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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