Happy Jewish New Year!
Jewish or not, I’m of the belief that it’s important to be in the know about the holidays others celebrate so, here’s a quick 411 on Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) is packed with mitzvahs, special foods & traditions. It’s one of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar & actually means “Head of the Year.” Just like the head controls the body, our actions on Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year.
Why 5779? Well, according to tradition, the Hebrew calendar started at the time of Creation, placed at 3761 BC. The current (2018/2019) Hebrew year is 5779.
For all of the nitty gritty Rosh Hashanah details, go to the Chabad.org website, it’s the best & you’ll walk away an RS expert.
As for me, I’ll focus on the very important festive meals because what would a Jewish holiday be without the food?
Every night & day of the holiday like all other holiday meals, we begin by reciting kiddush over wine & then say the blessing over bread. But there are some important differences:
a. The bread:
Traditionally baked into round challah loaves & often sprinkled with raisins, the bread is dipped into honey instead of salt, expressing our wish for a sweet year. We do this on Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat Shuvah (the Shabbat before Yom Kippur), in the pre-Yom Kippur meal & during Sukkot.
b. The sweet theme:
It’s traditional to begin the meal on the first night with slices of apple dipped in honey. Before eating the apple, we make the ha’eitz blessing & then say, “May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.”
c. Many people eat parts of the head of a fish or a ram, expressing the wish that “we be a head and not a tail.”
When my great grandma Liza was alive, she would make a killer gefilte fish with head & all! We no longer do the whole fish but happy to say that Baba Alla continues the tradition with the fish.
d. In many communities, there are additional traditional foods eaten, each symbolizing a wish for the coming year.
Many eat pomegranates, giving voice to a wish that “our merits be many like the [seeds of the] pomegranate.” Another common food is tzimmes, a sweet carrot-based dish eaten because of its Yiddish name, merren, which means both “carrot” & “increase,” symbolizing a wish for a year of abundance.
e. It is tradition to avoid nuts (sorry this doesn’t apply to family members lol) as well as vinegar-based, sharp foods, most notably the horseradish traditionally eaten with gefilte fish. This is so that we don’t have a bitter year.
f. On the second night of the holiday, we do not eat the apples, fish heads, pomegranates, etc. However, before we break bread (& dip it in honey), we eat a “new fruit,” something we have not tasted since the last time it was in season.
Finally, we listen to the shofar:
The most important things to do on Rosh Hashanah is to hear the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn. We do this on both mornings of the holiday, most often at synagogue services. It’s quite a beautiful sight & sound & if you’re interested in experiencing it for yourself, chances are there’s a Chabad near you hosting High Holiday services. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, check out Chabad of Fairmount…no membership required!
Thank you Chabad.org for all of the wonderful info, you’ve saved my Jewish butt more times than I can count & to all of you, I wish you Shanah Tovah, a sweet new year & a happy Rosh Hashanah!
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