SORGHUM

SORGHUM , the summer plant Sorghum cernicum, called in Arabic durra or do?'n. The Arabs of Israel sow it extensively, both for fodder and for flour, from which they make pittah ("flat bread"). It is thought to have been introduced into Ere? Israel only during the time of the Second Temple. According to Pliny (Natural History 18:55), a plant resembling Millium ("*millet"), which has large kernels, was brought to Rome from India during his time, and the reference seems to be to sorghum. It is possible that the plant reached Babylon at an earlier date, for it would appear to be identical with the do?an from which Ezekiel made the mixed bread he ate for a period of 390 days (Ezek. 4:9). Some think that Panicum ("millet") is meant here, but millet is the peragim of the Mishnah. In rabbinic literature do?an is mentioned with *rice and peragim as a summer crop (Shev. 2:7, et al.) from which bread was sometimes made, but since these are not included in the *five species of grain they are not treated as bread with respect to the laws of *?allah, blessings, and leaven on Passover (?al. 1:4; Ber. 37a). Bread made of sorghum was regarded as less tasty than that made from rice (Er. 81a). Today the red-seeded sorghum brought from California is cultivated by Jews in Israel. Some species of sorghum grow wild there.

bibliography:

Loew, Flora, 1 (1926), 738–46; H.N. and A.L. Moldenke, Plants of the Bible (1952), index; J. Feliks, Olam ha-?ome'a? ha-Mikra'i (1968²), 154–5.

[Jehuda Feliks]