R. Hayyim Vital explained that there are thirty kinds of fruit trees. Ten [have their divine roots] in the World of Creation, corresponding to the ten sefirot of that world. Since their roots are far removed from tuma’ah 34Literally, “impurity.” Here, the meaning is “forces of evil,” represented by the kelippot (shells). and close to the purely divine World of Emanation, they have no shell, either within or without.35The cosmology assumed by the author consists of four worlds that are hierarchically arranged between the divine source, which is completely holy, and the forces of evil, which are completely impure.
The thirty species of fruit have their roots in the second, third, and fourth worlds, called Creation, Formation, and Making. They are classified according to the nature of their shells, which symbolize the type of protection required, due to the extent that evil is present in that world. The fruit, which correspond to the World of Creation, have no shells because their roots are so far from the force of evil that no protection is required.
They may be eaten as they are.36They may be eaten in their entirety. There is no shell or kernel to discard. They include the following: grapes, figs, apples, citrons, lemons, pears, quince, strawberries, sorbs, and carob.