Imagining Rosh Hashanah, I picture my table at home, surrounded by family and friends ready to celebrate after morning prayer in shul. In the centre lies red apples lining a ceramic honey pot. My favourite dessert is my Bubby’s recipe for apple cake, but our table also hosts a honey cake, and even an apple crumble. Apples and honey are the most recognizable emblem of the holiday, known to represent the hope for sweetness in the Jewish new year – but why?
Apples and honey each have their own deep roots in Jewish texts, proving a Jewish liturgical connection to apples and honey. In Exodus, God repeatedly promises the Jews that the land of Israel is “flowing with milk and honey”. The assurance of milk and honey symbolizes a promise of fertility and abundance, a key aspect of the covenant God established with Abraham in Genesis.
The biblical poem Song of Solomon mentions apples, saying, “as the apple is rare and unique among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved amongst the maidens of the world.” Some Jewish scholars believe the poem represents Israel’s beauty among other nations, implying that to God, the people of Israel are akin to unique and beautiful apple trees.
The first proponent of customary food on Rosh Hashanah was Abaye, a fourth century Babylonian Talmudic scholar. He proposed that Jews eat “gourd, fenugreek, leeks, beets, and dates” as part of their Rosh Hashanah celebrations. He reasoned that these foods multiply quickly, bringing omens of fruitfulness and prosperity for the new year.
Centuries later, in 11th century France, Rabbi Simcha of Vitry wrote in the siddur Machzor Vitry that French Jews eat red apples on Rosh Hashanah. This was likely because apples were ripe during the time of Rosh Hashanah, making them conveniently available during the holiday. The Machzor Vitry reached large Jewish audiences in France’s surrounding areas, spreading the association between apples and Rosh Hashanah.
Honey became tied to Rosh Hashanah in the 14th century, when the influential Jewish legal code, the Arbah Turim, stated that German Jews dipped apples in honey as a symbol of sweetness in the new year. The precise reason that German Jews added honey remains somewhat of a mystery. As the tradition evolved, apples came to symbolize prosperity, with the honey symbolizing qualities of joy, kindness, and sweetness.
Although the custom of dipping apples in honey originated with Ashkenazi Jews, many Sephardic Jews have adopted versions of it. One common Sephardic variation is cooking apples in sugar. This custom developed partially because some communities could not access Kosher honey, so sugar was a sweet substitute. Additionally, sugar has been seen as a symbol of “divine kindness” in some Jewish circles. Moroccan Sephardis celebrate by indulging in a combination of sesame seeds, symbolizing an abundance of good deeds, and sugar, representing sweetness in the year ahead.
Sephardic Jews also have distinct Rosh Hashanah traditions beyond apples and honey. Many perform a Rosh Hashanah seder (ritual feast), where they eat Simanim, symbolic foods. The Simanim they enjoy include dates, leeks, beets, and pumpkins. These foods, which directly correlate to Abaye’s command of eating customary foods on Rosh Hashanah, symbolize the rooting out of negativity in the new year.
Apples and honey are ordinary, everyday ingredients – ones that I never particularly think much about. Yet, on Rosh Hashanah, they transcend their usual mundanity and symbolize Jewish tradition, history, and – of course – the Jewish love of good food. Apples and honey embody the aspects of Judaism I love most: the festive holidays, a crowded synagogue Kiddush lunch, the sweet melodies of Jewish song, and the joyful atmosphere of a festive meal. Apples and honey, and their variations, are emblematic of Judaism’s commitment to finding joy in the everyday and looking forward to a sweet tomorrow.
Powered by Froala Editor
