Customs

Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar (a cleaned-out ram’s horn), as prescribed in the Torah, following the prescription of the Hebrew Bible to “raise a noise” on Yom Teruah. Its rabbinical customs include attending synagogue services and reciting special liturgy about teshuva, as well as enjoying festive meals. Eating symbolic foods is now a tradition, such as apples dipped in honey, hoping to evoke a sweet new year.

• On both nights of Rosh HaShana, it is customary to bring to the table special foods, known as Simanim or symbols. These foods include apple and honey, pomegranate, and dates, among others. There is no need to eat them, and they are rather meant to serve as visual reminders for the things we want to pray for.
• There are several practices as to the place of the Simanim during the meal. They can be eaten after Kiddush as appetizers, during the meal, or after Birkat HaMazon as dessert.
• It is important to remember that the Simanim are only mental aides for our prayer and have no innate influence over our spiritual experience or the year’s outcome.
• For that reason, there are no foods which should not be eaten on Rosh HaShana. The practices which evolved to forbid sour, bitter, or dark-colored foods, are nothing more than a superstition. 
• Among the foods “forbidden” on Rosh HaShana are nuts. The reason for the prohibition is very prosaic:  nuts and almonds were used as snacks in the synagogue, and they caused people to cough and interrupt the prayer and the sound of the Shofar.  
• The Talmud states that if one sleeps on Rosh HaShana, his luck will sleep all year. That statement does not refer to napping or extending one’s sleep past sunrise, but rather to one who chooses to sleep all day, thus losing the spiritual experience and elevation that Rosh HaShana has to offer, and this will affect the nature of the forthcoming year. 

Festive Meal

• The festive meal of Rosh HaShana is mentioned in the book of Nehemiah (8:10). As on Shabbat and other holidays, it is what you consider to be festive. It could be fish, dairy, or vegetarian.

Tashlikh

• Another famous and beloved symbolic act of Rosh Hashana is Tashlikh, in which people go to a river or to any water source to shake their sins away. This is a relatively late custom, first mentioned by Polish rabbis of the 16^th century. The original custom was to stop by the river (probably the Wisla or Vistula), and recite the verse: ותשליך במצולות ים כל חטאתם – Please cast our sins into the abyss. With time, the practice expanded to more verses, personal prayers, readings from the Zohar, shaking the corners of one’s clothes, requiring fish in the water, and bringing breadcrumbs to feed the fish. 
• We can each follow our customs regarding Tashlikh, but we should keep in mind that it is a symbolic act, meant to prompt us to take the necessary steps to change our life, through repentance, reflection, and asking for forgiveness.  

Prayers and Blessings

קִידוּשׁ לְרֹאשׁ הַשָׁנָה

Hold a cup of wine and recite the Kiddush:

וּבְי֨וֹם שִׂמְחַתְכֶ֥ם וּֽבְמוֹעֲדֵיכֶם֘ וּבְרָאשֵׁ֣י חָדְשֵׁיכֶם֒ וּתְקַעְתֶּ֣ם בַּחֲצֹֽצְרֹ֗ת עַ֚ל עֹ֣לֹתֵיכֶ֔ם וְעַ֖ל זִבְחֵ֣י שַׁלְמֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָי֨וּ לָכֶ֤ם לְזִכָּרוֹן֙ לִפְנֵ֣י אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲנִ֖י יְיָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם:

On your festive days and on the new month, you shall sound the horn as you bring your offerings, so it will bring up your memory in front of God.

סָבְרֵי מָרָנָן

With your permission… 

בָּרוּךְ אָתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶּלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְרִי הַגֶּפֶן.

You are the source of blessings, God. We thank you for the fruit of the vine.

בָּרוּךְ אָתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶּלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בָּנוּ מִכָּל עָם וְרוֹמְמָנוּ מִכָּל לָשׁוֹן וְקִדְּשָׁנוּ בְמִצְוֹתָיו, וַתִּתֶּן לָנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּאַהֲבָה אֶת יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן הַזֶּה, אֶת יוֹם טוֹב מִקְרָא קוֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה, יוֹם תְּרוּעָה מִקְרָא קוֹדֶשׁ זֵכֶר לִיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם, וּדְבָרְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ אֱמֶת וְקַיָּם לָעַד, בָּרוּךְ אָתָּה יְיָ, מֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ, מְקַדֵּשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן.

You are the source of blessings, God. You have chosen to give us the Torah and elevate us spiritually, through learning and observance. You gave us with love this day, a day of Holy encounter with You, a day of blowing the Shofar and remembering our past. We thank You God for sanctifying us with this day.

