Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, also marks the beginning of a ten day period, ending with Yom Kippur, where Jewish tradition calls for deep self-reflection within ourselves and the communities we belong to. –By Adina Burstein, Staff member

Many Jewish communities use traditional foods, imbued with symbolism, as a catalyst for these introspective conversations. The tradition can be dated back to 3rd century Babylon (present day Iraq), when a Talmudic Rabbi encouraged the community to eat foods that grew in abundance to symbolize the abundance they hoped for in the new year. The ritual grew from there to include foods with Aramaic names that could be used as puns representing other desires for the coming year. This ritual, the foods chosen, and the meanings associated have shifted and changed with the diasporic communities that keep the tradition alive. Yehi Ratzones is a Sephardic tradition that takes these symbolic foods and turns them into a seder. Similar to Passover seders (where there are a lot of foods, but each one needs to be talked about at length before you can eat it), this tradition takes each food, one by one, and uses it to set an intention for the new year. While Judaism is generally considered a closed practice, eating, reflecting on our food, and creating meaning out of that, is uniquely human and deeply grounding.

This year, as I gather fruits and vegetables for my Rosh Hashana, I am thinking about the danger farmworkers in America are facing at the hands of ICE, how nothing we eat is removed from the political. As I feel gratitude for the abundance that I have access to I am also filled with grief for the people of Palestine and Sudan who are struggling to survive under famines that are politically motivated and artificially imposed. While it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of injustice in our world, many Rosh Hashanah foods are chosen to reaffirm the power each of us has to make change in the world. The foods shared here, as well as their symbolism, are incomplete. Their purpose is not to tell us what to hope for, but to ask ourselves what the world needs and what the current moment requires of us.

• Black-Eyed Pea rubiya in Aramaic, shares its root with the word rebah, meaning increase. This food is a classic in the new year celebrations of many cultures, and Jewish tradition asks us to identify what we hope will be fruitful and abundant in our lives this year.
• Carrot gezer in Aramaic, shares its root with the word g’zar, meaning decree. What laws or decrees have been made that don’t serve justice and we hope are nullified in the next year?
• Beet selek in Aramaic, shares its root with the word salak, meaning to remove. What blocks the path ahead and how can it be removed? Is there a person you wish would just “beet it”?
• Date tamar in Aramaic, shares its root with tam, meaning to end. Many people eat dates in the hope that there will be an end to all wars, violence, and oppression. What systems in the world and patterns within ourselves need to come to an end to bring this about?
• “New Fruit” can mean a fruit you have never eaten before or a fruit that you have not eaten yet this year. This food symbolizes new possibilities and is a reminder that, as long as we’re alive, we are able to experience new things.
• Apples Dipped in Honey or Sugar symbolize the sweet new year we want to have. What does sweetness look like to you?

Honorable mentions go to round challahs (with or without raisins), fish (heads and/or whole), pomegranates leeks, and gourds–all staples at Rosh Hashanahs around the world, each imbued with layers of meaning: sometimes serious, sometimes silly, and continually growing.

Whether it’s for Rosh Hashanah or your next meal, what foods will you eat and what will they mean to you?