While the apple may have not been the fruit in the Garden of Eden, given its impact and societal role, it still holds a place within our Eden collection. The Hebrew word for apple is tapuach, and does not appear in this tale, and instead we read the word p’ri meaning fruit. Thus the name Peri for our apple petite mats is a tongue-in-cheek reference to this precise mis-use and wrongful inclusion of apples within the Eden parable. (Note: The Talmud shares that the fruit in question would likely be one of Seven Species of Eden - fig, date, pomegranate, olive, grape, wheat, or barley, and most biblical scholars believe it to have been a pomegranate.)
However, apples have become a part of Jewish religious traditions and culture and are found referenced in later biblical texts, such as in Solomon's Song of Songs, where he shares that "As the apple is rare and among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved -- Israel -- amongst the maidens (nations) of the world."
The subtle infinity pattern contained within the apple is a reference to the concept of “Ein Sof”, or the endless oneness of the Divine, thought to be the emanator, or predecessor to the ten sephirot of the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life.
