A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun
A. When nut trees are planted their roots shouldn’t be covered as it is unhealthy for the plant. On Rosh Hashanah we should not cover our sins. So therefore, nuts are seen as symbolic of our uncovered sins, so we do not eat them on Rosh Hashanah.
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B. We don’t eat nuts because the gematria (numerology) for the Hebrew word for nut, egoz אגוז is 17, the same value as the Hebrew word for sin, Chait חט (though the word Chait is actually spelled חֵטְא in Hebrew with a value of 18, but the Rabbis want us to stay as far away from sin as we can so the restriction still applies).
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D. In medieval times, nuts were used in gambling games as a prize. In response, nuts have been banned from the Rosh Hashanah table to discourage gambling on the holiday and throughout the year.
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E. Nuts are forbidden because eating nuts can cause an increase in phlegm, which might make it harder to pronounce the words of the prayers.
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