symbolic foods for rosh Hashanah
and other traditions associated with the day.
As we cycle around the year, each holiday we come to is an opportunity for personal transformation.
When we sharpen our focus and bring our awareness to be present in the moment, not only in mind but also in body and spirit, we have the extraordinary power to transform ideas into physical reality. Thus, symbols can become the very things they symbolize. The veil that separates thought from physical manifestation is permeable to us when we’re in the correct frame of mind—when we approach the veil with humility and awe.
Here’s how it works. As an example, let’s take one of the most well-known symbols of Rosh Hashanah, the pomegranate. If, when we’re munching on pomegranate seeds we’re also watching tv, the only thing that happens is that we’ve enjoyed a healthy snack. But, if we cut into the pomegranate and think about how the seeds of this fruit represent all the mitzvot of the Torah, if we slowly savor the sweet-tart taste thinking about how the pomegranate symbolizes fruitfulness and how we want to increase the fruitfulness in our lives, if we’re mindfully planting those seeds within ourselves, we’re imbuing those seeds with the power to germinate in our lives. Then, all we need to do is to nurture the shoot that grows and allow it to blossom into a fruitful year.
Rosh Hashanah means, “Head of the Year.” It’s the Jewish New Year, and as the first Holy Day of the year, it sets the pace for the entire year’s journey. As we advance through the landmark days, each one builds upon the theme of the one before, so that by the next Rosh Hashanah we are ready to move up to another rung on the helix of our lives.
In my family we’ve always had apples and honey for a sweet new year and a round challah to represent wholeness and the cycle of nature and time. What I’ve since learned is that there’s a whole list of foods that are each an omen—a wish/prayer—for the new year. These are all based on either a visual representation or a word-play on the name.
The sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is meant to awaken us from our slumber, our complacency, because this is the Day of Judgement. Now, when the gates of repentance are open at their widest, is the time we need to be asking for mercy. The goal of these omens is to act as a reminder of what we should want, as well as what we need.
Rosh Hashanah Customs
Jump to Blessings to be said over symbolic foods
We eat a new fruit on the second evening of the holiday.
By “a new fruit,” we mean one that we haven’t yet tasted this season, or in at least 30 days. This allows us to say the Shehecheyanu prayer, which we say for new experiences and for the first day of a multi-day holiday (see below). If you can find a new fruit that you’ve never tasted before, that’s even better! The point is to make sure that the second day of Rosh Hashana (which seems redundant because…well…it is the second day) has something new about it. Some people will make sure they are wearing new clothing to give that same element of novelty to the second day.
Greetings and Salutations.
On Rosh Hashanah, God inscribes our names in the book of life, for good or for not so good. On Yom Kippur, it is sealed. In the ten days between, we do our best to make amends for any wrongs we have done to another person, and we pray for forgiveness for any wrongs we’ve done against God.
On the first night of Rosh Hashanah we greet each other by saying, “Leshana tovah tikatev v’tichatem” (for a male) or, “Leshana tovah tikatevee v’tichatemee” (for a female). If that’s too much of a mouthful, go with the English: “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” Tradition holds that the truly righteous are inscribed and sealed on that first night. After that night, it’s bad form to say this, as you’re insinuating that the person is not completely righteous (even if you know they fall short of perfection.) After the first night we say, “G’mar chatimah tovah” or, “a good inscription and sealing.”
Set a precedent for the new year.
As above so below, what goes around comes around, ebrah k'dabri (also pronounced abracadabra) or, I will create as I speak. These magic words are a means of your self speaking to your self, your inner soul, to help bring about the reality you long for.
Following that theme…A saying from the Jerusalem Talmud goes like this: "If one sleeps at the year's beginning (Rosh Hashanah), his good fortune likewise sleeps."
The way you behave on Rosh Hashanah is a portent for how your year will be. Take a nap in the afternoon, and you’ll have a sleepy, unproductive year. Spend the day in prayer, study, and contemplation, and you will invite good fortune to smile at you in the coming days.
Tashlich
On the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, it’s customary to perform tashlich. We go to a living body of water, such as the ocean, a bay, a river, or a stream, and toss crumbs of bread into the water to physically represent our tossing away our sins. It’s a short and moving service, and kind of fun. Congregations often go as a group, or one can go alone or with a few companions. Learn more about this tradition, here.
