Rosh Hashanah seder

The Seder for the night of Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish tradition of eating a festive meal composed of symbolic foods, reciting psalms, and singing zmirot.

The word ''seder'' means "order" in Hebrew, denoting the specific and ritually meaningful order in which the courses of the meal proceeds.

Generally, symbolic foods to be eaten during the Seder are known the ''Simanim'' (literally, "symbols" or "signs"), eaten in a specific order, with the appropriate blessings over the food.

History

According to author Rahel Musleah, the tradition of holding a seder on Rosh Hashanah is at least 2000 years old. The first reference is from Nehemiah 8:9–10:

Rabbi Abaye, a rabbi of the Talmud who lived in Babylonia and one of the amoraim, said: "... an omen is a significant thing, oa person should always be accustomed to seeing/eating at the beginning of the year, on Rosh Hashanah, a gourd, green beans, leek, beets and dates."

It is told that in the 10th century, when the Babylonian scholar Hai Gaon left the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, his students would bring him a basket filled with different fruits over which he recited various blessings and biblical verses:

The Rosh Hashanah seder has been especially practice by the Sephardi communities of the Mediterranean region and the seder and the eating of symbolic foods is sometimes assumed to have been unique to those communities, but the practice of eating symbolic foods on Rosh Hashanah was also common among Ashkenazi Jews as far back as the 1300s CE.

In the Tur, a 14th-century legal code by Rabbi Ya'akov ben Asher, a more detailed list of symbolic foods is provided, with etymological explanations of the why the foods are symbolic:

Foods

The following foods, referred to as ''simanim'', are traditionally eaten, though individual customs vary:
* Beets
* Legumes or pulses
* Dates
* Leeks
* Pomegranates
* Pumpkins, squashes, or other gourds
* Beans
* The head of a fish, or beef cheek
* Apples
* Quinces
* Bee honey
* Date honey (silan)
* Carrot
* Round challot

Procedure

While practices vary between communities and families, the general procedure for a seudat Rosh Hashanah that includes a seder is as follows:

# Lighting Rosh Hashanah candles and reciting the shehechiyanu
# Making kiddush
# Eating the simanim

The regular procedure for a seudah follows. After the meal, it is customary to sing zmirot.

See also

* Apples and honey

References

External links

Rosh Hashanah seder according to Sephardi customs

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Rosh Hashanah
Jewish festive meals