Book Review: A Turkish Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah celebrations are different in different parts of the world, and if you want a glimpse into how Sephardic Jews get ready for the holiday, check out A Turkish Rosh Hashanah by Etan Basseri with illustrations by Zeynep Özatalay.

This short picture book follows Rafael and his cousins shopping at a market in Istanbul with their grandmother. Spanish words are sprinkled in the text because Sephardic Jews are a diaspora community that settled in the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), which also influenced communities in the Middle East and North Africa, where some of the Iberian Sephardic Jews settled after being expelled from Spain. The vernacular languages are Sephardic Jews are generally derived from Spanish, Portuguese or Catalan. (I learned this from Wikipedia so if anyone knows better or different information please let me know and I’ll update!)

The children go shopping for special treats for the holiday meal and meet some cats along the way. While one child thinks the cats are creepy, Rafael is nice to them, and the cats repay that kindness when the kids encounter a bully.

When the family gathers for the feast, their grandmother explains the meaning of each of the foods: apples for sweetness, beets for freedom, dates for peace, pumpkin for forgiveness, leeks for friends who protect us and pomegranates “so that our good deeds will be as many as the seeds inside.” They also have a fish head at the table so that they will be leaders at the top in the coming year.

There’s a little more history of the Jewish community in Turkey at the back of the book, as well as information on what Rosh Hoshanah is and how it is celebrated in different communities. The Sephardic Jews, as well as Mizrachi and Hasidic Jews, have a seder meal, known as yehi ratzones in the Judeo-Spanish language known as Ladino, where special food are shared that symbolize hope for the family and the Jewish people in general for the new year.

Even if you don’t know all the history (though it’s a good idea to read the information at the back of the book before you read the story to kids if you don’t know about these traditions) this is a fun book that gives kids of all faiths a glimpse into traditions that might be different from their own but in which you can see similarities to other holidays involving food.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover, published 2024 by Kalaniot Books. Suggested retail price $19.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Rosh Hashanah Crafts for Kids

I guess this isn’t exclusively a kid’s craft or learning activity (though cutting and folding are great for developing fine motor skills!) but I think kids would love having some of these printable holiday houses around the house or classroom to play with in the holiday season. Because they’re made of paper, they’re inexpensive to make, and while there is assembly involved the results are well worth the work.

If you have a cutting machine you can use the cut files from Delia Creates to make making your own paper village that much easier. She actually cut out all her buildings in different colors of card stock and used them to decorate a wreath, but you could also put them on the mantle or on a low table for kids to play with. Make a whole small world scene complete with fake snow, little characters and other elements, and kids are sure to start making their own stories to go with the setup.

This set of houses is printed and cut out using a craft knife. It’s meant to be an advent calendar, with each of the buildings numbered and you can stick a treat inside. But you could also just play with the buildings! You can get a free download of four buildings from Little House on the Corner, or head to the post to see where you can buy the whole set.

The Mavelo website isn’t in English, but their printable gingerbread house template is super cute to use as a gift box or to play with. If you need the instructions the website is in Polish but Google Translate seems to do a pretty good job.

Bora Illustrates has an adorable little house to print, cut and assemble featuring a cat, bird and gingerbread person. You could probably print it in black and white and have your kiddo color it, too.

Next Plan Idea:

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