Shanah tovah u’metukah, my M.O.T.’s Those words have been sincerely posted all over Facebook over the last 24 hours, and I’ve been thinking that my non-Jewish friends must be wondering what in the heck this is all about!. So, dear friends of other faiths, I decided to put together a Top 10 list of the most used Rosh Hahshanah phrases. Here you go:
(1) Rosh Hashanah: Literally, the words translate as “Head of the Year,” and that is exactly what it is. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish happy new year holiday or as it is explained to children, “the birthday of the world.”
(2) Shanah tovah: Shanah tovah means “good year,” and it is used as a greeting on this day, too. Some people say “shanah tovah” (good day), some say “L’shanah tovah,” or some say “shanah tovah u’metukah” which wishes someone a good and sweet new year.
(3) M.O.T: An “M.O.T.” is said in jest and with humor. It means “member of the tribe.”
(4) Apples & Honey: Apples and honey are the traditional foods eaten for Rosh Hashanah to remind us to have a sweet year ahead. People make all sorts of apple and honey desserts to make things a bit more interesting; apple cake, apple crisp, honey cake, etc.
(5) The Shofar: The shofar is a ram’s horn that is played throughout the Rosh Hashanah holiday and at the end of Yom Kippur. It announces the holiday and concludes the 10 “Days of Awe”…the time from which Rosh Hashanah begins and Yom Kippur ends.
(6) Tashlich: Tashlich is the Hebrew word for “throw,” and it is a super cool tradition when we throw bread crumbs into water that represents the things we are sorry we have done throughout the year. When the bread crumbs float away, we get a fresh, clean start. Tashlich is practiced at the end of the Rosh Hashanah day.
(7) Wearing White: Some Jews wear white for the Rosh Hashanah holiday for its purity and clean start of the new year.
(8) The Pomegranate: It is said that the average pomegranate contains 613 seeds, which is the number of commandments in the Torah.
(9) The Round Challah: On Shabbat, Jews eat a braided challah bread every week. On Rosh Hashanah, the challah is round. This is to show the roundness and cycle of a year.
(10) New Years Cards: Jewish people sometimes send Happy New Year Rosh Hashanah cards of greeting to each other for the holiday just as the secular world does for the Christmas holiday.
So there you have it folks! I hope that clears up some of the questions about all of this Facebook banter. I chose a little “Honey Honey” by Abba as my song of the day today to wish you all a happy and sweet new year ahead regardless of your religion. We all could use a little sweetness in our lives, afterall, right? So click HERE to hear the song on this first day of the Jewish calendar!
