Heads or Tails
There is a custom on Rosh Hashanah to eat symbolic foods. As with every custom, we take this as a commandment not a choice. So each year we consume the traditional symbolic foods (apples and honey, leaks, dates, carrots, beets, etc) while saying things like "we'll 'beet' our enemies and have a 'sweet' new year and may our pipes not 'leak." We always add in the 1/2 a raisin and celery so we may "have a raise in salary." I decided this year to eat 2 raisins with celery so that I should have a double raise in salary.
Anyway, one of the traditions is to eat a fish head. Yes, you read that right. In fact some people actually use a sheep’s head. This is so that we may be like the "head" and not the "tail." Really smart people buy the little candy fishies and eat the heads off. I have bought a fish head in the past years. We have placed it on our table and then placed it in the trash.
This year my husband decided (via the suggestion of a 7 year old) to go and catch fish from our lake (more like a pond). So out he goes with twin boys in tow and the bait being the new fluffy sandwich bread that I had just brought home for sandwiches. He proudly comes back an hour later with several brim, placed on ice in zip lock baggies and asks if we want to view them. My daughter and I decline.... vehemently. These poor fishes went into our freezer to be dealt with later. 5 days later he inquires from a local orthodox fisherman (obviously not born and bred Jewish) as to how to prepare the fish. The fisherman tells him to first throw them out. It seems that unless you gut the fish immediately, they will become septic. My daughter and I are already beginning to see the glory of trusting ones own instincts when it comes to survival skills...or at least to eating things less than desirable. So, back to the pond goes my husband, twins in tow and yes more fresh bread. But this time they bring along the orthodox fisherman’s son, young Tom Sawyer. Tom is more than happy to lend his expertise for the mitzvah and not only shows his skills as a fisherman, but also literally saves one poor fish from escaping by catching it with his bare hands. In addition, young Tom guts our new brim and provides us with now gutless brim to be prepared for our festive meal. Ah the joy of fishing. My daughter is now fully convinced that the fish we purchase from the store are not REAL fish, as otherwise she would NEVER eat them.
Well, these little fishes, minus their tails, were served. 2 brave souls consumed them (note neither twin who witnessed the massacre participated in the consumption) and so we have another new year at the head....and not the tail.
Anyway, one of the traditions is to eat a fish head. Yes, you read that right. In fact some people actually use a sheep’s head. This is so that we may be like the "head" and not the "tail." Really smart people buy the little candy fishies and eat the heads off. I have bought a fish head in the past years. We have placed it on our table and then placed it in the trash.
This year my husband decided (via the suggestion of a 7 year old) to go and catch fish from our lake (more like a pond). So out he goes with twin boys in tow and the bait being the new fluffy sandwich bread that I had just brought home for sandwiches. He proudly comes back an hour later with several brim, placed on ice in zip lock baggies and asks if we want to view them. My daughter and I decline.... vehemently. These poor fishes went into our freezer to be dealt with later. 5 days later he inquires from a local orthodox fisherman (obviously not born and bred Jewish) as to how to prepare the fish. The fisherman tells him to first throw them out. It seems that unless you gut the fish immediately, they will become septic. My daughter and I are already beginning to see the glory of trusting ones own instincts when it comes to survival skills...or at least to eating things less than desirable. So, back to the pond goes my husband, twins in tow and yes more fresh bread. But this time they bring along the orthodox fisherman’s son, young Tom Sawyer. Tom is more than happy to lend his expertise for the mitzvah and not only shows his skills as a fisherman, but also literally saves one poor fish from escaping by catching it with his bare hands. In addition, young Tom guts our new brim and provides us with now gutless brim to be prepared for our festive meal. Ah the joy of fishing. My daughter is now fully convinced that the fish we purchase from the store are not REAL fish, as otherwise she would NEVER eat them.
Well, these little fishes, minus their tails, were served. 2 brave souls consumed them (note neither twin who witnessed the massacre participated in the consumption) and so we have another new year at the head....and not the tail.
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