[Avodah] RH/sour/sharp/bitter

[Zev Sero]

Saul.Z.Newman at kp.org wrote:
> 
> http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2009/09/rosh-hashana-sour-bitter-sharp-foods.html 
> 
> an interesting discussion of the sources  on what actually was the 
> minhag  to withhold from RH

The entire discussion is premised on a careless mistranslation; the
source he gives for a minhag of avoiding sour foods simply does not
say or imply anything of the kind.  Until we establish a basis for
avoiding sour foods, there's no point in discussing how limited or
extended it might be.


> i wonder also if it is becoming more prevalent to  bring back the 
>  simanim of the gmara. i know chabad only does apple/honey, but i
> have a feeling more people are resuming the other  simanim.

Resuming?  When did they drop it?  The series of yehi ratzons printed
in siddurim would seem to indicate that they never did.  As for Chabad,
all the Sefer Minhagim says is that they don't do the yehi ratzons for
simanim other than the apple, because that's the only one the Alter
Rebbe included in his siddur, but in my experience they certainly do
at least some of the other simanim, such as dates and pomegranates.
Some others were probably not available in certain areas; for instance,
I wonder whether fenugreek was known in Russia.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher