“Shana Tova Umetuka” or “may you have a good and sweet year” is what we typically wish each other in the month leading up to the Jewish New Year. You may have wondered why we give a double wish for a year that is both good and sweet. If it’s good, isn’t it sweet?
The Talmud teaches us that everything that happens in the world is for the good. And although, many times, it seems far from good, you should know that ultimately, it somehow is for the good. That’s why we double wish — for a year where the good is obvious to all and a year that is deliciously sweet!
Many give each other teiglach, which are small, knotted pastries boiled in a honeyed syrup, or lekach, which are honey cookies or honey cake. In fact, the Chassidic custom is to specifically ask someone (usually the rabbi) for a piece of shtickel lekach, which translates to “a small piece of honey cake.” We hope and pray that if there’s anything that we must ask or beg anyone for in the coming year, we should fulfill it with that ask.
It is also the custom to eat sweet foods on Rosh Hashanah, especially an apple dipped in honey with a special prayer that G-d grant us a good and sweet year. We also dip other items in honey, including the challah, a special dish known as Tzimmes, which is a European carrot concoction cooked in honey, and many other foods. My mother z’ls delicious Tzimmes included Chuck Fleisch and marrow bones and was one of my favorite dishes.
Of course, by now, you surely know that the theme of honey throughout this season symbolizes the sweet year we all yearn for. But why specifically honey? Why not sugar, Splenda or any other sweetener?
For starters, Israel was blessed to be a land flowing with milk and honey. Eating honey, wherever we may be, reminds us of our ancient homeland and our deep connection to Israel.
Have you ever seen an expiration date on honey? Honey can last for a really long time. A quick Google search will tell you that honey can last for centuries, but perhaps it can even last longer than that.
Many times, there are people that receive blessings. They win the lottery or stumble across a treasure. But the blessings, unfortunately, don’t always last — all their money can disappear or, even worse, break families and friends apart. On Rosh Hashanah, we pray that we not only get a blessed year, but that the blessing lasts — just as honey does.
Honey can also be used as a preservative. When Adam and Eve, whose birthdays we celebrate on Rosh Hashanah, were created, they were commanded to work the earth and to guard it. To protect it and all that it contains. To preserve the world and constantly make it a better place.
I wish each and every one of you a Shana Tova Umetuka! May you and your families be blessed with a happy, healthy, good and sweet New Year. May you be showered with blessings and may they last. May you always be there for others. May you be a preservative for this beautiful world and help bring it to the perfection G-d has intended for it. May this year be your best year ever.
This year, we will celebrate Rosh Hashana 5786 beginning Monday evening, Sept. 22, at sundown, and concluding Wednesday evening, Sept. 24, at nightfall.
I encourage you to attend your local Chabad or synagogue to enjoy Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and all the high holidays to their fullest. You can always join us at The Family Shul for services or holiday dinner. To RSVP, call 305-770-1919 or visit TheFamilyShul.com. The community dinner will include apples dipped in honey, traditional round challah, Gefilte fish, my mothers Tzimmes recipe, kugel and all the delicious holiday foods.
The Chabad Chayil Sukkah will also be open to the public throughout the holiday.
Rabbi Kievman is the ambassador of The Rebbe to Highland Lakes. He’s founder of CHAP, an afterschool program for Jewish children in public schools, Gan Chabad Preschool, rabbi at The Family Shul and, together with his wife, directs Chabad Chayil. He can be reached at 305-770-1919 or rabbi@ChabadChayil.org.
