24 Rosh Hashanah Recipes to Celebrate the New Year (2024)

FAQs

What is the typical Rosh Hashanah menu? ›

For Jews of Eastern European and Russian descent (Ashkenazi), an old-world-inspired celebratory feast would feature round challahs, chicken soup, a slow-roasted brisket or roast chicken, sweetened roasted root vegetables that always include carrots, and a wide variety of side dishes.

Of course, the main part of the meal was always traditional Ashkenazi cuisine: raisin challah, matzo ball soup, brisket, kugel, apple cake, cookies, and other Northern European-style foods.

Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” or “first of the year.” Many of the rituals a set of actions that always take place in the same way 1 of Rosh Hashanah take place in a synagogue, which is a Jewish place of worship. One of these rituals is the blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn trumpet.

The meal begins with Kiddush, a blessing over wine, and then continues with blessings over round challah bread dipped in honey and other foods that express our wishes for a plentiful, spiritually uplifting, and sweet new year.

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (129:9) writes that there is a minhag not to eat bitter or vinegary foods on Rosh Hashanah, but rather to eat sweet foods for a sweet year. The Rema (Orach Chaim 583:2) writes that some are careful not to eat egozim (walnuts) on Rosh Hashanah.

It is also a celebration of the day when God created the world and marks the beginning of a new year. Jews may ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoings they have done, and many Jews will spend time in the synagogue during this time. Rosh Hashanah ends with a long blast on the shofar.

If you're attending a Rosh Hashanah celebration as a guest, it is customary to bring a gift. Traditional choices include honey, apples, pomegranates, or kosher wine. A sweet dessert or a bouquet of flowers could also be appreciated. It's always best to ask the host if there's anything specific they would prefer.

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 central observance of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn. It is a mitzvah to hear the shofar on both mornings of the holiday (except if the first day is Shabbat, in which case we only blow the shofar on the second day).

What to expect at Rosh Hashanah dinner? ›

Sweet foods are served for a pleasant year ahead. Other symbolic foods include: Round challah: Challah is a braided wheat bread made with eggs and honey. For Rosh Hashanah, it is often made with raisins for extra sweetness and braided in a circle to represent the eternal nature of life.

Rosh Hashanah, which means “the head of the year,” is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah.

Each of the chosen foods —generally a pomegranate, date, string bean, beet, pumpkin, leek, and fish head — symbolize a wish or blessing for prosperity and health in the coming year.

According to Chabad.org, it's customary for some who observe Rosh Hashanah to go to a body of water to perform a Tashlich ceremony, which involves symbolically casting away their sins. Some people literally throw things like bread into the water, and some, following prayers, shake out the corners of their clothes.