Tashlich is a Jewish custom in which we symbolically cast away our sins into a moving body of water. It is usually performed the first day of Rosh Hashanah in preparation for Yom Kippur. Tashlich is based on a verse “And you will cast all your sins into the depths of the sea.” from Micha, 7:19.
Looking for an alternative to the traditional prayer I came across this poem At the Water’s Edge: A Reading for Tashlikh by Elizabeth Tragash and this ceremony by Susie Kessler and Janice Rous. Instead of concentrating on the traditional idea of sins, these women reframe tashlich to encourage us to release anything we are holding on to that is obsolete and no longer serve us in the same way that trees release their foliage in this change of season.
Which brings me to a powerful video, Fall, by Shirin Neshat, an artist that marks the changing seasons by addressing the famine in Somalia.
For this tashlich let’s stretch ourselves to go beyond our personal sins and release any undercurrent of powerlessness so that we may sail into an authentic transformation for this new year.
BubbeWisdom 