Ask almost any Jewish child what we eat on Rosh Hashanah and the answer comes immediately: apples and honey. It is one of the most beloved and recognizable customs of the year. But not every Jewish community followed that tradition. In Baghdad, in Aleppo, in Damsacas and throughout the near east, following the custom recorded by the Ben Ish Chai, the apple was cooked in sugar rather than dipped in honey. In our own family, we never used honey at the Rosh Hashanah table; even after coming to America, our great-grandparents continued the tradition of using sugar instead. 

Why would anyone avoid honey on the very night when we are asking Hashem for a
sweet year? The answer takes us from the ancient customs of Ashkenaz to the
Kabbalists of the Sephardic world, and reveals two remarkably different ways of
understanding honey, judgment, and sweetness. Along the way we discover why bee honey may actually be the perfect symbol of transforming din into rachamim,
why the Ben Ish Chai preferred white sugar, and why the apple itself—with its
taste, appearance, and fragrance—carries a much deeper Rosh Hashanah message
than we might ever have imagined. Two customs, two approaches, and ultimately
one prayer: שנה טובה ומתוקה — a truly good and sweet year.