They say you are what you eat, but my Jewish mother takes it a step further. This year at our Rosh Hashanah table, I will be engaging in mind-body connection through symbolic foods traditionally eaten, and you can too.
Food manifestation is an ancient custom that emphasizes aligning inner intentions and goals with the foods we consume. Within Judaism, there are laws regarding which foods are permissible to indulge in, as well as blessings we must say before and after consumption.
If food is always on our minds, we might as well make it mindful.
On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we eat simanim (symbolic foods) to signify positive intentions for the upcoming year. The time-worn practice is derived from the Talmud, in which it states, “now that you have said that an omen is significant, at the beginning of each year, each person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates.”
Rosh Hashanah’s theme is proclaiming kingship and glory to God, but also repenting for our salvation. It is a time for yearning, not begging. We do not want to blatantly declare our needs and wants for a good year, as it is not in the direct spirit of the day. Rather, we covertly “eat” our desires to stray from an outward request.
By indulging in foods with positive connotations, we are invoking a meaningful connection between foods and hopes for the New Year.
What is it about the specific foods listed in the Talmud, however, that are appropriate for such synergy?
Dates represent our wish for peace. The Hebrew word for date is “tamar,” which is heavily related to the word “yitamu,” translating to “end.” This year especially, we pray for a world that doesn’t know such vile forms of deep hatred, and rather one that sits on the premise of peace.
Do you want to do more good deeds? Eat some pomegranates. According to the Chatem Sofar, a pomegranate contains 613 seeds, parallel to the exact amount of commandments in the Torah. This is meant to remind us to engage in more mitzvot (commandments) for the following year.
Abundance can be attained through beans. Black-eyed peas are thought to bring good karma and good luck to your new year.
Carrots for merits! This stems from the Yiddish word “meren,” translating to both the noun “carrots” and the verb “to increase.” Carrots symbolize our hope that our merits will continuously increase.
The most common symbolic food is apples and honey. The tradition of dipping apples in honey represents our desire to have a Shana Tova u’Metuka—a sweet new year. Chafetz Chaim, a prominent Torah scholar, teaches us that sweetness should be reflected not just in our lives but within our moods. It is important we stay away from anger and rather dip into sweetness.
This Rosh Hashanah, may we only consume the good—literally.
