But some meanings are slightly more obscure. Take the eating of pome-granates. True, some thinkers believe we eat them for the new year because their many seeds represent fertility. But others say it is because the pomegranate has exactly 613 seeds - which neatly corresponds to the number of mitzvot that Jews as a society must perform each year. In fact, many Rosh Hashanah customs are associated with food.
Some families eat fish on the Jewish New Year as a sign of fertility and prosperity.
Fish are also a sign of knowledge, because their eyes are always open and they see everything. According to Rabbi Michael Azose of the Sephardic Congregation of Evanston, some Sephardi families would also put the head of a ram on the table for Rosh Hashanah. Azose added that Sephardim place great emphasis on the talmudic dictum that omens and symbols bode for the future. Consequently, they take certain foods and play on their names to create good omens. This is done in Hebrew or in other languages.