Q: In addition to foods dipped in honey, are there other symbolic customs for Rosh Hashana?
A: The following is an abbreviated list of food items that are customary to eat on Rosh Hashana. Many of their symbolic meanings stem from root of their Hebrew, Aramaic or Yiddish terms.
The first three items are representative of our request of G-d to increase our mitzvos and merits as well as for the growth of our nation due to their associations with abundance and proliferation.
1. Pomegranates- due to their abundance of seeds
2. Fenugreek – rubya [Aramaic] whose root word means to increase (Shulchan Aruch C. 583)
3. Carrots – meheren [Yiddish] whose root word means many (Chayei Adam 138:6).
The next three represent our request of G-d to protect us from our enemies, and/or our fervent prayer that our sins be nullified, by their connection to the concept of cessation.
4. Leeks – karsee [Aramaic] whose root word means to cut off.
5. Dates – tamarim [Hebrew] the root of which is tam – to cease.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit'a
Important Numbers
