Every year on Rosh Hashanah, Jewish families around the world sit down to a table that looks different from any other night. Alongside the round challah and the familiar jar of honey, there is a collection of small, seemingly unrelated foods — a pomegranate, a date, a leek, perhaps a piece of beetroot or a fish head. Each one has a name. Each name carries a meaning. And each meaning carries a hope for the year ahead.
These foods are called simanim — from the Hebrew word for ‘signs’ or ‘symbols’. The tradition goes back to the Talmud and has been carried through generations by Jewish communities across the world, from Baghdad to Golders Green. If you have ever sat at a Rosh Hashanah table and wondered what all the little dishes are for, this is your guide.
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The word simanim (סִימָנִים) is the plural of siman, meaning ‘sign’. The earliest reference to eating symbolic foods on Rosh Hashanah appears in the Talmud (Horayot 12a), where the Babylonian sage Abaye recommends eating foods that are associated — through their Hebrew or Aramaic names — with positive attributes: abundance, growth, the end of enemies, and divine blessing.
The custom spread and evolved as Jewish communities settled across the world. Sephardi and Mizrahi families developed elaborate seder-like rituals with specific blessings over each food. Ashkenazi families concentrated on the most well-known symbols. Yemenite Jews added fenugreek. Persian Jews included the head of a lamb. Each tradition is slightly different — but the intention is the same: to begin the new year with intention, with hope, and with meaning.
Today, simanim are eaten after Kiddush and the first dipping of challah in honey, typically at the start of the Rosh Hashanah evening meal. The practice is to eat a small amount of each food while reciting (or simply thinking) a short prayer or hope connected to its symbolism.
Here is a guide to the most widely observed simanim, what they symbolise, and the blessings associated with each.
The most universally recognised Rosh Hashanah symbol. Slices of apple are dipped in honey and eaten with a blessing for a sweet new year. The apple represents life, beauty, and the divine presence (in Kabbalistic tradition, the apple orchard is associated with Shechina). Honey represents sweetness and abundance — and the biblical promise of a land flowing with milk and honey.
Interestingly, apples and honey are not part of the original Talmudic list of simanim. The custom developed in medieval Ashkenazi communities, where apples were abundant at harvest time and honey was seen as the ultimate symbol of prosperity. Today it has become universal across virtually all Jewish communities.
The blessing: “May it be Your will that this year be sweet and good for us.”
Shop: Kosher honey at Sabeny — including Israeli wildflower honey, date honey (silan), and Yemenite honey.
On Rosh Hashanah, the usual braided challah gives way to a round loaf. The circular shape represents the cycle of the year — with no beginning and no end — and the hope for a full, complete, and unending year ahead. Many families also add honey or raisins to the dough for extra sweetness.
The challah is first dipped in honey rather than salt (as it is on Shabbat) throughout the entire ten-day period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, known as the Aseret Yemei Teshuva.
Shop: Round challahs for Rosh Hashanah at Sabeny — freshly baked, available plain, honey-glazed, and with raisins.
The pomegranate is one of the original Talmudic simanim. Its many seeds — traditionally said to number 613, corresponding to the 613 mitzvot of the Torah — symbolise abundance, fruitfulness, and the aspiration to be as full of merits as a pomegranate is full of seeds.
The blessing: “May our merits increase as the seeds of a pomegranate.”
The pomegranate is also one of the seven species (shivat haminim) with which the Land of Israel was blessed, making it a deeply rooted symbol in Jewish food tradition.
In Hebrew, the word for date — tamar — is connected to the root tam, meaning ‘to end’ or ‘to be finished’. Eating dates on Rosh Hashanah is accompanied by a prayer that our enemies and adversaries should come to an end in the coming year.
Dates are particularly beloved in Sephardi and Mizrahi tradition and are often the first siman eaten at the table. Medjool dates from Israel are the most popular choice.
The blessing: “May it be Your will that our enemies and those who hate us be ended.”
Shop: Kosher dates at Sabeny — including Medjool dates, stuffed dates, and date honey (silan).
The Hebrew word for leek, karti, is related to the root karat, meaning ‘to cut off’. The prayer is that those who wish us harm should be cut off in the new year. Leeks are a central siman in Sephardi tradition and are often served as part of the meal itself — fried, in soup, or in pastry.
The blessing: “May it be Your will that those who hate us be cut off.”
The Hebrew word selek (beetroot) sounds like siluk, meaning ‘to remove’ or ‘to depart’. The associated prayer is that enemies and adversaries should depart from our lives. In Sephardi and Mizrahi communities this is a staple siman; in Ashkenazi households it is less common but increasingly observed.
Beetroot appears in two forms at the Rosh Hashanah table — as a raw siman to be eaten with a blessing, and as part of the meal itself (roasted, pickled, or in a salad).
The Aramaic word kra means both ‘gourd’ and ‘to tear’ or ‘to call out’ — so the associated blessing asks that any evil decrees against us be torn up (kara), and that our merits be called out (kara) before the Heavenly Court. It is also associated with the Hebrew word for ‘to read’, hinting at the Book of Life being opened on Rosh Hashanah.
