Agricultural Information:

Family: Amaranthaceae
Scientific name: Beta vulgaris

The beet is a vegetable typically grown as annual for its edible root native to Europe and the Mediterranean. However, it is technically a biennial plant producing seeds in its second year. The leaves of the beet plant are also edible and high in antioxidants.

Historical Information:

Beets are mentioned in the Talmud as being one of the food people would eat cooked on Pesach.

In the Rosh Hashanah seder, beet greens (“selek” in Hebrew and “silka” in Aramaic) are eaten as a symbolic hope that all enemies will be removed in the new year. The connection comes from wordplay as we request “she-yistalku oyveinu, “that our enemies disappear.” Beet greens are traditionally eaten here because, in the Mediterranean region, the leafy tops were cultivated and consumed long before the root was eaten for anything other than medicinal purposes.

Halachic Information:

Kilei zera’im & kilei hakerem (interplanting mixed species – annuals & grapevine): Beets are classified as vegetables, so they should not be planted near other edible annuals or grapevines.

Information about plants as they relate to torah and mitzvot has been generously provided by Mercaz Torah VeHa’aretz Institute.