The Rosh Hashana meal can be a challenge for almost any Jewish cook.

Think an elaborate, multi-generational New Year’s feast — say, matzo ball soup and gefilte fish as starters, brisket or chicken and all the sides for the main portion of the meal and any number of cakes and cookies for dessert. Now, try to weave in the theme of sweetness, symbolizing the sweet promise of the New Year, into as many dishes as possible, be it the honey that goes into the honey-roasted chicken or the honey that goes into the honey cake.

But it’s one thing to feed a family of a dozen or so. Try offering that holiday feast for 4,000.

That’s the approximate number of meals the culinary staff at MorseLife, a Jewish senior center in West Palm Beach, prepares for the two-day holiday. We’re talking two dinners, plus two brunches for kiddush (the spread that follows the morning religious services), for the 280 residents of Morse’s long-term care nursing facility and the 144 residents of Morse’s independent and assisted-living home (Tradition of the Palm Beaches).

Add to that 2,000 at-home dinners that are distributed through a “mitzvah” program — “mitzvah” being a Hebrew term for an act of kindness — to area seniors.

Oh, and to complicate matters, everything is prepared according to the strict kosher dietary laws, meaning separate kitchens for meat and dairy and a thorough vetting of any product that enters the kitchen.

“We provide the greatest number of kosher (Rosh Hashana) meals in South Florida, if not the entire state,” said Martin Katz, the MorseLife vice president who oversees the culinary operations.

That means days, if not weeks, of cooking. For this year’s mitzvah program, the efforts started early this month, with the MorseLife kitchen staff making the meals in stages and keeping them stored in the freezer. (For the assembly and delivery of the meal boxes, which include a loaf of challah and a bottle of wine, MorseLife relies on about 300 local volunteers.) For the meals served at the on-site residential programs, there’s a shorter cooking time frame, but when you’re talking a few thousand matzo balls, you still can’t wait until the last minute.

But the challenge is not just about quantity. It’s also about quality. The kitchen staff knows it’s competing with the collective memory of hundreds of seniors, many of whom are matriarchs well-versed in all facets of traditional Jewish cooking.

And therein lies another rub: What constitutes “tradition”? In Jewish cooking, there are different schools tied to the different “homes” of Judaism, be it Eastern Europe (Ashkenazic) or Spain and the Mediterranean region (Sephardic). And even within each school, variety abounds. Put another way, your bubbe may have prepared a heavy matzo ball (aka a “sinker”), but someone else’s may have opted for a light one (aka a “floater”).

“We get feedback from everyone,” says Cochava Feilich, the MorseLife culinary director who’s responsible for the long-term care facility and the mitzvah program.

Martin Katz is more direct: “One resident will say you have too many noodles in the soup. Another will say, ‘Why aren’t there more noodles?’ ”

Still, at MorseLife, the cooking leans heavily in an Eastern European direction, since that constitutes the Jewish-American mainstream. So, yes, the holiday menus include matzo ball soup for the dinner (it’s a regular Friday night offering at the independent living facility, anyhow) and whitefish salad for the kiddush brunch.

But as a native Israeli more accustomed to the Sephardic approach, Cochava Feilich isn’t afraid to spice things up — or sweeten them, in accordance with the holiday. Among her regular Rosh Hashana offerings are honey-garlic chicken and sweet and sour meatballs.

She also tinkers constantly with her recipes. For example, this year she’s testing a new honey cake that gets an extra boost of flavor from apricot jam. She also has her well-guarded secrets, though she did reluctantly reveal that the secret ingredient in her beloved whitefish salad is onion powder.

And despite the occasional complaint for more (or less) noodles, the majority of the long-term-care residents seem pleased with Feilich’s cooking. “I don’t see anybody losing weight!” observes Riki Galison, who’s especially a fan of the soups.

Meanwhile, at MorseLife’s independent and assisted-living home, there’s similar culinary tinkering in advance of the holidays. But at this facility, there’s also an emphasis on making things as fanciful as possible. Culinary director Jonathan Landau is especially known for his kiddush brunches, which come replete with all kinds of fish — smoked, baked and poached salmon, smoked trout, whole whitefish. To top it off, Landau decorates the spread with elaborate ice sculptures.

Landau also likes to get creative with his holiday dinner meals: His roast chicken comes stuffed with apples, apricots, raisins and walnuts. But he knows when not to toy with tradition.

“If I didn’t serve matzo ball soup, I might as well pack up,” he said.

Rosh Hashana recipes from the MorseLife kitchens

Honey-Garlic Chicken

1 whole chicken, cut in quarters
1 ounce ginger, sliced thin
1/2 cup honey
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup water
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons each: paprika, garlic powder and onion powder
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Mix paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and a pinch of salt and rub over chicken. Bake chicken in a 325° oven for 40 minutes.

Mix ginger, honey, garlic, soy sauce and 1/2 cup of the water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Mix together 1/2 cup of water and the cornstarch and add to boiling ginger mixture. Cook until thickened. Pour honey glaze over cooked chicken and serve.

Gefilte Fish

For the stock:
4 celery stalks
3 carrots
2 onions, sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Fish bones
1 bay leaf
2 cups water

For the fish:
2 pounds whitefish (mixed parts)
1 medium onion
5 egg whites
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup matzo meal
4 chopped celery stalks

Begin by preparing the fish. Using food processor, cream eggs, onion, salt, sugar, pepper and celery. Add matzo meal and stir together.

Cut up fish and add to food processor. Pulse for 3-4 seconds. Refrigerate for one hour.

Wet hands and shape mixture into oval shapes and simmer in fish stock for 30 minutes. (Alternatively, you can roll the mixture in parchment paper and foil and simmer in the stock.)

Tzimmes (traditional vegetable dish)

1 can sweet potatoes (40 ounces)
1 can carrots (16 ounces)
1 cup honey
1 can pineapple (16 ounces)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 bag dried prunes (8 ounces)

Mix all ingredients together. Place in baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes in a 325° oven.

Honey Cake

1/2 cup coffee
1 3/4 cups honey
4 extra large eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon orange peel
2 teaspoons cocoa

Preheat oven to 300°. Grease and flour two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans or one 9-by-13 pan. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the honey and coffee, and bring to a boil. Cool and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the eggs, orange juice, oil and brown sugar. Do not over-beat.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, orange peel and cocoa together.

Stir the flour and honey mixture into the egg mixture, alternating and ending with the liquid. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the cake springs back. Let sit overnight before serving.