|
August 30, 2013
For a celebratory year
Israeli wines can be part of holiday’s simanim.
DANIELA FELDMAN
Rosh Hashanah is about setting the frame for the new year. It’s a chance for all of us to start anew and press refresh on our goals, values and lifestyle. As Jews, we get a chance to evaluate the past year and reassess how life in 5774 should be. That’s why many families on Rosh Hashanah have the custom of setting out certain dishes, such as fish, beets and pomegranates, as simanim, or omens, for the new year. These foods can set the tone for reflections, as well as provide the impetus for discussion on wishes and hopes for the future.
The longest-standing, most popular and most symbolic of these simanim is the apple dipped in honey, which represents the wish for a sweet new year.
There are also many people who believe that placing a fish head upon the holiday table has much significance because it symbolizes the wish that we “be like a head, and not a tail,” leaders of our lives, not followers.
Then there’s the pomegranate. Not only one of Israel’s native seven species, the pomegranate is elegant, tasty and filled with seeds, which are seen to represent the wish that the Jewish people be fruitful and full of mitzvot.
These traditional simanim are powerful, familiar and fitting. However, there is also the concept of renewing the simanim, finding other simanim and adding a personal touch that represents one’s own objectives in life. Many sources in Jewish tradition talk about the ability we have to turn anything into a siman and to enrich our holiday festivities with splendid meals, meaningful observances and thoughtful discussions.
In this latter regard, why not begin with the item already present on all Rosh Hashanah tables: the wine.
For centuries, wine has been a symbol of status and elegance. Wine has a rich taste and, with so many styles of winemaking, it is also abundant and diverse. There is a wine for every drinker.
Moreover, wine in Jewish tradition is about joy and celebration. Each simchah, ritual or ceremony is centred on wine. Kiddush is essential to nearly all Jewish ceremonies, and Israeli wine has revamped the scope of “Kiddush wine” beyond the con- fines of sweet syrup.
Israeli wineries have produced quality, award-winning wines that stand out for their flavor, body and diversity. Bringing a taste of Israel to the Rosh Hashanah meals by choosing a delicate Israeli wine as a siman for joy will usher in a new year that is only full of happiness, pleasure and pure simchah.
This Rosh Hashanah, try a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, the first Israeli wine to win an international award, back in 1987. Golan Heights Winery launched their 1984 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon to international acclaim and changed the perception of Israeli wine forever. Though it may be hard to find a bottle of the original award winner, the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon continues to win awards with its classic taste.
Rosh Hashanah’s simanim centre around ushering in a sweet year, so a sweet dessert wine, such as the Golan Moscato, would be a nice addition to the holiday menu, to accompany the final course and toast the New Year. On the theme of aspiring toward an affluent new year, a meal could be elevated by a bottle of bubbly, such as the Gilgal Brut or the award-winning Yarden Heightswine.
A quality, elegant wine could help set the frame for your new year. May we all live in 5774 with celebration, health, joy and success. May we not have cause to “whine” during the upcoming year.
– Courtesy of International Media Placement
^TOP
|
