For Ashkenazi Jews, the primary symbolic food of Rosh Ha-Shanah is apples dipped in honey, a way of wishing for a sweet new year. Before eating apples and honey, say the following blessings: Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei pri ha-eitz. Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who creates fruit of the tree. Yehi ratzon lifanecha, Adonai Eloheinu, v'Elohai avoteinu, she'te'hadesh aleinu shanah tovah u'metukah. May it be Your will, Adonai our God, to grant us a good...

For centuries, Sephardi Jewish families have gathered to celebrate a special Rosh Hashanah ceremony with a plate or meal of symbolic foods. Each food is eaten after requesting a specific kind of Divine blessing that sounds like the name of that food in Hebrew.  Before eating dates ( tamar ): May it be your will, God, that hatred will end. ( Tamar resembles the word for end, yitamu. ) Before eating pomegranate: May we be as full of mitzvot as the...

Finally, time to begin eating! Challah is a yummy egg bread eaten on most Jewish holidays. On Rosh Hashanah the challah is in the shape of a circle, to symbolize the circle of time, and the fullness of the year that is coming. Many people eat raisin challah on Rosh Hashanah, and drizzle honey on top of it, for extra sweetness. Yum! בָּרוּךְ‭ ‬אַתָּה‭ ‬יְיָ‭ ‬אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ‭ ‬מֶֽלֶךְ‭ ‬הָעוֹלָם ‬הַמּֽוֹצִיא‭ ‬לֶֽחֶם‭ ‬מִן‭ ‬הָאָֽרֶץ Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, hamotzi lekhem min...

Black-Eyed Pea Stew (Lubiya) Adapted from Gilda Angel’s Sephardic Holiday Cooking Black-eyed peas are a traditional food for Rosh Hashanah in Sephardi communities, as well as in African-American homes, as symbols of abundance, wealth and fertility. Katherine Romanow adapted two of Gilda Angel's recipes to create this stew for the Jewish Women's Archive.  Ingredients 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil 2 small onions 1 clove garlic 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon paprika ½ allspice ½ cinnamon 1 can (15 ounces) black-eyed...

Lilya's Summer Beet Borscht  Liz Alpern, Co-Founder of the Gefilteria introduces this recipe: One summer day, Jeffrey and I headed to Little Odessa in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. We were visiting our business partner Jackie’s ninety-two-year-old Russian-born great-aunt, Lilya. She had immigrated to Brighton Beach from the Soviet Union in 1989. Lilya was known for her borscht, and she’d invited us to spend time with her while she salted and seasoned three varieties of the soup.  SERVES 6 TO 8 Ingredients  2...

Carrot Ginger Roasted Vegetable Tsimmes Jeffrey Yoskowitz, Co-Founder of the Gefilteria, introduces this original recipe: Tsimmes is generally known as a sweet vegetable stew quite commonly prepared by eastern European Jewish cooks for the high holidays in the fall. The tsimmes I grew up with as a kid was usually drenched in a sugary syrup. It didn’t feel healthy nor look particularly appetizing. I wanted to change that, since there’s so much color and flavor in these vegetables, and therefore, so...

Roast Chicken with Barley & Vegetables Liz Alpern, co-founder of the Gefilteria introduces this recipe: This dish makes for a fragrant meal that is unique enough for Friday night and simple enough for a weekday evening. While roast chicken is a classic centerpiece on the contemporary Jewish table, the earthiness of the mushrooms and barley in this recipe give it a decidedly Old World feel. SERVES 4 TO 6 Ingredients ¾ cup pearl barley 1 dried bay leaf 3½ teaspoons kosher...

Majestic and Moist Honey Cake Adapted from Smitten Kitchen by Deborah Missel 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon of baking soda ½ teaspoon of kosher salt 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger ½  teaspoon ground cardamom ½ teaspoon ground allspice 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup honey 1 ½ cups granulated sugar ½ cup brown sugar 3 large eggs, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup warm strong coffee or tea, prefer...

High Holidays in Five Senses  As the light and the weather shift in this sacred time of transition, we're invited to enter a new season and a new year. Take a deep breath as you consider how each of your senses connects to the High Holidays. What do the High Holidays smell like?  They smell of freshly-baked sweet challah, the vanilla-y pages of an old book, your grandfather’s aftershave, the tang of the etrog and the perfume of lulav branches. What...

For centuries, Sephardi Jewish families have gathered to celebrate a special Rosh Hashanah ceremony with a plate or meal of symbolic foods. Each food is eaten after requesting a specific kind of Divine blessing that sounds like the name of that food in Hebrew.  Before eating dates ( tamar ): May it be your will, God, that hatred will end. ( Tamar resembles the word for end, yitamu. ) Before eating pomegranate: May we be as full of mitzvot as the...