To all of SmellyBlog readers around the world who are celebrating Rosh Hashana and the Holy Month of Ramadan, my wishes are that this will be a beautiful, fruitful and peaceful year for all of you, and the entire world!

The film Ararat opens with an old Armenian man going through customs after coming back from Armenia. He has declared a pomegranate, and having been forced to hand it to customs, he decides to eat it on the spot, and even offers to share it with the custom officer.

I don’t blame him. The pomegranates in the Middle East are far superior to any pomegranate that I have ever eaten that was grown elsewhere. But every fall, I insist on eating pomegranates as many as possible, as long as they are available on the shelves, regardless of price (or quality!). Eating pomegranates is a powerful thing: it is both symbolic and sensual. I resist giving up on this experience, and insist on sharing this with my daughter every year.

May this year be as sweet as apple in honey, and as full of deeds as the pomegranate seeds that I have just eaten. It is my hope that the fact that it was stale and moldy means that this will be a very fertile and fruitful year – full of beautiful fragrances and wonderful friendships.