סֵדֶר רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

After the Kiddush, prayers are recited over several foods, which can be eaten or just looked at. The names of these foods serve as a visual reminder for things we want to pray for. All of the symbolic meanings are based on the Hebrew or Aramaic languages, so you can be creative and add elements with symbolism in English (further explanation on pp. 3-4).  

תְּמָרִים: (בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ) יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁיִּתַּמּוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכֹל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ.

Dates (reflecting the verb “to end” in Hebrew): May there will be an end to all our troubles.

רוּבְּיָא – לוּבְּיָא: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁיִּרְבּוּ זְכֻיּוֹתֵינוּ וּתְלַבְּבֵנוּ.

Black-eyed Peas, or Anise, or Sesame seeds (reflecting the verb “to multiply” and the noun “heart” in Hebrew): May our merits multiply and may God will keep us close to His heart.

כַּרְתֵּי: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁיִּכָּרְתוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכֹל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ.

Leek or carrots (reflecting the verb “to cut off” in Hebrew): May all who plot evil and destruction be cut off.

סֶלֶק: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁיִּסְתַּלְּקוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכֹל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ.

Chards or Beets (reflecting the verb “to drive away” in Hebrew): May it be Your will that all our enemies and adversaries will be driven away.

קָרְעָא – דְּלַעַת: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁתִקְרַע רוֹעַ גְּזַר דִּינֵנוּ וְיִקָּרְאוּ לְפָנֶיךָ זְכֻיּוֹתֵינוּ.

Squash or pumpkin (reflecting the verbs “to read” and “to tear” in Hebrew): May God tear any negative verdicts against us, and may our merits be read in front of Him.

רִמּוֹן: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁנִּהְיֶה מְלֵאִים מִצְווֹת כַּרִמּוֹן.

Pomegranate: May we be full of Mitzvoth as pomegranates are full of seeds.

תַּפּוּחַ בִּדְבָשׁ: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁתִּתְחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה מֵרֵאשִׁית הַשָׁנָה עַד אַחֲרִית הַשָׁנָה.

Apple in Honey: May we have a good and sweet new year, from beginning to end.

רֹאשׁ: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלוֹקֵינוּ וֵאלוֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁנִּהְיֶה לְרֹאשׁ וְלֹא לְזָנָב.

Head: May we lead others to do good and not follow wrongdoings of others.

Rosh HaShana Seder and Simanim

Medjool dates, apple in honey, black-eyed peas, sesame seeds, spinach, squash, and pomegranate seeds may be on our menu this coming Monday, as we sit for the first meal of the Hebrew New Year.

As exciting and wonderful as the Rosh HaShana Seder, as some call it, is, there are some questions and dilemmas surrounding it:

• What is the exact order of the Simanim (signs)?
• Do we eat the Simanim before or after the meal?
• What if some people (read: the children) do not want to eat the spinach?
• Should vegans, who would not eat the head of a lamb or a fish, eat a head of garlic cloves instead?
• Which Simanim are included in the list?
• And most importantly: doesn’t the whole obsession with signs on Rosh HaShana border on paganism or superstitions?

Let us dwell on this last one. Because of the belief that eating sweet things will lead to a sweet year, there are those who avoid eating spicy, sour, bitter, or dark-colored foods. Some foods are excluded from one community’s list, but are mandatory for another (almonds, for example). How can we understand a practice which ties the events of the year with the foods eaten at the beginning of the year? And what if a person is bed-ridden and only had liquids and medicine on Rosh HaShana? Will his year be liquidy? Advily?

To answer all these questions, and to get a better understanding of the term Siman, which many translate as omen, let us turn to the source of the practice in the Talmud.[1] It appears after several perplexing suggestions for predicting the future. The first experiment informs a person whether he will survive or not until the following Rosh HaShana. In order to discover this terrifying piece of information, one should light a candle in a house where there is not even the slightest draft. If the candle flame is unwavering, he can rest assured, but if it flickers, he’d better call the funeral home.

The next one deals with one who wants to start a business and would like to know if he will be successful. He is advised to buy a rooster and feed it. If the rooster becomes fatter, the novice farmer is guaranteed stellar success in his financial endeavors. If, however, the rooster remains slim waisted, our budding entrepreneur should consider visiting the employment agency. There is one more suggestion which the Talmud rejects, and then we hear the following statement from the Talmudic sage Abayye (הוריות, יב:א): Now that you say that Siman has significance, one should try to see on Rosh HaShana squash, black-eyed peas, leeks, spinach, and dates.

