{"id":7056,"date":"2026-09-02T09:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T07:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/?p=7056"},"modified":"2026-09-02T09:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T07:08:44","slug":"a-cloaked-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/2026\/09\/02\/a-cloaked-request\/","title":{"rendered":"A cloaked request"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n Picture the scene. It\u2019s Rosh Hashanah night. The table is set beautifully, fine cutlery, round challah, and right in the middle sits a small plate of honey, apple slices, and a pomegranate. Someone passes the tray of dates and leeks. A child asks \u2013 probably not for the first time \u2013 \u201cWhy do we eat all this stuff?\u201d The usual answer is something like: \u201cIt\u2019s a siman<\/em> \u2013 a sign for a good year.\u201d And that\u2019s true. But the Sfas Emes wants to take us much deeper. Because the real question isn\u2019t just what<\/em> the simanim mean. It\u2019s why<\/em> we express our wishes this way at all.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait \u2013 Does This Actually Work?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The Gemara[1]<\/a><\/sup> tells us something fascinating: signs and symbols carry real weight. \u201cSimana milsa hi<\/em>\u201d \u2013 a sign is a meaningful thing. And so the practice was born: on Rosh Hashanah night, we eat foods whose names or qualities point to blessings we want for the coming year. The Shulchan Aruch spells it out. We eat dates (temarim<\/em>), saying: \u201cMay our enemies be destroyed.\u201d We eat beets (silka<\/em>), saying: \u201cMay our adversaries depart.\u201d We eat leeks (karshin<\/em>), saying: \u201cMay our enemies be cut off.\u201d We eat a pomegranate and ask that our merits multiply like its seeds. We dip apple in honey and ask for a sweet new year. We eat from the head of a sheep so that we should be a head, not a tail \u2013 and to recall the Akeidah of Yitzchak.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Beautiful. Meaningful. But here\u2019s where the Sfas Emes stops and asks a hard question. If I deserve a good year \u2013 I\u2019ll get one, regardless of whether I eat a pomegranate. And if I don\u2019t deserve one… will a piece of fruit really tip the scales? And either way \u2013 why don\u2019t we just say<\/em> what we want? Why hint through food when we could simply daven for parnassah, health, and a good year straight out?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Day That\u2019s Not About Us<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The Sfas Emes turns to the Zohar for a striking insight. On Rosh Hashanah, he explains, we are not supposed to be davening for ourselves at all. Not for parnassah. Not for health. Not even for a good year in the ordinary sense. The entire tefilla of Rosh Hashanah is dedicated to one thing: the revelation of Hashem\u2019s kingship over the world.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The Zohar makes this point sharply. Some people, it says, daven during the Yamim Nora\u2019im the same way a dog barks \u2013 \u201cGive! Give!\u201d \u2013 wealth, forgiveness, health, life. And the nations of the world do the same. But that\u2019s not what Rosh Hashanah is for. The tefillos of this day are about one thing: may Hashem be feared by all His creations, may the world recognise Him as King, may everything unite to do His will. That\u2019s what we\u2019re asking for. Think of it like this. Imagine you have a private audience with the King. Would you spend the time asking him to fix your leaky roof? Of course not \u2013 you\u2019d speak about the kingdom, about his glory, about matters that befit a king. Your own concerns would feel out of place.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n That, says the Sfas Emes, is Rosh Hashanah. It is a day entirely consecrated to Kevod Shamayim<\/em> \u2013 The Honour of Heaven. And that\u2019s why we don\u2019t stand up in Mussaf and list out what we need.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Where Does That Leave the Apple and Honey?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Here\u2019s where it gets beautiful. The Sfas Emes explains that we are<\/em> allowed to ask for our personal needs \u2013 but only b\u2019remez<\/em>, only through a hint, only subtly. And the way we do that is through the simanim. Imagine a close friend who truly loves you. He would never march up to you and demand: \u201cI need you to solve my financial problems.\u201d That would be crass. Instead, he might find a gracious, oblique way to let you know things are tough \u2013 trusting you to pick up on it, without making it the centre of attention. That\u2019s exactly what the simanim are. We\u2019re not ignoring our needs \u2013 we\u2019re expressing them with tznius<\/em>, with modesty and humility. We\u2019re placing Hashem\u2019s honour at the centre, and gently, quietly, almost in a whisper \u2013 we\u2019re saying: we could use some help too.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n As the Sfas Emes puts it: \u201cRibbono Shel Olam \u2013 what belongs to Kevod Shamayim is said clearly and explicitly in my tefillos. My own personal need? That\u2019s mentioned only in passing, on the side, because I am secondary \u2013 not the main event.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Wait \u2013 Isn\u2019t It Still Self-Centered?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n A sharp reader might push back: even if I\u2019m only hinting, I\u2019m still thinking about myself. Even a subtle request for better parnassah is still… a request for better parnassah. Hasn\u2019t the Sfas Emes just moved the problem, not solved it?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n He anticipates this question, and his answer highlights a truly powerful idea. We are permitted to ask for gashmiyus \u2013 physical blessing \u2013 but only when it\u2019s framed the right way: k\u2019dei l\u2019shares es HaMelech<\/em> \u2013 in order to serve the King. This is actually embedded in the Rosh Hashanah davening itself: \u201cZochreinu l\u2019chaim, Melech chafetz b\u2019chaim<\/em>\u201d \u2013 \u201cRemember us for life, O King who desires life.\u201d We\u2019re not just asking to live. We\u2019re asking for life for Hashem\u2019s sake.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The Sfas Emes explains: every gift Hashem gives us \u2013 health, livelihood, a home, a family \u2013 was designed to enable us to serve Him better. When Hashem grants our material request, He is in effect saying: \u201cYes, I\u2019m giving you this so you can use it for something greater<\/em>.