Gourd is a central siman in Sephardi tradition. It is often served cooked and sweetened — as a sweet pumpkin dish or butternut squash soup — making it one of the more culinarily versatile simanim.
Rosh Hashanah literally means ‘head of the year’. To honour this, many families place a fish head (or occasionally a lamb or ram’s head) on the table, accompanied by the prayer to be like a head and not a tail — to be a leader, not a follower, in the year ahead.
In some communities the fish head is eaten; in others it is simply present on the table as a symbolic display. Many families use a cooked fish head, while others use a decorative or stylised representation.
Shop: Kosher fish at Sabeny — including whole fish and gefilte fish for the Rosh Hashanah table.
In Hebrew, gezer (carrot) sounds like g’zar, meaning ‘decree’. The associated prayer is that any evil decrees against us should be annulled. In Yiddish, carrots are called mern, which means ‘more’ — so Ashkenazi communities also associate carrots with the wish for more good things, more blessings, and more prosperity.
Carrots sliced into rounds also resemble coins, making them a symbol of financial prosperity in the new year. Tzimmes — a sweetened carrot stew, often with honey and dried fruit — is a classic Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah dish built entirely around this symbolism.
Rubia in Aramaic is related to the root for ‘to increase’ or ‘to multiply’. The blessing is for our merits to multiply and increase in the coming year. Black-eyed peas are particularly common in Sephardi and Mizrahi tradition and are often served as a warm salad or in soup.
The Yemenite community adds fenugreek (tiltan) to the list of simanim. Its name resembles the Hebrew word taltel, meaning ‘to increase growth’. Yemenite Jews have one of the most elaborate siman rituals, often reciting the blessings in a formal call-and-response sequence at the start of the meal.
The simanim observed vary significantly between Ashkenazi (Eastern European origin) and Sephardi / Mizrahi (Spanish, Middle Eastern, North African origin) communities. Here is a broad overview:
Apples and honey (תפוח ודבש) Sweetness for the new year — Universal
Round challah (חלה עגולה) Continuity of the year — Universal
Pomegranate (רימון) Abundance — as many merits as seeds — Universal
Dates (תמר) End of enemies (tam = to end) — Primarily Sephardi
Leeks (כרתי) Cut off those who hate us — Primarily Sephardi
Beetroot (סלק) Remove adversaries — Sephardi / some Ashkenazi
Gourd / pumpkin (קרא) Tear up evil decrees — Primarily Sephardi
Fish head (ראש דג) Be a leader, not a follower — Sephardi / some Ashkenazi
Carrots (גזר) Annul decrees / more blessings — Primarily Ashkenazi
Black-eyed peas (רוביא) Merits should multiply — Primarily Sephardi
Fenugreek (תילתן) Growth and increase — Yemenite tradition
You do not need to serve every siman — start with the ones that feel meaningful to your family, and add more over time. Here is a simple approach:
For the full Rosh Hashanah dinner, don’t forget: shop the Sabeny Rosh Hashanah range for everything from round challahs and kosher wine to Yom Tov ready meals and hampers.
RELATED READING ON SABENY MAGAZINE
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EXTERNAL SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
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Talmudic source: Talmud Bavli, Horayot 12a — Sefaria — the original Talmudic passage in which Abaye recommends eating symbolic foods at the start of the year.
Chabad.org: Simanim — symbolic foods for Rosh Hashanah — a comprehensive overview of the main simanim and their blessings.
My Jewish Learning: Simanim: Rosh Hashanah food traditions — accessible explanation of the customs and their variations across communities.
Jerusalem Post: Rosh Hashanah — the time for reflection — on the meaning of individual simanim and evolving attitudes to the tradition.
FAQ — SIMANIM
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Simanim are symbolic foods eaten at the start of the Rosh Hashanah meal. The word means ‘signs’ in Hebrew. Each food is associated — through its name in Hebrew or Aramaic — with a blessing or hope for the new year. The tradition originates in the Talmud and is observed across Jewish communities worldwide, with some variation between Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi traditions.
Apples and honey symbolise the hope for a sweet new year. Honey represents sweetness and prosperity; apples represent life and renewal. Interestingly, this combination is not in the original Talmudic list of simanim — it developed in medieval Ashkenazi communities and has since become the most universally recognised symbol of Rosh Hashanah.
There is no single universally fixed order. Most families begin with apples and honey after Kiddush and challah, then move through pomegranate, dates, leeks, and other simanim. Sephardi families often follow a more structured sequence and may recite formal blessings over each food in turn.
The core simanim — apples, honey, pomegranate, and round challah — are observed very widely across Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi communities. The fuller set of simanim (dates, leeks, beetroot, gourd, fish head, carrots, black-eyed peas) is more commonly observed in Sephardi and Mizrahi households, though it is becoming increasingly common in Ashkenazi families too.
Sabeny delivers kosher simanim across the UK, including honey, pomegranates, dates, round challah, and Rosh Hashanah essentials. Browse the full range at sabeny.com/rosh-hashanah.
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Shana Tova uMetukah — a good and sweet new year.
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