Rosh Hashanah Seder
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ROSH HASHANAH SEDER

A script for the table · both nights

Setting Up

On the Table
Dates · pomegranate · apple and honey · black-eyed peas · leek or chives · chard or spinach · squash · a fish head

Also: a melon, two round challahs, honey for dipping, wine, candles.
Second night: add a fruit nobody has eaten yet this season. Leave a candle burning from before sundown so you have a flame to light from.
If You're Leading
Whole thing runs about 30 minutes. Candles and Kiddush 10, bread 5, the eight foods 12. Then dinner.
Every food has a Dvar Torah. Read it or say it your own way.

Running behind? Read the bolded first line and move on.

Three of them end with a question for the table. Use them or don't. Hand a couple of the foods to someone else to lead.

Candles

Lighting
Light the candles. Cover your eyes. Say both blessings. Uncover.
light first, then cover your eyes
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֺתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel yom hazikaron.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who made us holy with His commandments and commanded us to light the candle of the Day of Remembrance.
uncover your eyes
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לִזְמַן הַזֶּה.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higi'anu lizman hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who kept us alive, sustained us, and got us to this moment.

Kiddush

Kiddush
Everyone stands. Cup in your right palm.
Dvar TorahTonight is the world's birthday and its judgment day. Same 24 hours.

Rosh Hashanah is Yom Harat Olam, the day the world was conceived. It's also Yom HaDin, the day of judgment. Both names, one date.

We mark it with wine and a four course dinner. Yom Kippur is the fast, ten days from now. Tonight is the dinner.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, borei p'ri hagafen.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Continue the Yom Tov Kiddush from the machzor. It ends with Shehecheyanu.
second night: look at the new fruit while you say this
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לִזְמַן הַזֶּה.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higi'anu lizman hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who kept us alive, sustained us, and got us to this moment.
Drink most of the cup. Pass it around.

Washing and Bread

Washing
Everyone washes. Three times over each hand, alternating. Dry. Say the blessing. Nobody talks until after the bread.
silence from here until everyone has eaten bread
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֺתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדָיִם.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al netilat yadayim.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who made us holy with His commandments and commanded us about washing hands.
Hamotzi
Hold both challahs. Say the blessing. Cut, dip in honey instead of salt, pass a piece to everyone.
Dvar Torah51 weeks a year this bread goes in salt. Tonight it goes in honey.

Salt is the Temple thing. Vayikra 2:13 - every offering gets salted. Salt preserves, which is the whole point of it.

Honey preserves nothing. It just makes the thing taste better than it did.
dip in honey, eat, then everyone can talk
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who brings bread out of the earth.

Starting the Seder

Read This Out
Say this before the first food.
Dvar TorahEight foods, one sentence each, about 12 minutes.

Source is Horayot 12a. Abaye says be regular in seeing gourd, fenugreek, leek, chard and dates at the start of the year. Seeing, not eating. The yehi ratzon lines got added centuries later.

Every one is a pun, they're bad puns, and none of them survive translation. Nobody thought the vegetable does anything.

Eight times tonight, out loud, in front of each other, we say what we want this year. Most people never say that once.

Pattern: blessing, bite, say the line, one more bite.

1. Dates

Dates
Everyone takes a date. This blessing covers the pomegranate and apple too, so have them in mind.
Dvar TorahTamar is date. Yitamu is let them end. We're asking that the people who want to hurt us stop.

The Baal Shem Tov read it inward too. Whatever is working against you from the inside. The grudge you keep warm, the habit you're sick of, the voice that says don't bother.

The ask is not that anyone gets destroyed. Just that it ends.
everyone takes a bite
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, borei p'ri ha'etz.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
then one more bite
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּתַּמּוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכָל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, sheyitamu oy'veinu v'son'einu v'chol m'vakshei ra'ateinu.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that our enemies, the people who hate us, and everyone who wants to harm us come to an end.

2. Pomegranate

Pomegranate
No blessing. Everyone takes some seeds.
Dvar TorahEveryone says a pomegranate has 613 seeds. It doesn't. Actual counts run anywhere from 200 to 1,400 depending on the fruit. Somebody did the study.

The Talmud line is better anyway. Brachot 57a: even the emptiest people among Israel are as full of mitzvot as a pomegranate is full of seeds.

It isn't about the obviously righteous ones. It's about the people you'd underestimate.

Round the table: name one thing somebody else here did this year that they probably think nobody clocked.
bite, say it, bite again
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁנִּהְיֶה מְלֵאִים מִצְוֺת כָּרִמּוֹן.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, shenihyeh m'lei'im mitzvot karimon.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that we be as full of mitzvot as a pomegranate is full of seeds.

