Seven Species

Deuteronomy 8:7	For G-d your G-d will bring you to a good land.  A land of streams, springs, and fountains, both in the valleys and in the hills.	כִּי ה’ אֱל-יךָ מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל־אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה אֶרֶץ נַחֲלֵי מָיִם עֲיָנֹת וּתְהֹמֹת יֹצְאִים בַּבִּקְעָה וּבָהָר׃
8:8	A land of wheat and barley, vine, fig, and pomegranate, a land of olives, oil and honey (dates).	אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן אֶרֶץ־זֵית שֶׁמֶן וּדְבָשׁ׃

Ingredients per complete project as shown:

• 2 graham crackers
• 7 small pretzel sticks
• 1 blue sour straw
• 4-6 green sour straws
• red (pomegranate color) jelly beans
• brown, green, or reddish (fig color) jelly beans
• green or brown (olive color) jelly beans
• 1 purple (grape color) jelly bean
• 1 honey color jelly bean
• 1 large marshmallow

Make land:  place graham cracker sheets side by side.

Add water:  cut blue sour straw in half lengthwise.  Place on graham cracker sheets to make a stream

Barley and wheat:  Snap three of the pretzel sticks in half.  Make two piles of pretzel sticks with three in each pile.

Grapes and honey:  Take purple or honey colored jelly bean, cut off one tip.  Make shallow indentations around the outside of the rest of the jelly bean and squeeze into the shape of a bunch of grapes.

Pomegranate, Fig, and Olive trees: 

1. Cut appropriately colored jelly beans into the number of pieces desired.  I suggest cutting pomegranate jelly beans in half, figs in quarters, and olives in eighths.
2. Cut a length of green sour straw approximately the height of the tree you want, including branches.  Do not make the tree too tall or it will be top-heavy and fall over.
3. Snip around ridges of sour straw to form branches.
4. Cut two more lengths of green sour straw.  If you want a thick, multi-branched tree cut these 1/8” shorter than the first length.  If you want only 7 or 8 branches cut the second length to be the height of the base of the tree.  Snip each of these pieces in half along the ridges.  If adding branches snip one end of each piece to form branches.  Wrap both pieces around the base of the first piece such that the bottoms are even.  Press together.
5. Press the sticky side of the appropriately colored jelly bean onto the tip of each branch.  You may add jelly beans in mid-branch, too, if you desire.
6. Press the bottom of the tree onto graham cracker.  If the bottom is not flat, snip a bit from the bottom and try again.

Date palm:  This is the only very technical tree.  I suggest you follow the measurements exactly or the tree will topple over.

1. Cut a 5/8” piece of a green sour straw.
2. Put the narrow end of scissors in one end and twist to open the hole sufficiently to insert a pretzel stick.
3. Insert the pretzel stick approximately 1/4” deep.
4. Snip along the ridges ¼” down from the top all around.
5. Cut two 1/2” pieces of green sour straw.  Cut each one open along one ridge so they can be opened flat.  Snip each piece 1/4” down along each ridge.  Wrap the two pieces around the sour straw already attached to the pretzel stick to form a second layer, making the bottom edges meet. 
6. Squeeze the sour straws firmly onto the pretzel stick, taking care not to break the pretzel.  Separate the snipped sections to form a palm head. 
7. Snip off one of the widest sections of a marshmallow to form a wide base.  Stretch the marshmallow a bit to make the base wider.  Pierce the marshmallow from the new top down all the way through to form a place for the pretzel stick to enter.
8. Insert the pretzel stick through the hole, making the bottom of the pretzel pass approximately ¾” past the cut end of the marshmallow.  Squeeze marshmallow around pretzel.
9. Firmly press the cut side of the marshmallow onto a graham cracker.