Shulchan Aruch (583:1) states, “Rosh Hashanah, one should eat ,סלקא ,כרתי...רוביא קרא ,תמרי. When you eat רוביא say שירבו רצון יהי זכויתנו. When you eat כרתי say שונאינו יכרתו... Some have the custom to eat an apple sweetened in honey, and to say, עלינו שתחדש מתוקה טובה שנה, 'Make this new year a good, sweet year,’ and that is the custom. Some eat pomegranates and say, כרימון זכיות נרבה. And the tradition is to eat fatty meat and all types of sweet foods.”
The Mishnah Berurah writes, “There are those who don’t cook sour foods on Rosh Hashanah, such as borsht and the like. Those who eat fish–as a sign that we should multiply like fish–shouldn’t cook it in vinegar.”
The origin of this concept is the Gemara (Krisus 6), which states, הוא מילתא סימנא, a sign has significance.
But let us understand this some more. How do the simanim help make the new year a good year?
The Mishnah Berurah writes, “The Shlah teaches that these signs remind the person to rouse himself to teshuvah and to pray for these matters.” When he eats the apple with honey, he is reminded that he wants a sweet year. When he eats the כרתי, he remembers that this year, he wants to see the destruction of the resha'im, that it should be שונאינו יכרתו. This rouses him to teshuvah and to pray for these matters.
Reb Shlomo Kluger (Chochmas Shlomo) writes, "Eating these foods isn’t a tefillah. Eating is never a tefillah. Rather, we eat these foods to show our trust that Hashem will give us a good year...and we say on them [that it should be a good year]. If chas veshalom there was a harsh decree, it will be turned for the good through our words."
Reb Shlomo Kluger adds, "On Rosh Hashanah, after shacharis, one should say, כל עביד לטב רחמנא דעביד מה, 'Everything Hashem does is for the good.' לטובה זו וגם 'And this is also for the good.' Such words turn things over that everything will indeed be good."
Mishnah Berurah writes, "We do simanim as a good omen. Therefore, it’s obvious that one must be cautious not to become angry these days. In addition to the severe sin, one must make a good sign for the new year. He should be happy and trust in Hashem."
People in Yerushalayim would say, "If an apple dipped in honey is a sign of a sweet year, certainly, if a person is a ‘sweet Yid’, with a smile on his face, and greeting others warmly, what better omen can there be for a sweet new year?"
