Symbolic Foods & Their Rituals
Apples and Honey
Apples represent sweetness in the year ahead. A slice of apple is dipped in honey; the blessing for fruit is recited:
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo-haynu melech Ha-olam,
Borai p’ree ha’aitz.
Blessed are you L-rd, our G-d ruler of the world, Creator of the fruit of the tree.
Take a bite and recite the following brief prayer:
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שתחדש עלינו שנה טובה ומתוקה
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that You renew for us a good and sweet year.”
Dates
Dates represent the end of hatred and the triumph of friendship and community.
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיתמו שונאינו
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that our enemies be consumed.”
Squash, Gourd or Pumpkin
These are a reminder to count our blessings.
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיקרע גזר דיננו ויקראו לפניך זכויותינו
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that a bad decree be torn asunder; and our merits be proclaimed before You.”
Leek or Cabbage
Leeks, chives, and scallions represent the hope that our enemies will be “cut off.” (Again, modern seders often rephrase this as a wish for friendship.)
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיכרתו שונאינו
"May it be your will, Hashem, our G-d that our enemies be decimated.
Beets
Beets represent the defeat of our enemies. (A more modern interpretation: They represent freedom from the forces that constrain us.)
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיסתלקו שונאינו
"May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that our adversaries be removed."
Carrots
Carrots represent positive judgments from G-d.
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שירבו זכויותינו
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that our merits increase.”
Pomegranates
Traditionally, the fruit has 613 seeds, representing the 613 commandments of the Torah:
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שנרבה זכויות כרמון
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that our merits be as plentiful as the seeds of a pomegranate.”
Fish
Fish are considered a symbol of fertility and blessing:
יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שנפרה ונרבה כדגים
May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.
Head of A Sheep/Fish
The head of sheep (or fish) represents our wish to be leaders, rather than followers, in the year ahead.
Some have a custom to have the head of a sheep or a fish on the table and to say:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that we be as the head and not as the tail.”
Is a Sheep’s Head too creepy? Can’t find a fish head? Try these creative substitutes:
- Use a HEAD OF LETTUCE!
- Get artistic. Buy some whitefish salad and fashion it into a fish head – you know, like at your Bar Mitzvah buffet..
- There are also kosher fish-shaped crackers (careful they are milchig) – pass them around… and everyone bites off the heads!
Nuts
On Rosh Hashanah, nuts are not eaten since the numeric value of the word for nut, egoz, is equivalent to the nume-ric value for the word for sin, chet.
Round Challah Loaves
Circular challahs represent unending cycle of life and the prayer that another year-round will be granted. From another view, the round breads look like a royal crown, a reminder of the coronation of G-d as Ruler on Rosh Hashanah.