Since childhood, I have been cursed with an abnormal and to some, heretical dislike.
I don't like honey.
This made things complicated in grade school, as classmates would gasp and morahs would swoon as I politely declined to partake of bee vomit (technically, that's what honey is). I spend my High Holy Days a lonely outsider, watching others ritualistically dip and chuckle and lick fingertips.
But this year, it came to me; an alternate to honey, a way to reclaim my reputation as a participant of timeless Jewish tradition.
I shall dip my apple . . . in maple syrup.
Not the Aunt Jemimah watered-down stuff; Grade A, Costco issue, pristine maple syrup.
Whatever sweetener you enjoy, whether it be honey, evaporated cane juice, agave, or blackstrap molasses, I wish to all and sundry, A Sweet Year.
4 comments:
I used to not like honey, too! I don't know when I started liking it, but now I do. Maple syrup sounds good, but I'm wondering if there is a special signifiance to specifically using honey? Perhaps it is because Eretz Yisrael is referred to as a land of milk and honey? Not sure. Either way, enjoy, have a sweet new year and a Shana Tova!
The honey of Israel refers not to bee honey, but to the honey that oozes from dates. So, I hope I'm not being blasphemous.
A git gebenscht yur!
I heard a similar line of reasoning, but the rationale was that we use bee honey only because it's very hard to find date honey.
I think there is a general custom to have something sweet, as you mentioned. Additionally, it is brought down explicitly in the mishna berura that it is customary for one to eat sweet foods. Hey, whatever works.
Btw, have you ever tried other variants of honey, other than the typical clover variety, such as wild flower honey? So much better.
I've decided to remain cantankerously irritated by all honeys. The maple syrup worked out pretty well.
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