MAGIC AND TRANSFORMATION
Symbolic Foods of Rosh Hashanah
Fruitfulness and Wisdom
The pomegranate is said to have 613 seeds, like the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.
The “Eye” of God
As the eyes of a fish are always open, so does God look upon us always, with mercy.
Vegetarian Sub for Fish Head
May we use our brains (which this vegetable resembles) and be as the head.
Happiness
The word for gourd or squash is K’ra, which means both to announce and to tear up. We ask that our merits be announced to God, and that any evil decree will be ripped up.
And for the Second Night…
shehecheyanu
Just like we did for the first night.
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.
Baruch Atah, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.
The only tree on which the fruit appears before the leaves. Jews are willing to live as Jews, even when we feel unprotected.
Peace; Endings
May our grievances with our enemies end.
Eyes Always Open
Black eyed peas are a vegetarian substitute for fish.
Prosperity, Blessings
Golden Coins? I serve them
sweet and spicy!
To Cut Off
May all that works against us be cut off from us.
Pri Chadash/ A New Fruit
May we be blessed with the joy of new, sweet experiences in the coming year.
blessings for the symbolic foods
You can say each of these blessings throughout the meal, as the particular food is served, or say them all at once at the beginning of the meal.
We begin with Lighting Yom Tov candles and making kiddush over the wine and the bread, as is our tradition for all Holy Days. Then we move on to the special blessings for our symbolic Rosh Hashanah foods.
All the blessings begin this way
Yehi Ratzon Milfanecha, Adonai Eloheinu Velohay Avotainu …
May it be your will, Adonai our God, and God of our ancestors ….
And for each one, we reply …
… Kain Ye’hee Ratzon
challah in honey:
On most nights we dip our bread in salt. During this season, we dip in honey.
… sheh’tchadaish aleinu shanah tovah oom’tookah
… that you renew us for a good year and a sweet year.
Except for this one:
apple in honey:
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha’Olam, boray p’ri ha-aytz
Baruch Atah Adonai, Sovereign of the universe, who brings forth fruit from the earth.
dates:
… she’yitamu son’ainu
… that our enemies be consumed.
pomegranate:
… she’nirbeh ze’chu’yos krimon
… may our lives be filled with mitzvot, like the seeds of a pomegranate.
fenugreek, carrots, string beans:
… she’yir’bu ze’chuyotainu
… that our merits increase.
leek and cabbage:
… she’yikar’su son’ainu
… that our enemies be decimated.
beets:
… she’yistalchu oy’veinu
… that our adversaries be removed.
gourd/squash:
… she’yikora g’zar de’nainu v’yikaru l’fanecha zeichu’yoseinu
… that the decree of our sentence be torn up, and may our merits increase.
fish (or veg sub):
… she’nif’reh v’nir’beh ki’dagim
… that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.
fish head (or veg sub):
… she’ni’hiyeh l’rosh v’lo l’zanav
… that we be as the head, and not the tail!
Wishing you a good, and a sweet, new year
from The Twisted Challah and Dvorah Q
Love and Strength
Although I like to change up my menu for the first night of Rosh Hashanah from year to year, there are some dishes that always find their way to the table. I like the balance of anticipation—the anticipation of favorite dishes about to be served, and the anticipation of something new about to be served. One way or another, I manage to incorporate all these symbolic foods.
Find your own creative ways to incorporate these foods into your Rosh Hashanah dinner, or check out my Rosh Hashanah Menu ( which links to the recipes) to see how I’ve used them. You can follow my lead exactly, or use my ideas as a springboard to inspire your own.
Life, Infinity, Creation
A new cycle begins as the old year closes.
Side Note: It’s said that this is the phrase used by God, in the creation of the universe.
Sweetness
The bee can sting; it can also make honey. May we enjoy the sweetness without the sting in the new year.
An Obstacle-Free Path
May our enemies depart.
May we be as the Head,
not the Tail
I’d rather be a hammer than a nail…
May our Merits Increase
Fenugreek/Yirbo
Prosperity, Good Health
Like fenugreek, the word for string beans sounds like Yirbo, which means to increase. Green is a prosperity color as well as a color for physical healing.