Philadelphia – Ronit Tritman and her family are proud to put weeks of work into one very special meal.
“Between shopping and cooking, at least two weeks of work,” she said.
Time is essential because Eid is when every item on the menu has meaning.
“Pumpkin, leeks and chimes,” she said, pointing to the produce on her dining-room table. “They all symbolize the desire for peace.”
Traditional foods are used to celebrate one of the most important days of the Jewish calendar: Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year.
“These are the days when we count our souls,” she said. “We improve ourselves and the world and have a better year next year.”
Trettmann prepares each of the dishes she prepares in traditional style, much the way it has been prepared for thousands of years including the preparation of the Biblical Fruit Honey, which does not use bee honey.
But Tretman, a board member of the American Jewish Committee, realizes that not everyone in the Jewish faith can learn all the traditions.
“I work with the descendants of forcibly converted people in Spain and Portugal, some of whom are interested in learning about their ancestral traditions,” said Tretman, who is of Israeli descent.
Trettmann family origins in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Her work with people from Latin and Latin cultures also gives her a broader view of her faith.
“I believe in celebrating the diversity of the Jewish people,” she said.
Trittman showed it when she published a book herself last year called “Hands-On for the Jewish Holidays.” The book originally developed the idea of writing a book for her children, in which the book details Jewish holidays with cooking, crafts, and customs.
She said, “We say Shanna Tofa.” “Wishing you a happy and sweet New Year.”
It is not only a different greeting for the Jewish New Year but a completely different year, and it is not the year 2023.
“It’s 5783 for us,” Trettman said.
It is said that this year will be significant as the country emerges from the pandemic.
“This will be a year of synergy,” she explained.
It is meaningful, as Jewish families gather in synagogues and around traditional tables with traditional dishes.
“Apples wish you a sweet New Year,” Trettman said. “We usually dip them in honey.”
She also explained the whole fish and the separate fish head on the table.
“A fish’s head when we say can we be heads and not tails…we should think of ourselves.”
The fact that Trettman can keep her traditions explains why her table is so full and heartfelt.
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