Spiced-scented apple honey cake to savor for Rosh Hashanah
At sundown on Sunday, the Jewish New Year will begin. Called Rosh Hashanah, it begins the holiest period of the Jewish calendar, termed the Days of Awe.
“Rosh Hashanah is a joyous holiday,” said Rabbi Chuck Diamond of the conservative Tree of Life - Or L’Simcha, a blend of two congregations that merged six years ago in Squirrel Hill. “Yet it begins a 10-day period of introspection called the Days of Repentance.”
The period ends on the holiday of Yom Kippur, observed at sundown on Oct. 11.
“Preparations start the month before, and each day at morning services, except for Shabbat, the shofar (ram’s horn) is played. It’s a wake-up call to the coming year,” said Rabbi Diamond. “At Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement, you ask forgiveness for your sins against God and others. It gives you the opportunity to start the year with a clean slate.”
Certain foods are traditional during Rosh Hashanah, most notably apples dipped in honey, over which a blessing, Shana Tova Umetukah “for a new and sweet year,” is recited. Honey cake is a traditional sweet, which also contains grated apple. The challah served is round, sometimes studded with raisins, making it even sweeter. “The challah’s shape is symbolic of the circular nature of our existence, and of the year,” Rabbi Diamond said.
After Monday's Rosh Hashanah services at 4 p.m., the congregation will walk across the street to Chatham University, where there’s a living body of water.
“There’s a pond there with goldfish. We cast bread in the water, casting our sins away,” he said. The ritual is called Tashlikh.
Anyone who wishes can attend High Holy Day services at the synagogue (5898 Wilkins Ave.; 412521-6788), Rabbi Diamond said. He tries to greet everyone who comes to services. Just contact us, he said, “We never turn anyone away.”