B"H

Monday, Elul 11, 5780 / August 31, 2020

Every holiday, in addition to the special prayers and the special Torah readings which pertain to that holiday, there are also the foods we eat which tell the story of that holiday. 

Rosh Hashana, which begins Friday night, September 18th, is no different.  Rosh Hashana we eat certain foods which express our desire and wish that G-d grant us a happy, healthy and sweet New Year. There are various customs as to what foods we eat on Rosh Hashana.  But they all have one thing in common; the names of these foods or their taste represent sweetness and blessings.

For example, we express our wish that G-d grant us a sweet year, by dipping the challah (bread) in honey.  We also dip a sweet apple in honey on the first night of Rosh Hashana and recite the following: "May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year!"

Dipping the challah and apple in honey is not only a request, but also an expression of confidence that G-d will grant us a sweet year.

Many eat pomegranates to symbolize that our merits in the eyes of G-d should be as numerous as the seeds in the pomegranate and thus merit His blessings for the New Year.

There is a custom to have the head of a sheep or fish.  This symbolizes our request that we should always be a head - to go forward and not be left behind or go backwards.  The following prayer is recited in connection with this custom; "May it be Your will that we be a head and not a tail!"

As much as the holiday foods are important, the prayers are also very very important. This is why the holiday prayers are longer and more intense. Our prayers do count! This year is an unusual year, as many will not have a synagogue to go to. Whether attending synagogue or praying at home, we should concentrate this year even more on the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur prayers. 

We should pray for a happy, healthy and prosperous year. We should pray for peace everywhere, especially for our brothers and sisters in Israel and the soldiers of the IDF. We shouldn’t know of sickness and health issues. We should pray for the coming of Moshiach.

A young poet came to the home of a well known literary critic and begged him to give an opinion on his new book of poems. After twenty minutes of listening to the young man recite his poorly written poetry the critic dosed off.

"Sir!" exclaimed the poet, when he realized that the critic was sound asleep. "How can you express an opinion on my poetry when you are asleep?"

"Believe it or not," answered the critic. "When I fell asleep I was definitely expressing an opinion!"

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA