Rosh Hashana Farmers Market teaches tasty lessons
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Malorie Schecter watches her son, Gavi, slice apples during the Kids’ Rosh Hashana Farmers’ Market at the Jewish Community Center in Scott Township.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Rachel Rosenblum blows into a shofar.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Devi Hoen, left, and Esther Rosenblum serve carrot cake pops.
Brothers Carter, left, and Colton Lichtman mix ingredients to make challah.
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Ari Rosenblum sort of hides from the photographer during the Kids’ Rosh Hashana Farmers’ Market.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Max and Stacy Vestel mix ingredients for challah.
Fraidy Rosenblum, left, and Noa Shimski have the makings of Rosh Hashana fruit salad.
Kate Louik demonstrates making pop-up Rosh Hashana cards.
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Ketzia Schecter and brother Gavi make pop-up Rosh Hashana cards.
Jennifer Turow and daughter Ellie mix ingredients for challah.
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Working a wheel spin table for youngsters to win prizes are, from left, Tory Pettko, Maya Perilman and Tati Perilman.
Mussie Rosenblum explains the day's activities.
Rabbi Mendy Rosenblum sounds the shofar.
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Simy Stahl and daughter Zivah mix ingredients for challah.
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Esther Rosenblum, left, and Devi Hoen and ready to make carrot cake pops.
Ayvha Morrissey, with mother Mayah, tastes some goodies.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Leora Goldeberg serves the ingredients for apple “mocktails.”
Stacy Vestel, left, and Mussie Rosenblum
Shanah tovah um’tukah!
In advance of the Sept. 29 beginning of Rosh Hashana, Chabad of South Hills in Mt. Lebanon organized an event to help ring in Hebrew Year 5780 while providing children with a fun and flavorful educational experience.
The Kids’ Rosh Hashana Farmers Market, held at the Jewish Community Center in Scott Township, featured a look at various foods that are part of the holiday tradition, including challah. Guests arrived to find mixing bowls for youngsters to try their hands at making the bread for the special occasion.
“Everybody together is going to help out by measuring and pouring in the different ingredients, until we get one nice, big, fat dough,” Mussie Rosenblum, event coordinator, explained.
Challah made for Rosh Hashana usually is round, to symbolize the cycle of life and the crown of God. And it’s sweeter than usual, for a sweet year ahead.
Other edibles that figure prominently for the holiday are apples, carrots and other fruits. And so the farmers’ market had tables set up serving the likes of apple “mocktails,” carrot cake pops and a holiday fruit salad.
Another holiday tradition is the blowing of the shofar, as explained to guests by Rabbi Mendy Rosenblum, Chabad of the South Hills director.
“On Rosh Hashana – when we’re asking God for a happy and healthy, sweet new year – the sound of the shofar represents the sound that comes out from each one of our souls, from deep within us,” he said.
He then demonstrated the shofar’s three types of sounds:
- Tekiah, long and uninterrupted;
- Sh’varim, three connected short sounds;
- Teruah, a series of nine very short notes divided into three disconnected or broken sequences of three notes each. The nine notes of the teruah equal the three notes of the sh’varim in duration.
Children were invited to try blowing into shofars for themselves, and they were able to create pop-up Rosh Hashana cards to wish everyone a sweet new year.
The Jewish High Holidays, or the Yamim Noraim, start with Rosh Hashana, which wraps up the evening of Oct. 1, and continues with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The latter begins at sundown Oct. 8 this year.