The Bee Stings. So Why Is Honey the Symbol of a Sweet New Year?
One of the most familiar traditions of Rosh Hashanah is dipping an apple into honey and saying, “May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet year.”
But why an apple? Why specifically bee honey? If the goal is simply sweetness, why not dip a grape in sugar or a peach in date honey?
The apple carries a message. When our forefather Jacob entered to receive the blessings from his father Isaac, Isaac said, “The fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field blessed by G-d.” Our sages explain that the fragrance of the Garden of Eden entered with Jacob. Jewish mystical teaching describes this realm as a holy apple orchard.
The apple therefore represents more than taste. It recalls Jacob’s blessing and expresses our hope for a year filled with warmth, harmony and closeness to G-d. It symbolizes blessings we recognize immediately, such as good health, loving family, meaningful friendships, peace and success.
Yet the apple is already sweet. Why dip it into bee honey rather than date honey?
Date honey comes from a naturally sweet fruit. Bee honey comes from a creature that can sting. Remarkably, the very creature capable of causing pain also produces extraordinary sweetness. The sting is not a problem with the symbolism. It is the heart of it.
Bee honey represents transformation. It reminds us that G-d can not only bring sweetness into our lives, but can also transform what might otherwise sting into revealed blessing. Some experiences begin with disappointment or pain, yet later awaken strength, deepen relationships or open unexpected doors.
Still, Judaism does not ask us to seek hardship or pretend that pain is pleasant. Quite the opposite. We ask for goodness that is clear and immediately recognizable.
That is why we pray for both a “good” and a “sweet” year. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s father, explained that something may be good in its spiritual source without feeling sweet to the person experiencing it. On Rosh Hashanah, we ask for more. We pray for health that feels healthy, relationships filled with visible joy, livelihood without anxiety and opportunities accompanied by clarity and peace of mind.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe also drew a lesson from the bee itself. The bee has a stinger, but its primary purpose is to produce honey. The same should be true of us. Our defining purpose should be to create sweetness, to help, encourage and bring people closer. Firmness may sometimes be necessary, but it should never become who we are.
Perhaps this is why we dip the apple into honey. The apple represents blessings that are sweet from the beginning. The honey represents the power to transform what might otherwise sting.
As we perform this simple custom, we ask for goodness we can see, feel, share and celebrate. May the coming year be good, visibly good and genuinely sweet for us all.
No Jew should be alone on Rosh Hashanah. At Chabad of Uptown, our doors are always open, and you are warmly invited to join us as we welcome the new year together and make the holiday a little sweeter. Check out the full schedule of programming at chabaduptown.org/celebrate
Rabbi Chaim & Chanie Lazaroff
THE COHEN CORNER
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn
In Moshe’s final words to the Jewish people, he teaches them two mitzvos that answer one question: how will Judaism remain alive long after the generation of Sinai is gone? Hakhel gathered the entire nation in Yerushalayim to hear the Torah from the king and relive Sinai, as though the Torah were being given to them at that moment. But Hakhel happened only once in seven years. How could that experience remain alive wherever a Jew might be? The final mitzvah of the Torah provides the answer: write a Torah scroll of your own and keep it with you. Hakhel recreated our national encounter with Hashem; the Sefer Torah makes that encounter personal, bringing Sinai into our own home and life.
There is a Judaism we can know, respect and even practice, yet still experience from the outside, like something studied in a laboratory. And then there is a Judaism that becomes our own story. On this final Shabbos of the year, perhaps we should ask ourselves: Did my Judaism become more mine this year? Was there a moment when Torah spoke directly to me, when a mitzvah became something I genuinely valued? As we enter a new year, the goal is to experience the Judaism we inherited deeply enough that it truly becomes our own. That is how Judaism remains alive.
Have an inspiring Shabbos!
Rabbi Yosef, Chanale, Mushka & Mendel Cohen
Chabad of Uptown looks forward to celebrating the holidays with you. Our doors are to the entire Jewish community to daven and to celebrate, regardless of background or affiliation. For the complete schedule of services, to RSVP for holiday dinners or lunches, visit www.chabaduptown.org/services.
Now is also the time to join or renew your voluntary membership to Chabad. Your partnership allows us to provide free, open and welcoming services to all, for the holidays and year round! www.chabaduptown.org/membership
THIS WEEK AT CHABAD:
- Shabbos, Sept 5, 9:30 am - Likkutei Torah - Kabbala of the Parsha - Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi's Masterworks on the weekly Parsha.
- Wednesday, September 9, 8:00 pm - YJP Dinner, Class & Social
- Thursday, September 10, 8:00 pm - Evening Chassidus
HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES & EVENTS:
www.chabaduptown.org/celebrate
- Fri.-Sun., Sept. 11-13 - FREE Rosh Hashana Services, RSVP for Dinner and Luncheons
- Sun.-Mon., Sept. 20-21 - Yom Kippur Services and Break Fast
- Fri. & Sat. Sept. 25 & 26, 7 pm - Community Sukkot Dinners Under the Stars
- Tues. Sept. 29, 12 pm - Sukkot Lunch & Learn - Enjoy an upscale lunch in the Sukkah with like-minded friends for a spirited Torah class and meaningful discussion.
- Tues. Sept. 29, 7 pm - Sukkot Men's Social: Sushi & Scotch in the Sukkah - Join us in the Sukkah for a relaxed guys’ night with fresh sushi, a great selection of Scotch, and plenty of good company. Enjoy a l’chaim, catch up with friends, meet some new faces, and spend a great Sukkos evening together under the schach..
- Thursday, October 1, 6:30 pm - Smoke, Mirrors & Sukkot w/ YJP, YAD & Olami - Join young professionals in their twenties and thirties for an evening of magic, dinner, drinks and joy in the Sukkah under the Stars! www.yjphouston.org
- Friday, Oct. 2 6:45 pm - YJP October First Fridays Shemini Atzeres Edition - Simchas Torah warm-up brief dancing and dinner in the sukkah
- Shabbos. Oct. 3 12:15 pm - Shemini Atzeret Yizkor with special Service to Honor the Memory of the Oct. 7 massacre
- Shabbos, Oct. 3, 6:45 pm - Saturday Night ALIVE! Simchat Torah Uptown - Dance like a Star!
SHABBOS SELICHOS PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYELECH
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, ELUL 22
7:22 pm Shabbos Candle Lighting
7:30 pm Mincha & Shabbat Services
RSVP for Sweet & Sour Sept. First Fridays Shabbat Dinner www.yjphouston.org/sweetsour
SHABBOS, SEPTEMBER 5, ELUL 23
8:00 am Shabbos "Mevarchim" Tehillim
9:30 am Chassidus
10:00 am Services
Shabbos Selichos Lunch Kiddush & Farbrengen
7:20 pm Mincha
Ethics of our Fathers, Chapter 5 & 6
8:15 pm Maariv, Havdalla and Shabbos ends
Living Torah
SELICHOS
Saturday night, Sept. 5 / Sunday, Sept 6
Farbrengen at 11 pm
Selichos at 1:15 am
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, ELUL 24
8:00 am Shacharis
MONDAY & THURSDAY, SEPT. 7 & 10, ELUL 18 & 21
6:15 am Selchos
6:45 am Shacharis
During the month of Elul:
We reciting Psalm 27, L’David Hashem Ori, daily
We blow the Elul shofar after Shacharis each day through Erev Rosh Hashanah.
We recite the daily chapters of Tehillim as divided by the Baal Shem Tov for the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur.
Friday, Erev Roshana, Sept. 11: Selichos, No Tachanun, No Shofar, Hataras Nedarim (Annulment of Vows)