\u201d Physical wealth is the means; spiritual gain is the destination. Think of a soldier. A good soldier doesn\u2019t daven to get a better rifle. He davens to win the war. The rifle is just a tool. On Rosh Hashanah, Malchus Hashem \u2013 the establishment of Hashem\u2019s reign \u2013 is the cause we\u2019re fighting for. Our personal needs are just the equipment.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does the Pomegranate Really Mean?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Here\u2019s a question the Sfas Emes himself raises. Most of the simanim are clearly about physical things \u2013 parnassah, protection from enemies, sweetness. But the pomegranate siman is: \u201cYirbu zechuyoseinu k\u2019rimon<\/em>\u201d \u2013 \u201cmay our merits multiply like the seeds of a pomegranate.\u201d That\u2019s a spiritual request. So if all the gifts we receive on Rosh Hashanah are really spiritual at their root, what exactly are we asking for?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n This leads the Sfas Emes to one of his most profound principles: everything<\/em> we receive on Rosh Hashanah \u2013 health, livelihood, the whole U\u2019nesaneh Tokef<\/em> list of \u201cwho shall live and who shall die, who shall be rich and who shall be poor\u201d \u2013 is, at its ultimate source, purely spiritual.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The physical blessings of our year are downstream of a spiritual reality that gets determined on Rosh Hashanah. The gift starts as something entirely spiritual, and only as it flows down into our limited, physical world does it take on material form \u2013 parnassah, health, success. Rosh Hashanah is the \u201crosh<\/em>\u201d \u2013 the head \u2013 of that flow, before it has yet taken physical shape.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosh Hashanah Really Is the \u201cHead\u201d<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Why is Yom HaDin called \u201cRosh<\/em> Hashanah\u201d \u2013 the head<\/em> of the year? The Sfas Emes points out that this name is far more than a calendar term. The Gemara[2]<\/a><\/sup> teaches \u201crisha gufah azil<\/em>\u201d \u2013 wherever the head goes, the body follows. The rosh \u2013 head \u2013 doesn\u2019t just come first \u2013 it defines<\/em> everything that comes after it. Rosh Hashanah is the spiritual \u201chead\u201d from which the entire year flows. Every blessing of the coming year \u2013 every good thing that happens to us in Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, all the way through Elul \u2013 has its root in what is determined on this day. It is a day of extreme spiritual download. Pure, undiluted, holy energy. As it passes through the year and into our everyday lives, it becomes concrete \u2013 a raise, a refuah, a shidduch. But its true form, as it exists on Rosh Hashanah itself, is spiritual.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Physical World as a Window<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The Sfas Emes explains that the physical world we see around us isn\u2019t the \u201creal\u201d world \u2013 it\u2019s a reflection of a deeper spiritual reality. The Zohar says Hashem created the physical universe so that human beings could use it as a window into the spiritual world: the sun, the moon, the trees, the animals \u2013 all of them are remazim<\/em> \u2013 hints \u2013 pointing upward. A high-voltage electrical current can\u2019t be directly accessed \u2013 it would destroy whatever touches it. First, it has to pass through a transformer that steps it down to a usable level. Similarly, the spiritual energy of the higher worlds can\u2019t be directly absorbed by a human being made of flesh and blood. It has to be \u201cstepped down\u201d into physical form first \u2013 into the things we can touch, taste, and experience.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Every physical thing in our world, then, is a kind of garment worn by a spiritual reality. Our parnassah is a garment worn by Hashem\u2019s blessing. Our health is a garment worn by Divine vibrancy. The physical is always, at its root, a message about something higher. And this is why, even when asking for physical things, a Jew asks only b\u2019remez<\/em> \u2013 through a hint. Because the Jew understands that the physical thing isn\u2019t the point. It\u2019s the spiritual reality underneath it that matters.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n So the next time you reach for that apple and honey, or arrange the simanim plate, or hear a child ask, \u201cWhy do we eat all this stuff?\u201d \u2013 you have a real answer. The simanim aren\u2019t magic. They won\u2019t automatically rewrite our verdict in the Heavenly court. But they aren\u2019t empty ritual either. They are an act of beautiful, Torah-true communication. They are the way a person who truly understands Rosh Hashanah expresses his deepest needs \u2013 not as demands, not even as outright prayers, but as the quiet, humble whisper of someone who knows his place before the King. The main message of the day belongs to Hashem: His kingship, His glory, His reign over the world. Our own hopes and needs sit at the table too \u2013 but modestly, tucked in beside a plate of pomegranate seeds, expressed in a whispered yehi ratzon<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n That is what it means to stand before the King. And that is exactly what simana milsa hi<\/em> really means. What we are destined to receive this year is dependent on how much spirituality we will reveal through those gifts. Hashem, give us spirituality, and let us see that spirituality become pure goodness in its physical form.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n


  1. Krisus 6a     \u2191<\/a>
    <\/p>
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n



  2. Eiruvin 41b     \u2191<\/a>
    <\/p>
    <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Picture the scene. It\u2019s Rosh Hashanah night. The table is set beautifully, fine cutlery, round challah, and right in the middle sits a small plate of honey, apple slices, and a pomegranate. Someone passes the tray of dates and leeks. A child asks \u2013 probably not for the first time \u2013 \u201cWhy do we eat all this stuff?\u201d The usual answer is something like: \u201cIt\u2019s a siman \u2013 a sign for a good year.\u201d And that\u2019s true. But the Sfas Emes wants to take us much deeper. Because the real…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,159],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-144","category-rosh-hashanah-sukkot-2026"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7058,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7056\/revisions\/7058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}