My Fish Head Issues & Other Seasonal Matters
Apple picking, holiday reading & recipes, and thoughts on symbolic foods
My Fish Head Issues & Other Seasonal Matters
Apple picking, holiday reading & recipes, and thoughts on symbolic foods
SEP 12
As a child, apple picking was one of my favorite outings. My family went every year before Rosh Hashana, driving the hour or so from North Jersey up to Masker Orchards in New York.
We went from tree to tree, sampling different varieties to determine which were the best for my mother’s apple cakes, applesauce, and pies. Others we selected for dipping in honey for a sweet year and snacking on until we ran out. But nothing tasted better than the perfectly round, beautifully red, juicy ripe pieces of fruit we noshed on while we picked.
At some point, I came across Robert Frost’s poem After Apple-Picking, which solidified the connection I had long ago made between apple-picking and Rosh Hashana in my mind.
Here’s an excerpt so you’ll know what I mean:
My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree/ Toward heaven still,/ And there's a barrel that I didn't fill / Beside it, and there may be two or three/ Apples I didn't pick upon some bough./ But I am done with apple-picking now. / Essence of winter sleep is on the night,/ The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.
Frost’s apple-picker is exhausted. The aroma of apples surrounds him, proof of the bounty he has spent the day gathering. But he cannot stop himself from worrying about the few apples he did not pick.
As the High Holidays approach, I feel a lot like the apple-picker. It’s been a busy, emotional year, and I am tired. I finished writing a book and have begun the process, gulp, of finding an agent and a publisher. I did a lot of personal inner work, too. But I can’t stop thinking about the metaphorical apples I failed to pick, the ones that still hang on the boughs rather than nestling in my basket.
Rosh Hashana is not about regret, I have to remind myself. It’s a time to reflect on what we got right, what we’ve achieved, what we can do better, and our dreams and goals for the year ahead — for ourselves and our family and our community.
Like apples, each year is a gift from G-d. This is the season to fully embrace that message because what we make of His gifts is all that matters in the end. Life will inevitably throw a sour apple or two (okay, some years, a bushel) in our direction. That said, a little honey goes a long way.
Heads or Tails?
Dipping an apple in honey is the most popular of the symbolic foods we traditionally eat on Rosh Hashana. There’s also the pomegranate for its plenitude of seeds, representing our hope that we’ll perform many good deeds in the coming year. And the gourd, which in Hebrew sounds like the Hebrew word for tear, representing the tearing up of any verdicts against us.
But the Ashkenazi custom to eat the head of a fish* has always been a toughie for me. Holding my nose, I boiled and served that fish head for years, looking away when the eyeball stared up at me from the dining room table. Eating it? Not a chance. When we made the blessing on the fish — that we should be like the head, not the tail — I served sweet roasted salmon. For the kids, we bought gummy fish.
(*Many Sephardim use a ram’s head.)
One fall, while at a local farm to apple-pick with my boys, we had the chance to lop an enormous head of cauliflower off its stalk. I roasted it whole and served it instead of the fish head. A head is a head, I reasoned, making peace with this one thing I could not stomach. We still had salmon and gummy fish. This year, I’m also putting out a small head of hydroponic lettuce so we can all say, “Lettuce have a healthy year.” Who can turn down the chance to serve a good pun?
Yom Tov Get-in-the-Mood Resources
It’s hard to focus on the essence of Rosh Hashana — the opportunity to really connect with G-d and look deep into our souls — when there’s so much to do (shopping, cooking, et al) in the leadup to the holiday.
For anyone feeling pressed for time, here are a few quick resources to set the mood:
I absolutely LOVE this wonderful video from Street Shofar Israel.
This article expanded my repertoire of holiday greetings beyond Gut Yuntif and L’Shana Tova U’Metukah.
These two short stories by S.Y. Agnon, The Orchestra and Another Tallit, make for thoughtful reading on Rosh Hashana and throughout the Days of Awe.
Hinei Hachomer is my favorite part of the Yom Kippur liturgy, and this version by Rogers Park leaves me breathless every time I listen to it.
And this short Instagram video from Homegrown Kosher is the perfect reminder to focus on our own needs as we cook our way through Tishrei.
A Quick Peek at What I’m Cooking
I’d gladly tell you about everything I’m making, but I don’t know yet. I do plan to serve several new dishes, and to build my menu around these recipes:
This list of 31 Rosh Hashana sides from the sisters at May I Have that Recipe? is a good place to start for culinary inspiration.
Everyone loves dips, and I am having a beets moment. So I’m hoping to make the whole table happy with this beet chummus from Busy in Brooklyn.
And I’m going to switch up my salmon recipe by trying this poached version, which I like because it means one less thing to warm up for Shabbos dinner.
And, As Always,Books
We have two long Yom Tov afternoons ahead of us, and there’s the custom not to nap lest we have a sleepy year. Books to the rescue! :) In my stack are Boys in the Tree: A Memoir by Carly Simon, The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman, and The Book of Intimate Grammar by David Grossman. Reviews to follow.
I just finished Nesting Dolls by Alina Adams, a novel of historical fiction that follows three generations of one Jewish family from Odessa to Brighton Beach. It’s a story of deep roots, love, and assimilation.
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Wishing you all a happy, healthy, meaningful, purposeful New Year. L’Shana Tova U’Metuka. A Gut Gebenscht Yar.
Love,
Merri
I'm also doing some beets from Busy in Brooklyn, but in a salad form with some quinoa, etc.
I lol'ed at the lettuce pun. :)
Great idea on the head of cauliflower!
Thank you so much for reading "The Nesting Dolls." I hope you enjoyed it!