Photo by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner
Struggling towards Rosh HaShanah 5785
I cannot heal my husband
I cannot collapse the distance to my grandchildren
I cannot bring civility to the politics of our country
I cannot stop the war in Israel or Ukraine or the famine in Sudan
I can peel the apples
I can remove the wax and polish the shabbat candlesticks
I can set a table with linen, china, crystal, and sterling
I can light the candles and say the blessings to begin the new year
Small acts that counteract the sadness and despair
Rituals that contain the pain
Rosh HaShanah Seder 5785
Apples and honey after challah
The blessings of sweetness like love
Celebrating with the man who is my honey
Our date, just we two, this holiday eve
Unfortunately he has had a few leaks, and
We will drown their memory in vichyssoise.
Carrots like beets grow under the earth’s rich soil
Roasted their flavor enhanced by spices and olive oil.
May we be like the head of the fish and not the tail.
Then we return to apples in a crisp and off we sail
Into the New Year, we are here.
The blessings of sweetness like love
Celebrating with the man who is my honey
Our date, just we two, this holiday eve
Unfortunately he has had a few leaks, and
We will drown their memory in vichyssoise.
Carrots like beets grow under the earth’s rich soil
Roasted their flavor enhanced by spices and olive oil.
May we be like the head of the fish and not the tail.
Then we return to apples in a crisp and off we sail
Into the New Year, we are here.
Note: The Rosh Hashanah Seder, a tradition particularly among Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews, is a series of blessings over and tasting of simanim (foods that symbolize different wishes for the new year). These foods include apples, honey, pomegranates, dates, leeks, carrots, beets, and a fish head.
