The Mother of Wheat

Emmer, also known as the ‘mother of wheat’ (eim hakhitta, in Hebrew, Triticum dicocoides, in Latin), from which all cultivated wheat varieties developed, is considered by many to be nothing less than the basis for agriculture.  Emmer originated in the Middle East and was rediscovered in Israel at Rosh Pinnah by Aaron Aaronson in 1906. 

The wild spikes given to Neot Kedumim

Scholars disagree about the particular species of wheat used in Egypt at the time of Joseph. It seems unlikely that Joseph could accumulate food for “seven years” which was composed of the poor grain yield that characterizes eim hakhitta.  Wheat was probably the first cereal to be domesticated, and was widely cultivated in the ancient world.  Bread—the staff of life—is, of course, made from wheat.  In fact, when Jews recite the blessing over the bread before beginning a meal, by so doing they have blessed the entire meal, regardless of what is being eaten. 

Eim hakhitta's association with Neot Kedumim began with Nogah’s father, Dr. Ephraim Hareuveni.  Approximately 20 years after Aaronson’s discovery in the Gallil, Hareuveni discovered emmer in the outskirts of Jerusalem.  As important a discovery as this was, it required further investigation.  That investigation is part of the colorful history of Neot Kedumim.

Nogah’s father had many friends among the Kurds living in Jerusalem (remember, this was pre-state Israel, around the 1920’s-‘30’s).  They came from Northwest Iraq (near Mosul), where they originally worked as farmers and now worked as porters because of their tremendous physical strength. Dr. Hareuveni’s area of expertise was plants of the Bible.  Since Northwestern Iraq has biblical significance—Nineveh is a city there—he naturally wanted to learn about the native plants in that area.  He wondered whether eim hakhitta was known to these farmer/porters from Mosul.  They claimed that they knew this wheat very well.  But Nogah’s father wasn’t convinced.  After all, different varieties of wheat are extremely similar in appearance.  Nogah’s father brought a large variety of different strains of wheat and barley to show them.  Yet, no matter how many times he tried, he could not confuse them.  The Kurds always were able to pick out eim hakhitta from among the different varieties.  They called this wheat “jadassah”, explaining that it was special in that it grows even during drought years.

Dr. Hareuveni brought the news back to his colleagues at Hebrew University’s Agricultural School, then located in Rehovot, who were quite excited by the news.  The historical importance of this wild wheat has kept it at the forefront of the scientific world.  A molecular map of eim hakhitta recently has been constructed to characterize the marker-related anatomy of the plant’s genome.  In 2005, after trying to propagate it themselves with some success, the Botanical Garden of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem gave Neot Kedumim several spikes of eim hakhitta.  Those spikes contained a total of approximately 20 kernels.

Neot Kedumim carefully planted and cared for the kernels in its nursery, and now the 20 kernels have increased to 50 kernels.  These, in turn were planted in the nursery before the rainy season, and it is hoped that in a few years, after more and more kernels are hopefully germinated, we will be able to dedicate a special area near the 7 Species area of Neot Kedumim specifically to eim hakhitta—the Mother of Wheat.