Simanim, Positive and Negative, for Rosh HaShannah

I rarely post here any more. Now I post Torah thoughts at Beis Vaad. But this is so unserious, I could not bring myself to post it there, so here it is.

Siman 583 discusses auspicious and inauspicious foods and behaviors for Rosh Hashanah.  Here are some brief personal comments and suggestions. 

1. Nuts. The Rema brings a minhag to not eat nuts on Rosh Hashanna.   My mother made honey cake with walnuts for yomtov.  My wife asked her how she could use walnuts when we don't eat nuts on Rosh Hashanah, and my mother said "Drei mir nisht kein kop." In my mother's lexicon, those words meant that the families of the Talmud Torah in Kelm used to make honey cake with nuts on Rosh Hashanah, so that was the end of the discussion.  (My mother's father, Harav Akiva Berlin, was one of the greatest talmidim of the Kelmer Talmud Torah, and he was Rav Chatzkel Levenstein's chavrusa there. When my mother came to visit him in Eretz Yisroel he stood up for her in honor of her father, or maybe in honor of my uncle, Rav Mottel Pagremanski.) 

2. Grapes. Maaseh Rav 204, that the Gaon did not eat grapes on Rosh Hashanah, brought and discussed in the Kaf Hachaim, who brings Brachos 56b and a Zohar that seem to be negative about black grapes, but that the Zohar later seems to be positive about them:

כף החיים על שולחן ערוך אורח חיים תקפ״ג:כ״א:א׳

כא) אין  לאכול ענבים בר"ה והטעם ע"פ הסוד. מעשה רב או' ר"ד. וכתב פעולת שכיר שם זכר לדבר עיין ברכות נ"ו ע"ב הרואה ענבים וכו' עכ"ל ולפ"ז משמע דוקא ענבים שחורים אבל ענבים לבנים אדרבא סי' טוב הם כיעו"ש. וכ"ה בזוהר פ' תרומה דף קמ"ד ע"א. ומיהו עי"ש בזוהר שכתב שהרואה אוכל ענבים שחורות בחלום מובטח לו שהוא בן עוה"ב יעו"ש. ואפשר לענין ר"ה יש להקפיד שלא לאכול ענבים שחורים וגם להעלותם על השלחן בר"ם יש להקפיד מן הטעם הנז' שם בזוהר יעו"ש.

Piskei Tshuvos in 683:7 brings that some source the Gaon's hanhaga to a Zohar involving the Etz HaDaas on Rosh Hashanah. 

The Piskei Teshuvos also brings in note 46 from Orchos Rabbeinu that said that in the last year of the Chazon Ish's life he said that the only reason the Gaon refrained was because the only grapes that were available to him were sour. 

Here is my personal experience. We were in Reb Moshe's office in Staten Island on Rosh Hashanah and either Rav Pesach Brody or Rav Moshe Meir Weiss, both then bachurim, brought the Rosh Yeshiva some grapes in the afternoon, and he declined.  He asked the Rosh Yeshiva, the Maaseh Rav says the Gaon didn't eat grapes on Rosh Hashanah, are we noheg like that? The Rosh Yeshiva said that he just wasn't interested in eating at that moment. Then he thought about the Gaon's hanhaga, and said that there is no makor in Chazal that would be the basis for such a minhag so there is no reason for us to be careful. The bachur asked, maybe someone had the same experience with the Gaon, that he brought him grapes and he simply did not want them, and he misconstrued it as a hanhaga? The Rosh Yeshiva said no, he does not believe that. The Rebbetzin, having seen many such misunderstandings of the Rosh Yeshiva's behavior, thought that was a good explanation, and already being slightly hard of hearing, repeated that suggestion. The Rosh Yeshiva exhibited some impatience and said that the Siddur HaGra and the Maaseh Rav was carefully examined by talmidim of the Gaon and by the Vilner Beis Din, so it was not stam a misunderstood story. But even so, whatever the Gaon's reason was, he, Reb Moshe, holds there is no reason to avoid grapes le'maaseh. 

So both Reb Moshe and the Chazon Ish said there is nothing wrong with eating grapes on Rosh Hashanah.

Also, from the Machzor Vitri, that the minhag in France at the time of the Rishonim was davka to eat grapes, but he specifies white grapes, on Rosh HaShanah.

