Piquing Hashem's Interest

What's the deal with the simanim?

If we were to visit an individual’s tefilos we would almost always find something wrong. Either it was self-serving or we were spacing out part of the time or something else. There are malachim who usually try to deny these tefilos from going up and they have a very good claim based on the part of our davening which is insincere.

Comes Rosh Hashana and we put all these unusual fruits and fish heads and what have you on the table. Hashem takes interest in the peculiarity of it all and (kaviyachol) says, “Say, why do have this fish head here? That’s a little strange.” Now that Hashem Himself has initiated the conversation and shown interest in what we have to say, the accusing angles have no ability to stop our answer. Hashem wants to hear from us, otherwise He wouldn’t have asked. So we take the opportunity and answer Him by saying, “So it should be Your will that we have a good, sweet year.”

(First Night Rosh Hashana, 5767)