Introduction
"Make a wish and blow out the candles." Every year on our birthday we have the opportunity to make a wish and hope that it will come true.
On Rosh Hashanah, which celebrates the birthday of the world, we also have the opportunity to make a wish - or several wishes! A variety of symbolic foods, called simanim, are eaten at the beginning of the Rosh Hashanah dinner. Each food is accompanied by a short wish for the new year which includes a pun based on the name or characteristics of the food. In the most well-known example, apples dipped in honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah. The accompanying wish is that we be blessed with a sweet new year.
Simanim in Jewish Text
Written by Shlomo Ganzfried in the mid-1800's, the Kitzur Shulhan Arukh is a summary of Joseph Karo's Shulhan Arukh. The work emphasizes the customs of the Jews of Hungary at that time.
The selection below discusses the foods that were customarily eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Notice the foods that were eaten on Rosh Hashanah and the foods that were avoided on the holiday.
At the evening meal it is customary to prepare symbolic dishes [as auspicious omens] for a good year: you dip the piece of challah of Hamotzi in honey, and after eating a kazayis of challah... You should say: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ ה׳ אֱלֹּקַי וֵאלֹּקֵי אֲבוֹתַי שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה “May it be Your will Almighty, my G-d, and G-d of my fathers” etc. shanah tovah umesukah [May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year]. After this you should dip a piece of apple in honey, say the berachah, Borei peri ha'eitz, and eat it. Then you say again Yehi ratzon etc. It is customary to eat the head of an animal and say Yehi ratzon shenih'yeh lerosh [May it be Your will] that we will be heads (leaders). You should try to obtain the head of a sheep, which will also serve as a remembrance of the ram of Isaac. You should also eat vegetables the names of which, in the language of your country, allude to good things... such as in our country, carrots (mehren) [mehren means to increase] and you should say Yehi ratzon sheyirbu zechuyoseinu [May it be Your will that our merits increase.] Some people have the custom to eat an elaborate fish course, symbolizing the blessing of fertility like the fish. The fish should not be cooked in vinegar because we must not eat sour or bitter foods on Rosh Hashanah. You should eat choice meats and all kinds of sweets. It is also customary not to eat nuts and almonds,... because the numerical value of אֶגוֹז egoz (nut) is 17, the same as חֵט cheit, which means sin. Also, nuts increase phlegm and mucus which interferes with praying. It is proper to study Torah during the meal. Some have the custom of studying the Mishnah, Maseches Rosh Hashanah.
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Family Discussion Questions
- Which foods are mentioned in the Kitzur Shulchan Arukh? What are some of the reasons for eating the foods?
- According to the text, which foods should be avoided on Rosh Hashanah? Why?
- What wishes (Yehi Ratzon prayer) go along with the foods?
- Which of the simanim, if any, do you eat on Rosh Hashanah?
- Write a Rosh Hashanah pun based on a food in the style of those listed above. The pun can be written in Hebrew or English and should reflect your wishes for the new year.
- What other holiday celebration includes symbolic foods? Why do you think that symbolic foods are an important part of two major holidays?