I understand this Talmudic paragraph as a response to the widespread phenomenon of reliance on astrology and incantations in Babylonia. The rabbis wanted to teach people that the most accurate indicator of one’s future is his own behavior. Accordingly, in the first case we deal with someone who wants to know whether or not he will survive the year. He is told to light a candle in a draft-less home and make sure that the flame does not flicker. Oh, but it does. The terrified man scurries from wall to wall, from crevice to crevice, with plaster and a spatula but alas, for every hole he discovers, breeze comes in from ten others. If our man is somewhat wise he will stop after a while, realizing that the experiment was a sign for him. You can never cover all holes and you never know what incredible things will happen this coming year, for good or bad. At that point one starts directing his efforts during the year towards responsibility and awareness, visualizing gaps he must bridge in order to protect his flame, thus (hopefully) prolonging his life.

In the second experiment, one is required to fatten a rooster in order to predict whether he will have success in business. Once he brings the rooster home, he understands that in order to grow it fat he has to pay constant attention. He must protect the bird from diseases and predators, provide food, water and shelter, clean after it, and rise at dawn (or at midnight) with its call. He now also understands how to succeed in business. He must work hard, pay attention to details, and be willing to accept difficulties and small failures before emerging victorious.

In reaction to these two very practical thought experiments, Abayye says that now we know that associating our aspirations and hopes with a visual image or object is a helpful technique. He therefore says that one should see on Rosh HaShana certain species, so the image will help him focus his thoughts during prayers. In other words, it is not seeing or eating the honeyed apple or the dates which guarantees a sweet year, but the constant image of these fruits which drives a person in the prayers and throughout the year. It is very similar to soldiers carrying the pictures of their loved ones in a locket so they will be inspired to survive at all costs.

Conclusion

The practice of Simanim should be translated not as omens but rather as suggestive visual meditation. In the original phrasing of the practice the idea was to see, not eat, the fruits. One can therefore choose to eat or not eat any of the Simanim. The order is insignificant but it is best for all participants to follow one version to avoid conflicts. It is also a good idea to add some foods which could be easily associated with the spoken language, since the Simanim have meaning only in Hebrew.

If you are not eating meat you could have some candies (actually, even if you eat meat you could just look at the wrappers) which could have positive associations for English speakers such as: 5th Avenue, Skor, PayDay, Life Savers. Top it off with a Brach’s candy (for Bracha), and most importantly, make sure that everyone feels happy, relaxed, and welcomed at this Rosh HaShana Seder.

Shofar

• The halakha mentions a rule of not eating before blowing the shofar. This refers to the full meal and does not mean that one must fast until after the Shofar is blown. As in Shabbat, one does not have to wait for Kiddush to drink or to have snacks, fruits, or pastries.
• It is therefore recommended to have coffee and refreshments available for the congregants during the long morning prayers.
• In many Sephardic synagogues, there is a custom to auction the Mitzvoth, such as opening the Ark, carrying the Torah, etc. One must remember that there is no price for a mitzvah, and that opening the Ark does not make one automatically wealthy. The real mitzvah is donating money to support the community institutions, which include supporting the poor and needy, promoting education, preserving Jewish tradition and legacy etc. The donation to such causes is acknowledged by honoring the donor with the honor of opening the Ark, for example.
• It therefore stems that rabbis who offer to mention your name when opening the Ark on the High Holidays in return for a donation are misleading the public. They could ask for support and offer a prayer but are not allowed to insinuate that a blessing at the Ark guarantees income.
• There is a custom in some Sephardic communities to open the Ark at the end of each service, and to recite psalm 24 and a special prayer for sustenance. That prayer contains a reference to the allegedly holy name “dicarnosa”. This part of the prayer should be omitted since praying to holy names is a pagan concept, and since that “holy name” is a foreign implant meant to mock Judaism.
• Caution about foreign implants should also be practiced regarding the special prayers in the Sephardic tradition which are recited during the holidays before taking the Torah out. Those were composed by disciples of Shabbetai Tzevi and incorporated into the siddur by mistake, and they should not be recited. 

