Solemn and sweet: Festive tables of the high holidays

Every cuisine exists as part of a story. One part of the story told by Jewish foods is of migration, assimilation, and now-vanished worlds.

Eastern Europe, Spain, Russia, Yemen, Greece, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and Bukhara in what is now Uzbekistan were all once home to large and vibrant Jewish communities. As these old communities were forced to disband and regroup in the diaspora, the foods of their past became an important link in their new lines.

So the story of modern Jewish food is one of a dynamic, multicultural cuisine.

Day to day, the children and grandchildren of Jewish emigres from far-flung lands eat what they like. But at their holiday tables, they reconnect most deeply with the symbols and traditions of their ancestors - whether from Berlin, Tehran, or Cordoba.

The fall high holidays, or high holy days, started at sundown Wednesday with the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, and continue through the harvest festival of Sukkoth, which starts at sundown Oct. 13

In all Jewish communities, this is a season for reflection, optimism, and hope, and for really good meals. There must be more festive meals served at Jewish tables in this period than during the rest of the year combined.

As wishes abound for a sweet new year, almost every high holiday table features sweet food. Apples dipped in honey, dates rolled in sweet spices with powdered sugar, sweet soups, apricot roast chicken, dried fruits, glazed carrots, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash all are prominent on holiday tables.

In communities with North African roots, black or black-skinned foods, such as eggplant and black olives, are customarily avoided. Sharp or bitter foods, such as vinegar, tamarind, or chocolate would not be offered. Lebanese Jews avoid salty or lemony foods. And Jews from Ukraine would not serve pickles or horseradish.

Abundance, fecundity, and continuity - all things to hope for - are symbolized in many ways in the foods offered during the holiday season. Sweet raisin-filled challah bread is braided into a circle reminiscent of the year, seamlessly ending then beginning again. Chicken soups are served with round noodles and round dumplings. There are Moroccan rolled cigarette-shaped pastries, dripping with sweet syrup; and many dishes featuring round chickpeas, fresh black-eyed peas, and favas. In my own family, we serve a German Zwetschgenkuchen or Plum Cake featuring round sweet plums in a round sweet cake, a seasonal and symbolic delight.