Olive Press

Last week, I was able to participate in the Jerusalem Center Olive Picking. Only the Fall Semester students are able to participate in the olive picking because the olives are only ripe during that time.

It was definitely a neat experience and made me appreciate the timing in which I came to Jerusalem.

Well, last week we picked the olives so we used the olive crusher today to begin the process in making olive oil. The olive crusher is a giant wheel with a log in the middle that is used to pivot the wheel around as to crush the olives. We each took turns walking the log around with the other students to crush the olives. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone participate in the event. Everyone had a great time trying to do it, even the faculties children came to show all of us how to do it. 

After we pressed the olives, the mixture was put into baskets and then placed onto the Screw Press or Lever and Weights Press to extract the Olive Oil from the olives. As the levers placed pressure on the baskets the oil would drizzle out into a little basin. The oil will then be sifted for pure olive oil.

One of the teachers compared the process of the olive oil to that of the atonement. When the olives are extremely ripe they are a reddish color, like that of blood. In ancient times olive oil symbolized light because it provided the oil to sustain the lamps so the people could see. Also, it is a symbol of life to the people in many forms. Nevertheless, as the Savior sacrificed his blood in the Garden it was like that of the process of making olive oil. Gethsemane means “Olive Process”, so it is only fitting that the Savior would perform a key part of the atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is here that the Savior’s blood sweats from every pore as part of the atonement. It is crucial that the Savior went through this process so that he might know each individual so that he could give light and life as he died the next day on the cross. The olive oil too is crushed so that its red oil may give light and life. 

I love the symbolism of the olive oil. I am so grateful that I was able to learn how to press the olives, but more importantly gain a new perspective on the atonement. I know that my Savior suffered for me individually in the Garden of Gethsemane and I know that he lives. He is my light and my life for through him I can have eternal life.