Tree: (Phoenix dactylifera)

Biblical Text: John 12:13

The Story: The First Palm Sunday

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, the people greet him with branches of date palms:

"So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel'."

Why the date palm? Significance of the tree:

Whenever we read in the Bible about palm trees or palm branches, it means date palms. This is one of the most important trees in Israel, one of the seven major crops mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8. But if you look for "date palm" in this text, you won't find it! The list of seven is: wheat, barley, grapevines, figs, pomegranates, olives, and-honey. Here, honey has nothing to do with bees, but refers to a delicious syrup made from ripe dates that was a popular sweetener in ancient Israel (and which you can taste next to a date palm at Neot Kedumim!).

The natural habitat of the date palm is the desert-and not just the desert, but places where there is water in the desert: oases. Jericho, which is actually a desert oasis, was famous for its date palms ("Jericho city of date palms," Deut. 34:3). So if you happen to be wandering in the desert, whether you're a Beduin today or an ancient Israelite, you always head for the date palms. In fact, almost anything you need to survive in the desert can be made from the date palm: a nutritious and portable dried food and honey from the fruit, strong rope from the fibers in the trunk, desert huts from the branches, and woven mats and baskets from the long fronds.

The date palm is one of the tallest trees that grows in Israel and stands out impressively on the horizon.

For all these reasons, the date palm became a very powerful symbol of victory in the ancient world. Almost anyone who conquered Jerusalem minted a coin with a picture of a date palm. The Greeks and Romans gave date palm fronds to the winners in athletic competitions.

So when Jesus came on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, it was natural for the people to greet him with branches of date palms, which was by then a well-known symbol of victory.

This is the event that is commemorated every year on Palm Sunday.