How is fish symbolic to the Jewish new year?

Answer 1

1) The fish is sometimes used as a symbol of fertility, as Jacob blessed his grandchildren Ephraim and Menashe in Genesis 48:16 "and let them grow into a multitude like fish in the midst of the earth."

2) Fish symbolize anything which is not subject to jealousy ("evil eye").

Answer 2

Rosh HaShanah literally means "head of the year" in Hebrew. For this reason in some Jewish communities it is traditional to eat the head of a fish during the Rosh HaShanah holiday meal. Fish is also eaten because it is an ancient symbol of fertility and abundance. But these practices are not widespread among Jews.

Answer 3

Fish are not a Jewish symbol. Perhaps it may be seen on trinkets sold as protection against the evil eye, but such items are frivolous knickknacks which have little or no Torah-significance.

The fish did become a symbol of nascent Christianity. Before Christianity completely split off from Judaism, Jesus' followers used the fish as a symbol for their religion because of three reasons: many of those followers were fishermen, the fish commemorated the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the fish is a symbol of rebirth. Eventually, the symbol of the fish would be replaced by the symbol of the cross as Christian doctrine concerning Jesus' sacrifice developed in the Second Century C.E. More recently, Messianic Jews, a sect of Christianity designed to be more alluring to mainstram Jews, has begun using the fish as its symbol because the followers see themselves as the "Jewish followers of Christ" just as the early Christians did.

Answer 4

In Judaism, the fish is a symbol of fertility. It is also thought that the fish symbol wards away evil.