Shofar sounds

• The minimal number of sounds one must hear, according to Shulhan Arukh, is nine (or ten, depends how you count Shevarim and Teruah). The set is the basic one, TSRT, TST, TRT, or: Teqiah-Shevarim-Teruah-Teqiah, Teqiah-Shevarim-Teqiah, Teqiah-Teruah-Teqiah.
• There is therefore no need to feel stressed if one or more of the sounds of the shofar was missed, or if it sounded unclear. Also, if one is visiting bedridden people, or mothers with babies who could not make it to the synagogue, and has several visits to make, it suffices to use this set.
• When blowing shofar for someone who did not hear shofar yet, the blessings can be recited by either the shofar-blower or the listener, whether man or woman.
• It is better to recite less prayers but have time to reflect on them and take them to heart, then keeping at pace with the community. It is told about R. Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook that on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur he would only recite the Shema and the Amidah. We are uplifted and inspired by the familiar tunes and the communal singing, and we should also take time to study the prayers and find those which most resonate with us.

Shofar on Elul

The custom to blow the shofar starting at Rosh Hodesh Elul is first mentioned in Pirke deRabbi Eliezer:

On Rosh Hodesh Elul God told Moshe to ascend the mountain [the second time]. They blew Shofar throughout the camp to let people know that Moshe ascended the mountain, so they will not worship idols again… that is why they instituted to blow shofar each year on Rosh Hodesh Elul.

The author cites no sources to support this interpretation of the biblical narrative, and it is later refuted by Nahmanides. He also mentioned the custom as an established law without mentioning who established it. The custom became popular, however, as shown in several anthologies of customs from early medieval times, among them HaManhig. The book, originally called מנהיג בני העולם – the Guide of the People, was written in the 12^th century, by R. Avraham bar Nathan HaYarhi, who traveled in Spain, Germany, and France, and was familiar with the various customs. R. Avraham writes that the custom is based on the aforementioned midrash, and adds:

 The French do [blow the shofar] from Rosh Hodesh on.

He does not provide the reason for extending the custom from one day to forty, but in Sefer HaRoqeah, written by his contemporary R. Elazar of Worms, we find the one letter which made all the difference: בפרקי דרבי אליעזר נהגו לתקוע מראש חדש אלול וכן המנהג

In Pirke deRabbi Eliezer [it is written] that they had the custom to blow shofar from Rosh Hodesh Elul, and this is our custom.

The original text of the Midrash בראש חודש – on Rosh Hodesh, was somehow transformed throughout the ages into מראש חודש – from Rosh Hodesh.

Once the transition took place, new explanations were provided. I find most interesting the following one, by R. Haim Or Zarua of Vienna (1250-1310):

When the rabbis said that one should learn in order to do, they meant that one should learn well how to fulfil the mitzvah of sukkah or lulav… when one has to talk to the king he reviews his words one, two, and three times… even more so when he faces God… for that reason shofar is blown on Elul, so one will not make a mistake when blowing shofar on Rosh HaShana.

This explanation displays religious anxiety, not much different then OCD. One can practice for blowing shofar on Rosh HaShana privately, for a couple of hours, and there is no need to make it part of the regular ritual. The author also interprets the statement of the rabbis that one should learn in order to do, as saying that one must dedicate time and effort to know the details of the ritual, while it originally meant that the Torah is a guide to practical life and not the focus of abstract learning.  

In an anthology of custom by a disciple of Maharam of Rothenberg (1215-1203), a new reason is offered: 

This [the midrash] is why the Sages instituted blowing the shofar on Rosh Hodesh Elul each year and throughout the month, to warn the people to repent… and to confuse Satan, and so is the custom in Germany to blow shofar every morning and evening following prayers. 

At this stage, the custom is referred to as one established by the Sages, a term used to describe the rabbis of Mishnaic period. Elevating a halakha or a custom to higher level of authority is a common phenomenon in Halakhic literature, and one should carefully research sources to find out when and by whom they were indeed established. The author also suggests that by blowing shofar on dates other than Rosh HaShana, we confuse the Saran and he does not know when to press charges against us. This is a distortion of a Talmudic statement which spoke of the shofar of Rosh Hashana itself. The meaning of the Talmudic passage is that the shofar prompts people to repent, and thus undermines the arguments of the divine prosecutor against us. In medieval Germany, however, Satan became an independent entity, and Jews must devise tactics to fail him. The argument that Satan is confused by shofar of Elul is intriguing and amusing, and one should ask how long it takes Satan to figure out our schedule. Wouldn’t he know by now that he should count 30 days from the first Shofar blowing to get to Rosh HaSHana?  

The custom was eventually legislated into binding Halakha by Rabbenu Yaakov in Tur Orah Haim, and was later adopted by many Sephardic communities. 

Yom Kippur Recipes

See traditional Moroccan Recipes for Rosh HaShana here.