114 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 
J
N

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

To a Sweet New Year!
N

ext week, we will celebrate 
Rosh Hashanah at 
sundown on Oct. 2. It will 
mark the beginning of the Jewish 
New Year and, for the occasion, 
many sweet foods will 
be served. None are 
more traditional or 
sweeter than honey.
I will admit that, 
in our home, we do 
not wait for holidays 
to open the honey 
pot. My wife, Pam, 
is a honey aficionado (i.e., my 
honey is a honey freak!). We 
always have several jars — or 
plastic bears — full of honey in the 
cupboard. After all, we cannot risk 
a beekeeper strike!
BTW — we even made a 
pilgrimage to the honey museum 
at Honey Acres Farm in Wisconsin. 
Pam did some serious work at the 
honey bar, which was a row of 
dispensers offering free samples of 
various honeys. 
So, for Rosh Hashanah 5785, 
I thought I should write about 
honey. It was a bit daunting in 
one sense — the word “honey” 
appears on over 8,000 pages in 
the William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit History. 
Even after eliminating references 
to “honeymoons” or someone 
referring to their sweetie as 
“honey” or “honey of a deal,” there 
are still a lot of pages with articles 
devoted to the product itself.
As you might imagine, there 
are hundreds of recipes for which 
honey is the essential ingredient. 
Honey cake was, of course, the 

dominant concoction, with many 
recipes claiming to be the “Best 
Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake recipe 
ever.” 
Beyond a bevy of desserts 
made with honey, there are 
recipes for plenty of main dishes 
such as orange honey chicken or 
honey lime salmon. These could 
be served with a side of honey 

carrots. For drinks, there is honey 
lemonade, honey strawberry 
punch or lemon apple tea with 
honey. With coffee after the meal, 
sweet honey bon bons would be 
tasty.
The Archive also holds hundreds 
of grocery store advertisements 
for Rosh Hashanah, beginning in 
the1920s. The I. Rokeach & Sons 

ad in the Oct. 4, 1929, Chronicle, 
offered a full summation: “Since 
Biblical Days, Oil and Honey 
Have Had a Special Significance 
in Jewish Home Life.” Of course, 
for pure kosher honey, it suggests 
you buy Rokeach honey.
Moreover, there are many 
in-depth “honey” reports and 
articles in the Archive. The 
Children’s Corner in the March 
3, 1945, JN tells the story of a 
woman who hid her gold in jars 
of honey. An item in the June 
4, 1965, JN, provides further 
explanation: “Why do some people 
pour honey over Hebrew letters 
so that the children would lick the 
honey from the letters? … It is a 
symbol of hope and prayer that the 
words of the Torah will always be 
sweet…” 
Recent articles continue to 
explore honey in all its forms. 
“How Sweet It Is” discusses honey 
as a Jewish tradition (Sept. 21, 
2006, JN), and “Sweet New Year 
Starts with Honey” discusses 
honey production in Israel (Dec. 
20, 1991).
My favorite article? “Apples and 
Honey” in the Sept. 27, 1991, JN 
(needless to say, apples dipped in 
honey is a huge Rosh Hashanah 
treat). Why do I like this article? 
Because of the photograph of Jill 
Bruss, dressed as a bee, and Amy 
Wagner, as an apple. Now, this is 
commitment to apples and honey!
May your New Year be a sweet 
one. L’Shanah Tovah! 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, 
available for free at thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair