ch person at the table dips a slice of apple into thehoney. Then a blessing is recited over the fruit. A pomegranate is said to has 613 seed. This numbercorresponds to the number of mitzvoth, or types of good deeds,that Jews as a society must perform. A pomegranate on the holidaytable announces to the heavenly court that as many seeds as thereare, that’s how many good deeds have been performed over theyear.Hallah bread is commonly served on Rosh Hashanah. A ladder,turban like shape, to the Hallah bread expresses the wish thatthe family’s prayers might ascend to heaven. Dough baked in theshape of a bird also represents the same wish. It also stands forthe words of the prophet Isaiah: As birds protect their young,so will God protect Jerusalem. Some time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it iscustomary to throw bread crumbs into a body of water as a Mastrangelo 3symbolic act of repentance. Most Jews do tashlich the afternoonof the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Family and friends gathertogether at the waterfront to “cast away” the sins of the pastyear and resolve to be better in the year to come. Tashlich is away to admit our own faults and symbolically shed the baggage iflast year’s mistakes.In the villages of Eastern Europe it was custom before theNew Year for a messenger to go from house to house with a sack. Those who could afford it put coins in the sack; those who werepoor took coins from the sack. No one knew who gave and whotook. Giving tzedakah, sharing what we have with those in need,is an important mitzvah in Jewish life. In modern days, tzedakahis performed by some Jewish communal agencies who make sure thatall Jews can afford to attend services and get a good meal.The Shofar is an animal horn blown like a trumpet. It isusually a ram’s horn, but a Shofar can be made from any kosheranimal except a cow. Today the use of a long antelope horn ispopular. Unlike a trumpet, the Shofar ha...
