Which Foods Should one Avoid Eating on Rosh Hashanah? - OU Kosher Halacha Yomis - OU Torah (2024)

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Which Foods Should one Avoid Eating on Rosh Hashanah? - OU Kosher Halacha Yomis - OU Torah? ›

Just as we eat sweet apples and other foods on Rosh Hashanah because of their symbolic significance, it is customary to avoid bitter and vinegary foods on Rosh Hashanah (see, for example, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 129:9). The Rama (Orach Chaim 583:2) writes that some avoid eating egozim (walnuts) on Rosh Hashanah.

Favorite recipes and sweet foods are popular choices for families on the first and second nights of Rosh Hashanah. Sour foods are usually avoided. Some people avoid nuts during Rosh Hashanah since the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in the word “nu*t” add up to the same number as the word “sin.”

As with Shabbat, the Torah explicitly forbids work on Rosh Hashanah, as on other major Jewish festivals. Among modern Jews, practices vary. In Orthodox communities, refraining from work on both days of Rosh Hashanah is considered the norm. Among more liberal Jews, some will refrain from work only on the first day.

All food must be Kosher, which is a process based upon the Torah. Rosh Hashana has some beautiful symbolism around food consumption. Here are just a few for anyone that's been wondering.

Food that is not allowed is called treif. Examples include shellfish, pork products and food that has not been slaughtered in the correct way, known as shechitah. A sharp knife is used and there must be one cut to the throat of the animal. This can only be practiced by a specially trained person known as a shochet..

Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rama), in his gloss to the Code of Jewish Law, writes that the custom is not to eat egozim, commonly translated as “walnuts.” Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his Shulchan Aruch Harav, writes that the custom is also not to eat luzim, which he defines as small egozim and is commonly translated ...

Many families eat apples and/or challah (a traditional Jewish festive bread) dipped in the sticky stuff. It's also given as gifts and used in savoury dishes, like tzimmes, which is a carrot-based dish sweetened with honey and served as a savoury side.

The term Rosh Hashanah in its current meaning does not appear in the Torah. Leviticus 23:24 refers to the festival of the first day of the seventh month as zikhron teru'ah ("a memorial of blowing [of horns]") Numbers 29:1 calls the festival yom teru'ah ("day of blowing [the horn]").

Round Challah Bread

Bread is an essential component of most Jewish meals, but on Rosh Hashanah, this braided bread is prepared in a round shape so it looks like a crown. It is enjoyed dipped in honey to attract sweetness.

The Bible does have a holiday on the date that is now occupied by Rosh Hashanah, but this was a different holiday – suppressed and supplanted. Indeed, if there was a Jewish new year in biblical times, it would not have been on the date it occupies today. The Bible does not usually name the months: it counts them.

Can you eat salmon on Rosh Hashanah? ›

We celebrate Rosh Hashanah through an assortment of symbolic foods, including the head of a fish and sweet, sticky honey. This recipe uses a whole side of salmon, but you can feel free to cook the fish head along with it, for a beautiful presentation.

Likewise, many authorities categorically reject this prohibitive view with nary a mention of it, and allow eating meat on Rosh Hashana, with some claiming it is an outright obligation to do so in order to properly commemorate Rosh Hashana.

White is a symbol of purity, cleanliness and new beginnings. Because of this symbolism, many Jews wear white clothing during Rosh Hashanah. Some people wear a kittle, a white robe that is similar to a Jewish burial shroud and reminds us of our mortality.

Bananas have long been embraced by some Jewish communities. Jewish chefs in Persia and Afghanistan pass down traditional recipes for charoset, the sweet paste eaten at the Passover Seder, that incorporate bananas as key ingredients. In Yemen, Jews used to mash bananas with honey as a folk recipe for some illnesses.

Additionally, it should only contain ingredients that are specifically designated as kosher for Passover, like 100% peanuts that have been processed solely through pasteurization. By following these guidelines, you will be able to eat peanut butter during the Passover holiday.

For Jews, the significance of Jesus must be in his life rather than his death, a life of faith in God. For Jews, not Jesus but God alone is Lord. Yet an increasing number of Jews are proud that Jesus was born, lived and died a Jew.

One reason not to eat nuts is because they cause a person to salivate, and that will disturb our concentration while we daven. According to this, it will not apply after Yom Kippur. Another reason given is because אגוז has the same numerical value as the word חט”א, which we want to avoid during the time of judgement.

Spicy dishes are also on the list of foods to avoid, although some rabbis say that if a person likes spicy food, or if a little heat (or tartness, for that matter) adds to the good taste of the dish, then it's fine to use.