Kavanot: Simanim 5786

סימנא מילתא היא

ת׳היה ש׳נת ”פָּנ“ים ו׳בדיחות

There is nothing like a good pun, and these are nothing like good puns

Kiddush

Drinks

Dips

(they’re not dips; they are spreads—may we spread joy and peace throughout the world)

Note: this has cashew nuts. I feel that the idea of not having nuts on ראש השנה is wrong, on so many levels. Don’t get me started.

simanim soup

brisket

roast vegetables

roast broccoli and cauliflower

חג שמח!

Recipes

Whirled Peas

Take a bag of sugar snap peas. Whirl them around your head (it’s practice for kapparot). You were expecting some fancy recipe?

Black eyed pea hummus

Purée in in food processor with steel blade:

1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or less, to taste)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons peanut butter powder (I am not a fan of tahini)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (for this, use the EVOO)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Process until smooth.

Red onion/date jam

In a medium saucepan, heat on medium:

2 tablespoons oil

Sauté:

4 red onions, thinly sliced

Cook until starting to brown, about 20 minutes.

Add:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup silan (date honey)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Bring to a boil, then simmer on low until thick and syrupy, stirring occasionally, about one hour.

Allow to cool.

Cranberry/honey spead

Combine in a 1-quart pot:

1/2 cup frozen cranberries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch salt

Bring to a boil, then simmer until berries start to burst, about 10 minutes. Then help them along by smooshing them against the side of the pot and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for 10 more minutes. Allow to cool.

Add:

12 ounces non-dairy sour cream
1/4 cup honey

Mix well

spinach/cilantro pesto

Purée in in mixer with steel blade:

8 ounces raw spinach, washed (ask your LOR about checking vegetables that are to be pureed)
1 tablespoon (4 stalks) fresh cilantro
1 cup cashews
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Add in a stream with the mixer running at high speed:

1/4 cup neutral oil

butternut squash soup with leeks and fenugreek

Toast in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, until browned and fragrant:

1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds

Cover with water and soak overnight, then drain and rinse.

Crush in a mortar and pestle, then mix with a tablespoon or so of water.

Filter through cheesecloth to remove solids. This yields a little fenugreek-infused water, since Sara does not like fenugreek.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Bake for one hour:

3 medium butternut squash, about 5 pounds, uncut

Cut the tops off of:

3 whole heads of garlic

Wrap in foil and put in oven for last 30 minutes of baking.

Allow to cool enough to handle, then cut squash in half and spoon out seeds, then scoop out flesh.

In a 4-quart pot, heat on high:

3 tablespoons oil

Sauté until starting to brown:

3 onions, cubed

Add and sauté until translucent

1 leek, sliced (not the very tough dark green parts of the leaves or the root, but the rest is fine)

Deglaze pan with

2 cups water

Add:

fenugreek water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pareve ranch dressing mix

Squeeze the roast garlic cloves into the pot

Add:

Butternut squash
3 cups water

Stir. Cover and simmer over low heat until very soft (at least an hour; I leave this on the stove and get back to it whenever I get a chance)

Puree with hand blender.

Add:

2 cups almond milk

Puree with hand blender at high speed.

If rewarming, stir constantly to make sure it doesn’t scorch

Roast vegetables

Preheat oven to 475

Cube vegetables

Toss with

3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

Spread on a baking sheet

Bake for 40 minutes

The brisket and brocolli/cauliflower are Sara’s; ask her for the recipes.

What’s With the Nuts?

How can Abaye say השתא דאמרת סימנא מילתא היא if the gemara just said לאו מלתא היא? He seems to make a דיוק in the gemara, that the reason that Rav Ami’s suggestions are לאו מלתא is because, if they come out wrong, they will depress the person, and that will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maharsha says that this is a critical distinction: you clearly aren’t taking a negative omen with the intention of becoming depressed. The omen then must be ניחוש, soothsaying, and is forbidden. Doing things that make you happy has its own significance; it’s not necessarily an appeal to black magic.

So what does Rema say?

The second reason presumably only applies before תפלה, so nuts should not be a problem on the night before.

But the opinion of the יש מדקדקים is problematic. Very problematic.

First, the גימטריא is wrong. חטא, sin, has gematria 18. So does חי, life. So foods-with-gematria-18 should be positive סימנים!

Second, the gematria is wrong. אגוז has gematria 17. Our text of the שולחן ערוך acknowledges this, spelling חטא as “חט”. But that’s the gematria of טוב, so it should still be positive.

Third, Maharsha’s principle makes it clear that avoiding nuts is ניחוש and I probably should stone anyone who avoids nuts.

Other reasons for avoiding nuts are given.

But that’s exactly wrong; the אגוז is a symbol of our survival and persistence in spite of גלות.

And I have on whom to rely:

And the משנה ברורה doesn’t mention the אגוז issue at all.