46 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019


Fun Facts for
a New Year

MYJEWISHLEARNING.COM/JTA

Rosh Hashanah

T

he Jewish New Year starts
at sundown on Sept. 29.
It’
s known for apples
dipped in honey, record synagogue
attendance and as the kickoff to
the Days of Awe, which culmi-
nate in Yom Kippur, the Day of
Atonement. We’
re guessing that
even the most experienced holi-
day observer, however, won’
t
know all these facts about
the holiday:
1. It’
s traditional
to eat a fruit you
haven’
t eaten for a
long time on the
second night of
Rosh Hashanah.
This tasty
custom is often
observed by eating
a pomegranate, a fruit
rich in symbolism (and
nutrients). It developed as
a technical solution to a legal
difficulty surrounding the recitation
of the Shehechiyanu blessing on
the second day of the holiday.
Use it as an excuse to scout out
the “exotic fruit” section of your
grocery store’
s produce department.
2. Apples and honey (and

pomegranates) aren’
t the only
symbolic foods traditionally
enjoyed on Rosh Hashanah.
Other foods traditional-
ly eaten to symbolize wishes for
prosperity and health include dates,
string beans, beets, pumpkins, leeks
— and even fish heads. Sephardic
and Mizrahi Jews often hold Rosh
Hashanah seders during which a
blessing is said for each food, and
they are eaten in a set order. If you
want to try this but are a vegetarian
or just grossed out by fish heads,
consider using gummy fish or fish-
shaped crackers instead.
3. Rosh Hashanah liturgy has
inspired at least two rock songs.
Avinu Malkeinu, the prayer
that means “Our Father, Our
King,” inspired Mogwai, a Scottish
post-rock trio, to write a 20-min-
ute epic song “My Father, My
King.” The song, which borrows
the prayer’
s traditional melody, is
alternately soft and beautiful and
loud and raging. More famous-
ly, Leonard Cohen’
s “Who By
Fire” draws on the Unetanah Tokef,
which many consider the most
important prayer in the High
Holiday liturgy.
4. Tens of thousands of
Chasidic Jews make a pilgrimage
to Ukraine for an annual Rosh
Hashanah gathering known as a
“kibbutz.”
This lively gathering, which
dates back to the early 19th cen-
tury (and has nothing to do with
the Israeli kibbutz movement),
takes place in Uman, the town

where Nachman of Breslov, found-
er of the Breslover Hasidic sect and
great-grandson of the Baal Shem
Tov, was buried. Nachman believed

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