Sweet New Year: Where was it customary to dip apple challah in honey? • Rosh Hashanah customs

September 18, 2020   

The Jewish people and the saints used to dip a slice of challah in honey on Rosh Hashanah, as a good sign that the year would be good and sweet as honey. This is an ancient custom that was already practiced in Ashkenazi cities, and as it is written in the book Leket Yosher (page 129), every time one ate on the two days of Rosh Hashanah, the bread was dipped in honey with the blessing of the one who takes it out. And in the book Imrei Noam (Dzikov 33) he provides a hint of this, from Capital Pa that the Levites sang in the Temple on Rosh Hashanah, which says, "And they fed him with wheat milk," which is the slice of the one who takes it out that comes from wheat, and then it says, "And with honey I will bless you.". Dipping the slice in raw honey Many good people practice dipping the challah only in live honey from bees while it is still in the wax, and as it is written in the traditions of the author of Terumat Hashanah, who recommended using live honey, which is a good sign, and this honey is one of the finest, since bees are similar to justice, because the way of the bees is that they take revenge on those who hurt them, while what comes out of them is sweet, and it is a sign to us that we are moving from the dimension of judgment to the dimension of mercy, and live honey is a sign of life. Baptism began with salt There are places that used to dip the slice in honey on these days, and not also dip it in salt as on other days of the year, and this was the custom of the Zere Kodesh of Rapszitz, zt"l, and the Rehhak of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, zt"l, as well as the custom in Chabad, Sighet, and it was the custom in the city of Mattersdorf. And there are many places that did use to dip it in salt as well, and as the "Kaf Chaim" (Letter D) and the "Katze Hamata" write, even if it is customary to dip a slice of the homitzi in honey, it does not cancel the custom of the Arizal and the Kabbalists to practice as they do all year round to dip a slice of the homitzi in salt in order to sweeten the din, as is well known, and it is not appropriate to cancel this at any meal or other such event on these days. What comes first – the salt or the honey? Among those who used to dip even in salt, we found differences in customs, with some people using the honey before the salt, as is the case in Manhagi Alik, and in Responsa Shlomet Chaim (see Relev) who writes that one should dip one side first in honey and taste it, and then dip in salt and taste it so that the taste of honey, which is a good sign, is not lost. However, the custom in Belza and Kamarna is to dip in salt first and then in honey, and so that the taste of honey is not lost, people use the Belza to shake the salt before dipping in honey, or some use the custom of dipping in salt and eating a little and then dipping in honey (see Siddur Yeshuot Yisrael). Sugar instead of honey The custom in Izmir was to dip challah in sugar and not honey, and the reason was because of the fear of a mixture of prohibitions mixed with honey, and especially during the Ten Days of Repentance one must be careful of fears of prohibitions. The Gaon Rabbi Chaim Pelaji zt"l writes in his book 'Mo'ed Lak Chai' (Si. 12:16) that he used to dip challah in both honey and sugar, and so did his rabbi, Rabbi Rafael Yitzchak Mayo zt"l, one of the great sages of Izmir zt"l. Sugar instead of salt There are places where it was customary to dip challah in sugar instead of salt, so that it would be a good sign, and this was the custom in the city of Baghdad, according to the testimony of the Ben Ish Chai, zt"l. And the Gaon Baal Ben Ish Chai, zt"l himself used to dip a slice of challah in both salt and sugar, and so did his student the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer, zt"l, and as he writes in his book 'Kaf Ha-Chaim' (C. 67:37), one should not omit the salt and dip the challah in salt before the sugar. Saying 'May it be so'' In the "Meta Ephraim" it is written that when one dips a slice of the apple in honey, one should say, "May it be your will that a good and sweet year may begin for us," but the "Alef HaMagen" (Sakach) stated that the custom is not to say "May it be your will" at all, even though it is dipped in honey, but only to say it after eating the apple with honey. Immersion in honey in the month of Tishrei The Magen Avraham cites the custom only on Rosh Hashanah, but in the Meta Ephraim (33:18) it is written that even at the meal before Yom Kippur, it is customary to dip the challah in honey. In the Ziditsov, the custom is to dip also on the night and day of Hoshana Rabbah. In the Ketzeh Hamata, it is mentioned in the book 'Eitim Lavina' that it is customary to dip the challah in honey on Rosh Hashanah, on the eve of Yom Kippur, and on Sukkot until after Shemini Atzeret. Many people also practice dipping on the Shabbats in between, as the Baal Tanya zt"l writes in his articles, and the custom in Belza is to dip also on Shabbat Bereshit. Dipping the apple slice in honey Finally, we note that there were places where it was customary to dip the challah together with an apple in honey and eat it that way, and this was the custom in Egypt ('Neve Shalom'). And the book 'Keter Shem Tov' cites the custom of the Sephardim from London and Amsterdam to dip the slice of challah in an apple. • Courtesy of 'Darshu''