By Rosh Hashanah. 5785. The third without Marvin at the table. The preparations are the same — round challah, brisket, honey cake, apples, honey. Marvin's photo at his place. The family around the table. Ethan, now thirteen, asks the four questions with the authority of a young man who has read Torah and who understands, now, that the asking is not just tradition but responsibility.
Noah started kindergarten this month. He is five, and I delivered him to his first day with rugelach for the teacher — the tradition unbroken, the fourth grandchild, the fourth delivery, the fourth teacher receiving cookies from a woman who believes that the first day of school requires baked goods, and the belief is non-negotiable, and the rugelach are the evidence.
I brought Marvin the Rosh Hashanah plate — challah, apples with honey, brisket, honey cake. I said the blessings in his room. The candles were lit. The Hebrew was spoken. He ate the apple with honey. He ate it slowly, the sweetness on his tongue, and I thought: may the year be sweet. May the year be sweet for him, for me, for the children, for the chain. The apple is sweet. The honey is sweet. The year is uncertain. But the sweetness is certain. The sweetness is in the jar. The sweetness is in the dipping. The sweetness is in the eating. And Marvin is eating. And the year begins.
The apple dipped in honey is the oldest gesture I know — small, deliberate, and carrying everything. After I sat with Marvin and said the blessings and watched him eat that apple slowly, I came home and made this fruit salad, the one I’ve made every year since the children were small, because the sweetness doesn’t end with the ceremonial dip — it belongs on the table in abundance, shared, passed around, refilled. Ethan is thirteen now, Noah is five, and there will always be a bowl of sweet fruit waiting for both of them, just as there has always been one waiting for me.
Grandma’s Fruit Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 large apples, cored and diced (Honeycrisp or Gala recommended)
- 2 cups red or green grapes, halved
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 mandarin oranges or clementines, peeled and segmented
- 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the fruit. Wash and dry all fruit thoroughly. Dice the apples, halve the grapes, slice the strawberries, and segment the clementines. Place all prepared fruit into a large serving bowl.
- Make the honey dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, fresh lemon juice, and vanilla extract until combined. The lemon juice brightens the fruit and helps prevent the apples from browning.
- Dress and toss. Pour the honey dressing over the fruit and gently toss to coat everything evenly. Be gentle to keep the softer fruits — especially the strawberries and blueberries — intact.
- Rest and serve. Let the salad rest for 5 minutes so the fruit releases a little of its natural juice and the honey dressing melds. Garnish with fresh mint leaves if desired and serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 95 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 25g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 4mg