[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem – I do not know why, but as midnight approaches, I get ravenously hungry. Perhaps it is because of all the recipes I have reviewed for the Rosh Hashana New Year holiday. Apples and honey are known for promoting a sweet year, but it is amazing how many other fruits and vegetables play a role in the New Year celebration. Much is due to family traditions, customs and puns based on Yiddish, Hebrew and English words. I am looking forward to going to friends for the holiday feasts, especially since they originally came from all over the world to join the melting pot of Israel. That guarantees that I will experience interesting and different customs, as well as delicious dishes.

Israel is known as the Land of Milk and Honey. But the honey referred to is the sweet, dripping sap of palm dates drying on the vine. Most honey used in Rosh Hashana recipes is made from bees. Seven species are inherent to the land of Israel, according to the Bible: Dates, figs, pomegranates, grapes, olives, wheat and barley. For the holidays, Israelis like to incorporate these seven species in their meals, reciting special blessings over them. Some traditions observed are dipping challah and apple slices into honey, saying a prayer asking G-d for a sweet year. Apples are a Kabbalistic symbol of Paradise. During the regular year, challah is an oval braided loaf of bread. For Rosh Hashana, the loaves are round to symbolize the continuity of creation. On the second night of the holiday, a new fruit is eaten so that we may appreciate the fruits of the earth and being alive to enjoy them. Therefore we say the “shehechiyanu blessing,” which thanks G-d for keeping us alive and bringing us to this season.

One custom is having a fish head or lamb head on the table to symbolize the head of the year since Rosh Hashana literally means “head of the year” in Hebrew. Fish is a symbol of fertility and abundance. Unfortunately, the fish or lamb head is an unappetizing sight. Some friends here in Israel use gummy bear candy fish in lieu of real fish.

Pomegranates supposedly have 613 seeds, equalling the number of mitzvot (commandments) given to Jews. I actually know people who have counted the seeds of a pomegranate, and they all come up with 613. The blessing for pomegranates is a wish that our good deeds will be as plentiful as the seeds of a pomegranate. “Plentiful” is a common theme during Rosh Hashana. There are blessings for more children, more wealth, more charity, more good deeds, more Torah knowledge. One symbol that has the connotation of “more” is the word “merren,” carrots in Yiddish. Many people include carrot dishes with sliced carrots in small rounds that look like coins and then say a blessing for prosperity.

In addition to things to eat, there are foods not to eat. In order to have a sweet year, anything bitter, tart or sour is avoided by some people. Gematria is the numeric value of Hebrew letters. The gematria for the Hebrew word for “nut” is “egoz.” Although some claim it is the same as that of the word for “sin” or “chet,” it is a different gematria. Because it is close, in order to avoid even a hint of sin, many homes have the custom of not eating nuts during the holiday.

Part of the fun involved in eating symbolic foods is putting together puns about them. Most puns in Israel are in Hebrew, but some are in Yiddish. However, I speak only English so I tend to hang around with people from English-speaking countries. For them, many puns are in English. For example, a common food to eat is the raisin to commit to “raisin' your expectations for the new year”, or lettuce for “Lettuce find happiness in the new year”, or beets for “We will beet any obstacles that come our way.” Or peas in the hope of increased “peace”.

My favorite dish during the holiday is honey cake. When my mother was a child, her parents owned a bakery. Although my grandfather and his brothers were among generations of bakers, it was my grandmother who made the honey cake for Rosh Hashana. Unfortunately, I never seem to inherit the talents of my relatives. My father, A”H, was a mathematician, and I cannot add or subtract. It is hard to believe I made it through calculus. About the only thing I ever bake is “dump cake.” All I have to do is “dump” the ingredients in a cake pan and put it in the oven. No measuring or mixing, just dumping.

Wishing everyone a sweet, safe, prosperous, and peaceful new year. May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.

L'hitraot. Shachar