Whistling in the dark » ראש השנה

Rosh Hashanah for Vegetarians

Yaffa — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:15:46 +0000

Fishheads by Thomas and Bethany

It is custom for the Jewish New Year to have a fish head at the table so that the nation and you may be at the lead for the following year not the tail-end of things.

As a vegetarian I had two thoughts on how to fulfill this: cutting off the heads of gummy fish and having a bowl of them at the table or getting our niece and nephew to draw fish heads – these were them and they made a lovely addition to our table.

Other traditional food items at our table: slices of apple with honey for a sweet year (and two apples cakes), pomegranate seeds for prosperity and numerous good deeds (and pomegranate ice cream), round honey challah symbolizing the yearly cycle (other challah shapes and symbols from last year).

We wanted to do pumpkin pancakes for the Sephardic custom of eating pumpkins because the Hebrew word for gourd is similar sounding to the word call out and you want your good deeds to be called out. There was no pumpkin to be found so we made butternut squash pancakes instead – they came out quite nice.

Spinach and other greens in the salad symbolize a green year (spinach or beets are also connected to the Hebrew word for to remove so it can symbolize having your enemies removed – or anything that holds you back.)

Additional foods on the menu: sweet potato and red pepper kugel, broccoli and spinach quiche, round pizza (for fussy eaters), linguine with garlic lemon and thyme, moonblush tomato and goat cheese salad (includes spinach and rocket salad).

No dates or carrots (though apparently squash can qualify for carrots), but a bountiful meal as a harbinger for a wonderful year.

Wishing you and your loved ones a great Rosh Hashanah and I can’t say it better than Neil Gaiman, “May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”

Baking Challah and Challah Shapes for Rosh Hashana

Yaffa — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:35:57 +0000

Buy on Amazon »

I am baking challahs for the first time for the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashana which starts tonight. I am using a great book, The Secret of Challah by Shira Wiener and Ayelet Yifrach.

Many of of the recipes are for baking multiple challot (plural of challah) so some of them call for 2 kilos of flour! I found a nice recipe calling for 1 kilo of flour that should make 10 small rolls. It doesn’t have any sugar in it, instead calling for 2/3 cups of honey. I am waiting for the dough to rise and I hope it will come out ok – I forgot to put the honey in with the liquids at the beginning and only added it after the flour bit :-)

At the end of a chapter on the art of braiding challahs, is a list of various customs for assorted shapes for holidays. The Rosh Hashana list is also on their website (which also has some of the recipes):

* Rosh Hashana round challah: It has become the widespread custom in many communities to bake round challahs in honor of Rosh Hashanah. The round shape symbolizes the yearly cycle and the “wheel of time,” the ascents and descents that a person experiences during his life. It also symbolizes perfection and infinity, expressing our hope for a perfect year, free of troubles and tribulations, a year of unlimited blessings.

* The traditionaly round challah of Rosh Hashanah is sometimes adorned with a “crown” made of a small braided ring of dough, commemorating the prayers of Rosh Hashanah proclaiming G-d King over the universe.

* Eastern European Jews used to bake challah in the shape of a ladder to symbolize that on Rosh Hashanah G-d decides “Who will be humbled and who will be elevated,” as is stated in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah.

* In some European communities, the custom was to bake round challah reminiscent of a bird peeking out of a nest (known as “foigel challah,” bird challah, in Yiddish). The reason for the custom: Just as G-d shows mercy to birds, so should He have mercy on us.

* Lithuanian Jews had the custom to bake challah shaped like outstretched palms of the hand. The shape was meant to symbolize the hands of the kohens raised to bless the people during the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim).

* The Jews of North Africa used to bake challah in the shape of a fish or a “chamsah,” a five-fingered hand, symbolizing good luck.

I will try making a few of the shapes…pictures to follow if I am not ashamed of the results. Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy, joyous year filled with love and laughter.

Challah dough

Freshly baked challah out of the oven

Symbolic Foods Eaten During Rosh Hashana

Yaffa — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 14:57:48 +0000

Two links to lists of symbolics foods for Rosh Hashana beyond apples in honey.

Link 1 from AISH

Link 2 from Project Genesis