Masechet Kritut is the source of the Rosh Hashana evening custom of eating simanim (literally signs or indicators), a series of symbolic foods each followed by a specific blessing which uses a word derived from the Hebrew name of the food. "Abaye said, "Now that you have said that a sign is a [correct] matter, one should accustom themself to eating them [squash, beans, leeks, beets and dates] on Rosh Hashanah".
The signs are not mysticism but the identification of God's "fingerprints" in the world. When we taste the apple with honey, we recognize that there is sweetness in the world of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and we are filled with the desire to taste it; when we eat a lot of pomegranate seeds, we internalize that there is a multiplicity of merits in our world and we become part of it; and so on.
It is no coincidence that Abaye is the one who teaches us the secret of signs. He was an orphan who was an Amora; Abaye, spelt in Hebrew Abyy, is an acronym for the Hebrew ("asher bicha yerucham yatom", in You, God, an orphan finds mercy); precisely those who experienced orphanhood and suffering are better able to recognize the signs of God’s goodness; to know that God is surely found in even the most 'concealed of concealed' places.
The year 5784 unfortunately began with bad signs; we experienced one of the greatest disasters in our history, there are many newly orphaned and bereaved among us; but the year is ending with good signs.
Whichever way we look, the good signs are multiplying as we approach the year 5785– the IDF is winning; the axis of evil turns out to be a hollow monster; and the future consequences go beyond the rosiest imaginings; a new order.
Remember: This year is going to be a good year. With God's help.