Simanim

(1) In the first chapter of Keritot, we have the text (Keritot 5b): Rabbah said, "That person that wants to know whether he will take out the year or not, should bring a candle during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur into a room where the wind is not blowing. If its light (its flame) continues, he will know that he will continue the year. And a person that wants to conduct a business deal and wants to know if the deal will be a successful one or not, should feed a chicken. If it becomes nicely fat, he will know that it will be successful... Abbaye said,"Now that you have said that a sign is a [correct] matter, a man should accustom himself to eating citron, squash, beans (rubia), leeks (karti), beets (silkei) and dates (tamrei) on Rosh Hashanah." Rashi explains that rubia is clover. Rubia - our merits should increase (yirbu); karti - (the enemies) should be cut off (yikaretu), etc.; silkei - removed (yistalku), etc.; tamrei finished (yitamu), etc.; squash because it is quick to grow. And from this grew the [various] customs, every place according to its custom; as in Germany, where they are accustomed to eating sweet apple with honey at the beginning of the meal, to say, "Let this new year be sweet for us." And in Provence they are accustomed to bring all types of novelties [to the meal] and to eat a sheep's head and lung, to say, "Let us be at the head and not at the tail;" and the lung because it is light. And our teacher, Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg was accustomed to eat the head of a ram to commemorate the ram of Yitzchak.