From the honey on the child's first alphabet slate to the Passover seder, Judaism is replete with examples of using touch, taste, sound, and visuals to subliminally reinforce theological precepts.

. . . . "Abaye said 'Now that you have said that an omen is significant, at the beginning of each year, each person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates...'."

. . . . why do we "indulge" in omens at the beginning of the year, on Rosh HaShana? . . . . The goal of these omens is to act as a reminder. By eating all of these foods that have positive connotations, a person realizes that now is the time he needs to be asking for these good things, because now is the time he is being judged. As soon as the person realizes that now is the time that he is being judged, he will realize that omens alone will not be enough for his salvation, and that repentance is needed.

Well, I'm not serving fenugreek. I guess I could put some in the vichysoisse. . . . But there are many other options which give a whole new meaning to "playing with your food."

From the time of the Talmud, a fanciful combination of word play, visual association and flavors designated a whole series of foods as totems for the year to come. The head of a sheep or fish, like the round challah, was traditionally eaten because of its physical form. It symbolizes our desire to come out "ahead" in the coming year. Dates, fenugreek, pumpkins and leeks were all eaten because of linguistic links between the Hebrew names of these foods and requests for the year to come.

The puns are subtle and often stretch meaning and pronunciation. . . . European Jews are fond of eating dishes with carrots. The German and Yiddish words for carrot sound like the word mehr meaning more. Add to this the golden color and round shape of cooked carrots cut on the diameter and we have a dish that brings together in sound and sight the wish for more gold pieces – money – in the year to come.

Even the round challah has Kabbalistic associations.

Most of these one-sentence prayers begin with the formulation: "Yehi ratzon milfanecha, Adonai Eloheynu Velohey Avoteinu . . . " ("May it be your will, our God and God of our ancestors . . . ") You can sample some of them here and here. For example:

Food made with pumpkin is served to express the hope that as this vegetable has been protected by a thick covering, God will protect us and gird us with strength. The Hebrew word for pumpkin or gourd is "kraa". Sephardim pun on this and say "yikaru lefanekha z'khuyoteinu," May our good deeds be called out before the Lord at the time of judgment.

"May the coming year grow as a gourd in fullness of blessing. In the year to come, if enemies gird at us, mayest Thou guard us as we eat of this gourd with the prayer: Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who createst the fruit of the earth."

And here are some more, with rules for the proper sequence of events (because Jews have to make rules about every little thing).

A dairy/fish menu for Erev Rosh Hashanah (serves at least 8):

(I haven't actually made half of these, so actual ingredients may vary, since I have never followed a recipe exactly.)

Ritual food.
Red and white wine (red for brochas and white with the food)
(Making a brocha on white wine just seems wrong to me)
Round challah(s), one raisin, one plain.
An assortment of different breeds of apples, cored, sliced, with skin on.
An assortment of honeys (I have clover, accacia, and forest)

Beverage.
Cold orange-flavored seltzer with a shpritz of pomegranate molasses to taste.

Beet salad.
(If you can find pre-cooked vacuum-packed beets, you don't have to cook them. If not, pre-heat the oven to 400 F, wrap the beets in 1 large piece of aluminum foil, roast until tender, about 1 hr., cool.)
Combine in saucepan:
3 cooked beets, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 c diced red onion
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c veggie broth
3 T orange-flavored liqueur (or orange juice if you don't have that)
1/2 t grated orange peel
Boil 5-7 min. until liquid is reduced to 2 T
Cool to room temperature
salt and pepper to taste
serve on salad greens, arugula would go well.
sprinkle with soft goat cheese and pomegranate seeds

Tzimmes variation.
Peel 1 lb fairly thick carrots and cut cross-wise into thin medallions.
Saute in saucepan with 2 T olive oil until coated.
Add to saucepan:
2 chopped dates
Zest from 1/3 orange
1/3 c orange juice
1/3 c lemon juice
1/3 c white wine
1 T ground cumin
1 T honey
Add enough water to cover, boil, then simmer for 3-4 minutes until carrots are al dente. Add pepper and extra spice to taste, if it needs it.
Drain enough cooking water so the mixture isn't soupy.
(You can play with the proportions of these ingredients.)

Vichysoisse.
Sautee in butter in soup pot:
6 leeks, sliced into 1 inch pieces, 4 minced shallots, 3 stalks celery.
When soft, add 1 lb. cubed potatoes. (I used the French vacuum-packed pre-cooked generic white potatoes, not sure what the optimum breed would be.)
Add 3 cups of vegetable stock.
Add mace/nutmeg if you want a simpler flavor. I added quatre epices, since I was going to add pepper anyway.
Simmer until everything is cooked down, let cool, then puree. Stir in sour cream or yogurt to taste, if you want a more piquant flavor. Or half and half, if you want a basic creamed soup.
Maybe grate blue cheese or parmesan on individual servings.
Rosh Hashanah comes at that liminal time of year when the first nip might be in the air, or Indian summer may be lingering, so serve hot or cold as the season suggests.

Baked squash with leeks.
Cube several orange-yellow squashes - butternut, buttercup, delicata, or acorn, anything in that family. Maybe two dry quarts. (To soften a squash before cutting it open, poke several holes in it, then nuke it for 3-5 minutes.)
Slice 2 leeks into one inch pieces.
One minced garlic clove.
Fresh sage to taste.
Toss all in olive oil.
Butter a baking dish and fill with the mixture. Cover and bake for 20 min. at 425 F.
(I might grate some cheese over this when I make it, I haven't decided yet. I have all these hard little remains of cheeses which would be good grated on something.)

Baked whole striped bass with pomegranate molasses.
Estimate 6-8 oz. fish/person. Have the fish butterflied and the bones removed. Wash the fish and pat it dry. Rub both sides with salt.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a skillet sautee 10 min:
2 T butter
1 large onion, thin-sliced
3 cloves crushed garlic
Add to skillet:
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
1 T orange zest
1 t lime zest
1/2 c pomegranate molasses
1 T honey
Sautee another 3 min. then remove from heat.
Grease with butter a double-thickness of aluminum foil, large enough to encase the fish, and place the fish in it. Put sauteed mixture in the cavity.
Dissolve 1/2 t saffron threads in 2 T hot water, pour over fish.
Pour 2 T fresh lime juice over fish.
Dot fish with a bit more butter, then seal foil.
Bake 20-25 min., until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Pour liquid from baking over the fish and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Fruit salad.
Combine in bowl:
2 crunchy tart apples, cored, thin slices
1 large Asian pear, cored, thin slices
1 peeled jicama, matchsticks
2-3 T fresh lime juice
2 T honey
1/4 t ground cumin
salt to taste
smattering of pomegranate seeds and lime zest

Honey cookies with cardamom. Recipe here.

Dates with coffee and cardamom.
Boil:
2 1/2 c freshly made espresso
1 T sugar
20 whole green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick broken in half
Pour over 2 c pitted Medjool Dates, in a bowl
Steep the dates covered and chilled overnight.
The next day drain the liquid, place in a small saucepan and reheat.
Reduce by half. Pour over the dates, cool and refrigerate.
1 quart thick yogurt or ricotta, in separate serving bowls.
Place 3-4 dates on each bowl, and drizzle coffee mixture on top