the blessing of making something good even better by beautifying it), put the syrup in a crystal decanter to sparkle enticingly on the table. Passover will begin the “new year of the months,” the second of our four new year celebrations, marking our newborn emergence into liberation. We follow our ancestral guidance to use this plant to help us create boundaries. What will we keep out of our houses, and what will we pull in to help us safely sleep through the night? What will we leave behind in the Egypt of the old year and what qualities will we create in the upcoming one, in our internal promised land? 

 It requires strong mental boundaries in order to parse what is useful to bring and what is necessary to leave behind on our journey. Hyssop can help us purify our hearts to clearly see and enforce the strong boundary between the ways we can be our own Moses and our own Miriam, versus the ways we can be our own Pharaoh.  

We begin this process after nightfall. Let the evening slow you down, feel this practice, kindling fire and drawing water, as the ancient repetition that it is. Set the scene to care for yourself and your loved ones, play some music, open the window to feel the sweet spring air as you work over the stove, whatever brings you pleasure.

Locate a clear, clean glass container with a lid. You will start by making 2 cups of a hyssop infusion.  Infusion is the best method for preparing the aerial parts of plants: flowers, leaves and stems.  It’s easy as can be, you just boil water, pour it over the herbs and let it steep (the length of steeping varies depending on the plant as well as the purpose of the infusion). Boil 2 cups of fresh water. Just before the water boils, pour a little of it into the glass jar to warm it and swirl it around (this prevents the glass from cracking caused by sudden temperature change). Place 1 tablespoon of dried hyssop or 3 tablespoons of fresh hyssop into the jar. Pour the water over the herbs and seal the jar. Let it stand overnight, in a spot the sun won’t shine on it in the morning. Then wait until it’s convenient for you the following afternoon, this is about liberation after all. Hyssop is a delicate taste, to me it’s like mint with an earthier base note, so a long steep ensures a clear hyssop flavor to your syrup.  

To sanctify the space and honor your role as a culture keeper, light a candle, plain or pretty, gently fragranced to your liking or pure as you prefer. Wash your hands, blessing the moment with prayer: ‘Bruchah at Shekinah eloheynu ruach ha-olam asher kisdshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu al netilat yadayim’. Bless the moment too with your exquisite attention, enjoying the warm water, the slip of the soap, and taking your time drying your hands. This is a ritual, the sort of embodied prayer our women have davened from the beginning, creating joy and health for our families and community.  

Now get out a large pot, with at least 6 cups capacity to allow room for a hard boil without losing any of the precious syrup (which is a pain in the tuchis to clean off a stove.) Strain your infusion, pouring the liquid into a measuring cup, compressing the herbs to get as much liquid out of them as possible. A nice way to upcycle the used herbs is to freeze them to use in a stock for a spring soup featuring peas or asparagus. Or compost them, it’s also a mitzvah. Now look at how much liquid you ended up with and match that 1:1 with your sweetener.  Honey has many medicinal properties and has long been used by Jews, and sugar works too. 

Combine these over high heat and bring to a full rolling boil. If you want to utilize the syrup mainly in beverages, boil hard for 1 minute. If you want to use it as a syrup to top a dessert (say a nice Pesadich sponge cake) boil for 3 minutes. If you want to make a jelly, boil for 5-7 minutes, less time makes a looser jelly, longer makes a firmer one. Allow it to cool, it will thicken as it does. Pour into a bottle or bottles. This makes a perfect gift to bring to a Seder or an impressive addition to your own offerings. In either case, be sure to wow them with all of your newly learned hyssop lore.

If you’ve kept your syrup thin (the 1 minute boil), it blends beautifully with liquids. Make a liberation mocktail by putting 2 tablespoons in a glass (or to taste), pour in seltzer and stir.  Or take it up a notch by adding a shot of vodka to that concoction. 

* It’s also delightfully refreshing in the summer.  And of course, make it anytime it will bring you joy! 

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