3. Apple in Honey

Apple in Honey
No blessing. Everyone dips.
Dvar TorahOf every sweet thing available, we use an apple. There's a reason.

Shabbat 88a compares Israel to an apple tree, and the detail is specific: the apple tree puts out fruit before it puts out leaves. It commits before it has cover.

That's na'aseh v'nishma at Sinai. We'll do it, then we'll understand it. In that order.
bite, say it, bite again
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, shet'chadesh aleinu shana tova um'tuka.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that You give us a good and sweet year.

4. Black-Eyed Peas

Black-Eyed Peas
Say this blessing on the melon, with the peas and the next three foods in mind. Then everyone takes some peas.
Dvar TorahRubia sounds like yirbu - let them increase. We're asking for more merits.

Look at what got picked to represent that. Not gold, not a big impressive fruit. A bean you eat 40 of in one sitting and never count.

Nobody has one enormous merit. People have a few hundred small ones they've completely forgotten about.
say this on the melon, then everyone takes a bite of the peas
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה.
Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, borei p'ri ha'adama.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.
then one more bite
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּרְבּוּ זְכֻיּוֹתֵינוּ.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, sheyirbu z'chuyoteinu.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that our merits increase.

5. Leek

Leek or Chives
No blessing. Everyone takes some.
Dvar TorahKarti is leek. Yikartu is let them be cut off.

Three of the eight foods tonight are about the same thing - dates, leek, chard. All three ask about people who want to hurt us.

These lines were written at tables in Baghdad, Isfahan, Toledo and Salonika, in centuries where that was not a figure of speech. Our family said this one in Persian houses for a few hundred years before anyone at this table was born.
bite, say it, bite again
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּכָּרְתוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכָל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, sheyikartu oy'veinu v'son'einu v'chol m'vakshei ra'ateinu.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that our enemies, the people who hate us, and everyone who wants to harm us be cut off.

6. Chard or Spinach

Chard or Spinach
No blessing. Everyone takes some. If the leaves weren't checked for bugs, say the line and skip the eating.
Dvar TorahSilka is chard. Yistalku is let them go away.

Three asks in a row, and they get softer as they go. Let them end. Let them be cut off. Then, finally, let them just leave.

That last one is what most of us would actually take.
bite, say it, bite again
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּסְתַּלְּקוּ אוֹיְבֵינוּ וְשׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְכָל מְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתֵנוּ.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, sheyistalku oy'veinu v'son'einu v'chol m'vakshei ra'ateinu.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that our enemies, the people who hate us, and everyone who wants to harm us clear out.

7. Squash

Squash or Pumpkin
No blessing. Everyone takes some.
Dvar TorahK'ra is gourd, and it hides two words. Kera means tear up. Kara means read out loud.

So one sentence asks for both: tear up whatever's bad in the file, read out everything good in it.

Same file. Same 12 months. Same things happened. The whole ask is about which parts get read into the record.

Round the table: one thing from this year you'd want read out loud.
bite, say it, bite again
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁתִּקְרַע רוֹעַ גְּזַר דִּינֵנוּ, וְיִקָּרְאוּ לְפָנֶיךָ זְכֻיּוֹתֵינוּ.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, shetikra roa g'zar dineinu, v'yikar'u l'faneicha z'chuyoteinu.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that You tear up any harsh decree against us, and that our merits get read out in front of You.

8. The Head

Fish Head
Last one. Everyone takes a small piece.
Dvar TorahLet us be the head and not the tail. The line is from Devarim 28:13, in the blessings Moshe gives before they cross into the land.

A head picks the direction. A tail covers the exact same ground either way.

So the last thing we ask before dinner isn't to be more important this year. It's to be the one picking.

Round the table: one thing this year you want to pick rather than let happen to you.
bite, say it, bite again
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁנִּהְיֶה לְרֹאשׁ וְלֹא לְזָנָב.
Yehi ratzon milfaneicha Adonai eloheinu velohei avoteinu, shenihyeh l'rosh v'lo l'zanav.
May it be Your will, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that we be the head and not the tail.

Then Eat

Closing
That's the seder. Bring out dinner.
Dvar TorahEight foods, eight sentences, 12 minutes.

Every ask tonight was plural. Our enemies, our merits, our year. The text doesn't give you a singular option anywhere.

So whatever anyone here is quietly carrying into this year, it already got asked for. By everyone at this table. Out loud.

Shana tova.
Tomorrow Night
Do the whole thing again. Two changes.
Put a new fruit on the table before Kiddush, something nobody has eaten yet this season, and look at it during Shehecheyanu.

Light the candles after dark, off a flame that's already burning.