מחזור ויטרי, הלכות ראש השנה שכ״ג:א׳

אמרי' בפרקי דר' אליעזר בן הורקנוס בראש [חדש] אלול אמ' הק' למשה עלה אלי ההרה והעברת שופר בכל המחנה שהיה משה עולה בהר שלא יטעו עוד ישראל לע"ז. והקב"ה נתעלה באותו שופר. שנאמר עלה אלהים בתרועה י"י בקול שופר (תהילים מ״ז:ו׳) ולכך התקינו חיטים שיהו תוקעים בראש חדש אלול בכל שנה ושנה: מצ': בפ"א דכריתות גמרא המפטם את השמן. אמ' אביי השתא דאמרת סימנא מילתא היא. יהא איניש רגיל למחזי בריש שתא קרא כרתי סילקא ותמרי. מיכן נהגו בני צרפת לאכול בראש השנה תפוחים אדומים. וכן בפרוונצא אוכלין ענבים לבנים ותאנים לבנים וראש כבש. כל דבר חדש וקל וטוב לסימן טוב לכל ישראל:

The Piskei Teshuvos, not my photo, found it online, so I'm לא תגזזו אתון אלא לגזזוה אינהו ויהבו לכו in Sukka 30a.

So don't worry about grapes. Even if you do avoid grapes, don't be like the people that are worried about the raisins in raisin challah, raisins being the subject of the Forum on the topic. My achrayus; you have nothing to worry about. 

3.  My mother always made Farfel on Rosh HaShanah, and again, that means they made it in the Talmud Torah families in Kelm. She did not know why. She speculated that it was because it was oily, a siman of ashirus. 

4.  Simna Milsa.

The minhag of eating auspicious Simanim is the main topic of OC 684. As you all know, many years ago, a very choshuveh posek in Baltimore was the one that came up with cutting a raisin in half and putting it into a piece of celery, so we should be zocheh to "have a raise in salary." A friend of mine suggested that you pass it out under the table, so you shouldn't have to pay taxes on it.
In that spirit, here are some suggestions to break out of the over-analyzed, over-sanctified, simanim rut. I am confident that they are no less valid than any others. In fact, the Mishna Berura there says that you should use simanim that make sense in the local language, whether it's Hebrew, or Yiddish, or Turkish - 

(א) וכשיאכל רוביא וכו' - וה"ה מה שנקרא בלשונות אחרים לשון רביה יאכל כל מדינה ומדינה כלשונה:

In these new simanim I am not going to do בשם ואמרו. because I think that b'sheim omro only is a maalah when the person you're quoting would be proud to be identified.

I know that much of this is childish, but wouldn't an illustrated version of the new simanim be a pleasant change from the ubiquitous, pious, laminated cards we get every year?
And since color pictures lend credibility, I've added that, too. Feel free to print it out, and laminate it, and surprise your friends and neighbors.

- About apples- note that the Machzor Vitri I quoted above says red apples, but the Rema just says sweet. 

Heart of Palm:

יהי רצון שתיחד לבבנו לאהבה וליראה את שמך

based on

 רבי לוי אומר כתמר, מה תמר זה אין לו אלא לב אחד אף ישראל אין להם אלא לב אחד לאביהם שבשמים (סוכה, מה:).

Hot peppers:

יהי רצון שנזכה לפילפולא חריפתא

We should be zocheh to say sharp Pilpul.
based on

אמר רבא ואיתימא רב נחמן בר יצחק היינו דאמרי אינשי: טבא חדא פלפלתא חריפתא ממלי צנא דקרי (חגיגה, י ע"א).

Sweet Peppers:

יהי רצון שנזכה לפילפול מתוק

We should be zocheh to say Geshmakkeh, or sweet, Pilpul. I remember my parents telling me that Reb Elchonon said about Reb Mendel Kaplan that he had "a head like a violin," that his lomdus was so sweet.

Beer:

יהי רצון שתיבנה הבירה אשר הכינות במהרה בימינו

based on

ור"ל אמר כל המקדש כולו קרוי בירה שנאמר (דברי הימים א כט, יט) הבירה אשר הכינותי
(יומא ב.)

(make sure to pour it carefully so it doesn't have a head, because the foam is called קצף, and you don't want to drink קצף. You also do not want to cut off its head, obviously not a propitious harbinger unless you belong to the Taliban. Add to that the fact that my shver Shlitah, Rav Reuven, follows the Gemara in Chulin 105b where Abaya says דְּלָא שָׁתֵי אוּפְיָא, that the foam on drinks is insalubrious.

 וְאָמַר אַבָּיֵי: מֵרֵישׁ הֲוָה אָמֵינָא, הַאי דְּלָא שָׁתֵי אוּפְיָא – מִשּׁוּם מְאִיסוּתָא. אֲמַר לִי מָר: מִשּׁוּם דְּקָשֵׁי לְכַרְסָם. מִישְׁתְּיֵהּ – קָשֵׁה לְכַרְסָם, מִינְפַּח בֵּיהּ – קַשְׁיָא לְרֵישָׁא, מִדְחֲיֵיהּ – קַשְׁיָא לְעַנְיוּתָא. מַאי תַּקַּנְתֵּיהּ? לְשַׁקְּעֵיהּ שַׁקּוֹעֵי. )

Chicken Liver, Leberlach:

We and the people we invested our money with (I wrote this years ago, and unfortunately, it was an unanswered prayer) should be inspired to  לֱעבּ־עֶרלַאך. 

