If you’ve never heard of a Rosh Hashanah Seder, you aren’t alone, but Rahel Musleah is trying to change that. The tradition, which Musleah summarizes in her new children’s book, “Apples and Pomegranates: A Rosh Hashanah Seder” (Kar-Ben), with illustrations by Judy Jarrett, comes from her native India, where it was long practiced by the community of Sephardic Jews to which she can trace her ancestry.

Like the Passover Seder, the Seder outlined in Musleah’s book includes rituals to be enacted through the Rosh Hashanah meal, with food playing a central role. Eight culinary dishes — including a dish of green beans, which are called lubia in India and are mentioned in the Talmud — are presented as the centerpiece of the Seder, with relevant stories from a variety of sources, including the Torah, Tunisian and Turkish mythology, and Jewish folklore anthologies.

In an implicit acknowledgement of just how exotic some of its content will seem to some readers, Musleah encourages improvisation when necessary. It should be understood as a “template” available for expansion and alteration, she said. For example, though she perused a plethora of sources in her search for pertinent stories, Musleah could find not find one for every dish. So she improvised, transforming the story of “Jack and the Beanstalk” into the more Semitic “Jacob and the Beanstalk.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The usage of an eternally popular children’s tale demonstrates one of the Seder book’s chief aims: to make the holidays appealing to kids. Indeed, “Apples and Pomegranates” offers a “Family Seder” that pays ample attention to the little ones. Musleah, who recalls her Rosh Hashanah Seders as a child in the fondest of terms, now hopes to see other children have the same experiences.

“I remember cutting the pomegranate, taking the seeds out, making sure it didn’t splatter all over the kitchen and my clothes,” she said. “That’s the stuff memories are made of. It sounds corny, but it’s true.”

Her own personal trove of Seder memories and experiences was a major impetus for the book’s publication. She drew upon a slightly tattered, yet mostly legible paper of prayers that had been used by her family in India for generations — a gesture that may serve to preserve and popularize a ritual that, along with the Jewish community in India, may have been in danger of disappearing.

Ethan Porter is a sophomore at Bard College.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount