Rosh Hashanah - Tashlich:
Breadcrumbs into Moving Water, Casting
Away Sin and Disappointment for Rosh Hashanah.
by Rachael Stark
© 2000 refdesk@world.std.com
On Rosh Hashana, it is traditional to throw breadcrumbs into moving water as a means to cast away the sins and wrongs of the previous year. This allows a fresh start and a second chance every year to live a good life, to treat people well and to do the best you can. It is also a good time of year to think about what you have done towards Tikun Olam, the repair of the world. We all have ways we try to make the world a better place. For almost all of us, our large and small attempts to repair the world will fall short in some way, just as our day to day behavior and interactions with people will fall short of the very best we could do or could imagine.
As Unitarian Universalists, each of us has our own vision of good and moral ways to live, to believe and to behave. Some of us believe in the concept of sin and some reject it. The word sin is defined in my dictionary as a transgression of moral law, a condition of estrangement from the holy or any error. The ancient root of the word sin is the word good and the verb to be. Some define sin as missing the mark.
I personally imagine the ritual of tashlich as a way to cast away all the ways in which I did not do as well as I know I can. In being kind and strong and moral and thoughtful and friendly and brave, there is always a better one can do. Tashlich gives us a chance to try again to be our very best selves.
When we throw breadcrumbs into moving water, it provides a physical ritual act into which to put our disappointments and frustrations. We can cast away all the ways in which we acted as we wish we had not or failed to act as we wish we had. Behavior by other people or by institutions toward you or others that was mean or cruel or discriminatory or unfair or unkind can also be cast away, at least in the context of the ritual.
The cleaning of the slate, the balancing of the scales, lets us focus less on past failure and disappointment and more on the hope of doing better in the upcoming year. This can be viewed in a large and abstract way, but it can also inform our lives close to home. It is traditional to search out anyone you may have harmed over the past year and to try to make that right.
If everyone did this sincerely every year, there might be a lot less hurt, hate and disappointment between people. Although this is not all that is needed in Tikun Olam, the repair of the world, it’s a great start. If people can repair the hurt between themselves and their family and friends, they are much more able to do the work of living good lives and repairing the larger world. For a variety of reasons, many Unitarian Universalists have prickly relationships with their extended families. If at all possible, it would be a mitzvah, a good deed, to include your relatives among the people with whom you try to make things right.
RITUAL
“Think of all you have done that you wish you’d done better. Think about what has been done to you that has caused you trouble or hurt. Think about your less than completely successful attempts to repair the world, your relationships and your own life. Put these disappointments in others and in yourself into the breadcrumbs and throw them into the water. The moving water will carry them away, giving you a chance to do better, to be better, to know better, starting right now. And if you are not absolutely perfect this upcoming year, remember that you will get another second chance a year from now.”
All cast breadcrumbs into water. Eat round challah and apples with honey.
Note on usage and rights: This was written by Rachael Stark. She retains all rights to it. Members of Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness, and others with related interests, are welcome to make use of this publication, copy it and share it, as long as they cite Rachael Stark as the author and do not publish or sell it in any way without her express written permission in advance.
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