4 Rosh HaShanah Facts you Might not Know

Rosh Hashanah was not always the Jewish New Year.

1. In the Torah, the beginning of the year was clearly set at the beginning of the month of Nisan, in the spring. However, sometime between the giving of the Torah and the codification of the Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah became the primary new year. 

2. It’s traditional to eat a fruit you haven’t eaten for a long time on the second night of Rosh Hashanah. This tasty custom is often observed by eating a pomegranate, a fruit rich in symbolism (and nutrients). It developed as a technical solution to a legal difficulty surrounding the recitation of the Shehechiyanu blessing on the second day of the holiday. Use it as an excuse to scout out the “exotic fruit” section of your grocery store’s produce department.

3. Carrots represent abundance in the new year, especially if cut into coin shapes. : In Yiddish, the word for carrots, mehren, sounds like the Yiddish word meaning both “more” and “to multiply.” 

4. Leeks, beets or dates are foods mentioned in the Talmud and, through wordplay, associated with the removal of enemies and the continuation of blessing.