The simanim are special foods that are a central part of the festive meal on Rosh Hashanah. We dip an apple in honey and wish for a year that will be good and sweet; we eat a pomegranate, praying that our merits will be as many as the seeds of this fruit.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen of Radin, known as the Chofetz Chaim, would speak about the most important siman — one that is important not only on Rosh Hashanah, but all year round
“We know there is significance and strength in the symbolic foods we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, and we therefore strive to eat what is sweet, and to bless and pray over these foods,” he said. “But if we are so particular in looking for meaningful simanim, there are none better than a pleasant disposition, a smile and the patience we show to others. And there are no worse simanim than anger and stubbornness. After all, our behavior has influence and consequences too, as it states in the Gemara: “Whoever shows compassion to others is granted compassion from Heaven”(Shabbat 151b). On Rosh Hashanah we need to pay special attention to the simanim of affection, love and kindness.”
Sound of the Soul
While other nations celebrate the new year with a raucous party, we start the new year in a completely different manner, devoting several minutes to being quiet and just … listening. Accordingly, the blessing that we recite, “Baruch Ata…lishmo’a kol shofar,” reflects that we are partaking of a mitzvah that does not involve doing anything, only listening.
The sound of the shofar evokes important events in our history: the Akeida, when a ram was sacrificed in place of Yitzchak; the blasts of the shofar that were heard at the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai; and the Yovel (Jubilee year), when slaves were set free. It also reminds us of the future Redemption which, according to the prophets, will be ushered in with the sounds of the shofar.
For several moments, we do not speak, react or argue — we just listen. We do not jump in and express our opinion; we quell the noise of all the hustle and bustle around us and within us and concentrate on a pure sound — the voice of the soul.
Which ‘Reuben’ Will You Be?
What are your thoughts on Rosh Hashanah? Rabbi Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of Piaseczno, advises that rather than examining the year gone by, we should primarily look forward to the coming year and consider exactly what we want from ourselves in every area of life.
Rabbi Shapira was murdered during the Holocaust, but he left a valuable educational legacy: “If you desire to serve Hashem and to elevate yourself and not to be in the same place at the age of 70 as you were on your bar mitzvah, do this: Every year, set a goal for yourself. If your name is Reuben, for example, imagine the Reuben you would like to be a year from now—his achievements, his work, his character traits and everything else about him. With this imaginary Reuben in mind, measure yourself against him throughout the year. This way you will be able to see exactly where you are falling short and what kind of work you need to do to become him. Strive so that your service of God and personal refinement on a daily basis will be sufficient to meet your goal, to become the Reuben you wish to be, one year from now.
Welcome Home Bubbys
Yaakov Selavan is the deputy head of the Golan Regional Council. Explaining his decision to stay in the north during these tense weeks, he wrote: We’ve chosen to stay and hold onto the land despite the challenging situation. And if anyone thinks we’re crazy, they should know, and Hezbollah should know too, that despite the difficult year that Israel has endured, another plane full of new immigrants landed at Ben Gurion Airport last week.”
Yaakov wrote that after years of deliberation, it was precisely now, in the midst of this hardship, that the realization dawned on many in the Diaspora that it’s time to come home. Among those who reached this understanding were Yaakov’s grandmother, Jacqueline Yocheved Hirsch, 87, and her sister, Marsha Rubkin, 89, both from Atlanta. Jacqueline will be living in Jerusalem, and Marsha, in Rehovot.
“Most of Bubby’s and her sister’s grandchildren have been in Israel for many years, and they both have dozens of great-grandchildren here,” Yaakov continued. “We no longer have a ‘Grandma from America.’”
“This clarifies for us how we should not take for granted the fact that we get to live here, and how, despite the challenges, there is no better place to be. So, while I spent Shabbat here in the north, Bubby was at the Kotel, where she heard the Haftarah for the first time as an Israeli, a Haftarah that spoke directly to her: ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all of them gather and come to you; your sons will come from afar.’”
Sivan Rahav Meir is a primetime news anchor on television and radio. Her “Daily Thought,” translated into 17 languages, has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. She has a weekly podcast on Tablet, called “Sivan Says,” and has published several books In Hebrew and English.
