Cover of Seeker Season: Guide for the Curious and Courageous by Jessica Tamar Deutsch 

Tashlich: a Fun, Accessible Ceremony
From 18Doors Guide to the High Holy Days

People gather together at a body of flowing water—often a nearby river, but it can be a lake or even the ocean—and they bring something to throw in the water (we used to use bread crumbs, but have learned they are not good for the animals and now opt for something natural, like pebbles or leaves). The leader of the ceremony invites everyone to grab a handful of what you’ve chosen to toss and imagine that they represent all of our misdeeds over the course of the past year. Then we toss them into the water, symbolically “casting our sins upon the waters.”

Like many of the other symbols and rituals of these holidays, many people participate in the ritual without taking the metaphor literally. Often, the person leading Tashlich will offer some words of hope and encouragement to everyone to continue doing the work of  teshuvah —of moral self-examination, of offering apologies when appropriate, of seeking to improve ourselves going forward.

If the weather is good, this is a really fun ritual for young children, and it’s a great opportunity for interfaith families to get a chance to mingle with other families with kids in the community. You can also find alternative ways of doing this ritual here and another idea for doing  tashlich  using chalk if you can’t get to a body of water.

Read more here: https://18doors.org/tashlich/

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, she’asah et ha’yam ha’gadol.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe who made the great sea.

Forgiveness is For the Giving
By Rachel Kann

There is a little whisper within you. 
It speaks discreetly,
yet yearns to be heard. 

The world is ending 
to begin again. 
You are your own rectification. 
You are your own next generation.

Forgiveness is for the giving: 
Round out your harsh angling, 
return eternal. 

You have been restored.
Every breath is a second chance. 

Make no mistake,
your daily awakening
is proof positive of a mercy 
beyond comprehension. 

Having been given so much, 
what use is there in withholding? 

Your heart is a hive, abuzz. 
Love wants to spill—
honey through the floodgates.

At the beginning of the new year (traditionally on Rosh Hashanah itself), Jews proceed to a body of running water, preferably one containing fish, and symbolically cast off their sins.  

The custom developed around the 13th century and became widespread despite objections from rabbis who feared superstitious people would believe that Tashlich, rather than the concerted effort of teshuvah, had the power to change their lives. Religious leaders were particularly opposed to the practice of tossing bread crumbs, representing sins, into the water, and even shaking one’s garments to loosen any evil clinging to them was discouraged. 

To make the practice symbolic rather than superstitious, the rabbis gave it ethical meaning. Although the rabbis preferred that Tashlich be done at a body of water containing fish (man cannot escape God’s judgment any more than fish can escape being caught in a net), since this is, after all, a symbolic ceremony, any body of water will do, even water running out of a hose or a faucet.