We served apple preserves spiced with whole cloves, dates stuffed with walnuts, pomegranate ("May we be as full of mitzvot as this pomegranate is full of seeds"), spinach, pumpkin, scallions and string beans. The blessings over the vegetables derive from puns on their Hebrew names that turn into wishes that our enemies should be destroyed. In Calcutta, we also used a sheep’s head to concretize the biblical hope that we should be “heads and not tails.” Understandably, we did away with this particular dish in America!
The seder also reflects the kabbalistic influence on our community. We recite five biblical verses—from 10 to 17 times each. The word and repetition counts, when added up, suggest numerically calculated hopes for a good year. The last verse is: “And you will have peace, and your house will have peace, and everything that is yours will have peace.”
Nothing acid or sour is eaten on Rosh Hashanah, such as the sweet-and-sour Arabic dish called “khatta.” Instead, the meal consists of tempting dishes like “mahmoora,” chicken cooked with tomatoes, spices, almonds and raisins, served on a bed of pilau (rice) and topped with none other than “roshinkes mit mandlen"—more raisins and almonds sauteed quickly until crisp and golden. We even dip the hallah into sugar, not salt, after reciting the motzi.
If you’re looking for a place to celebrate Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, why not spend the holidays here? We offer High Holidays services both at the 92nd Street Y and at Makor. And you can send one of our free holiday eCards to someone you care about any time.
With Rosh Hashanah just around the corner, we thought it might be interesting to take a look at the holiday practices of the 