(Parev- it's Tofutti) Pizza:

 יהי רצון שיתפוצצו שונאינו

Sausage, נקניקיה

יהי רצון שנתנקה (תנקניקנו) מחטאנו ומעוונותינו

Lettuce, חסה

יהי רצון שתחוס ותרחם עלינו

Shnitzel:

יהי רצון שניצול מאויבנו

Star Fruit:

יהי רצון שתרבה זרעינו ככוכבי השמים

Wax Beans dipped in Techina:

יהי רצון שתקבל ברחמים וברצון שועתינו ותחינתינו

(שעווה, שוועה, for simanim it's close enough.)
(Wax beans are a kind of edible string bean with a pale yellow pod instead of green.)

Beans in a Heart of Palm:

יהי רצון שתתן בליבנו בינה להבין ולהשכיל

Do not use Fava beans. In Aramaic and Arabic they're called "Fool."

Helzel, if you're from Litteh or Russia, and you're lucky enough to get it:

יהי רצון שיתמלאו גרונותינו
alternatively
יהי רצון שיתמלאו גרנותינו

Yams:

We should dive deep into the Yam HaTalmud. My father זצוק"ל, who learned with Reb Leizer Platzinsky all his years in Slabodka, learned and knew klor (according to the Rogotchover's assessment) all of shas including the mashechtos ketanos and the introductions of the Tiferes Yisrael to Mishnayos. said that the difference between someone who knows everything and someone who knows just the basics is the difference between splashing in a kiddie pool and swimming in the ocean.

Mayonnaise:
שתפתח לנו מעיינות החכמה
This only works if you pronounce the Cholem like the Feinsteins do - a long ā, like Ribeinei shel Eilem, thus, mayoneis hachochmeh.

Squash:
Our enemies should be squashed.
based on Tur and Mechaber OC 583:1, 
כרתי יכרתו שונאינו, סלקא יסתלקו אויבינו, תמרי יתמו שונאינו

Pickles (brine, not vinegar, for those of us
that don't use vinegar till Hoshana Rabba)
יהי רצון שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך מעלינו ויגולו רחמיך על מדותיך

Chicken wings, preferably four: 
קבצינו יחד מארבע כנפות הארץ

Sardines.
סר דין 
יהי רצון שיאמר סר דין


This one is good for at least three simanim - fish, hot pepper, and sar din.

From R Menachem Shafran -
A Sunny Side Up.

May our lives always be sunny side up.
My first impression was that even by the standards of "simanim," it was sort of silly. But after thinking about it, I decided that the Pollyanna-ish and Panglossian incongruity with the extremely stressful, even terrified, mood of "Unesaneh Tokef," make me smile, as Tom Lehrer said.

and, once we're talking about eggs, 
Eggs:
יהי רצון שתתקננו בעצה טובה מלפניך
 (בעצה/ביצה)

Banana for bonne année, Good Year in French. (Banana in French is also banane.)

Since I have descended to the nadir, I want to share one of the inevitable "Siman Questions" rabbanim get around this time of year - which involve the minhag not to eat אגוזים, nuts, on Rosh HaShanah because it's not a good Siman. 

This one was "Can I use coconut oil in a Rosh HaShanah dish?"

Looking to the botanic definition is absurd, because anything that develops with a soft exterior is not a nut, which would exclude walnuts, almonds, filberts, and cashews. The botanical and the culinary definitions are almost mutually exclusive, unless you eat beech nuts and acorns. So obviously, we're thinking about the vernacular. On that basis, my answer was

1. Since the flesh firmly adheres to the inside of the shell it is clearly different than what we call a nut.

2. Additionally, the presence of liquid inside distinguishes it from what we commonly call nuts.

3. Even if it is a nut, (which it is not,) perhaps we can be meikil. The extracted oil is a shinui gamur, and what is Rosh HaShanna about, if not being meshaneh Aveiros into Zechuyos? Many don't eat grapes, but I haven't heard about not drinking grape juice. 

So, in all humility, and fully cognizant of how significant this issue is, I am comfortable paskening that one may use coconut oil in Rosh HaShanah dishes. It is not a siman of חטא. 

HOWEVER, one should be aware of the opinion of Professor Karin Michels, an epidemiologist at Harvard. According to Professor Michels, using coconut oil is a Siman- it is a siman of tipshus.