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futility and demanding his com
plete unquestioning devotion and
submission to the will of God, a
joyous and holy occasion consonant
with the great happiness of identifi
cation with God. Ezra and Nehe-
miah enjoined their dispirited au
dience on a fateful Rosh Hashanah
25 centuries ago: “Do not mourn
and do not cry ... Be silent for
today is a holy day, therefore be
not sad.”
This message is as relevant and
opportune as it was in the time of
Ezra. For today, as then. Is tael is
confronted with the gigantic, faith
testing task of reconstructing its
Homeland. There are many who
find their escape from the over
whelming burden in tears and des
pair, yielding their hope to mourn
ing. To them and to all Jews the
words of Ezra and Nehemiah ring
out on the eve of this Rosh Hasha
nah with defiance bom of courage
and faith. “Do not mourn and do
not cry.” The cleansing of the soul,
the humility of heart and the prep
aration for sacrifice bring joy with
tears — and the promise of glorious
spiritual and physical victory. “To
day is a holy day, therefore be not
sad.”
Meaning of Tashlich
ROSH HOSHANAH QUIZ by Rabbi S. J. Fox
QUESTION: What is the Tash
lich ceremony?
ANSWER: In Israel’s vast reser
voir of customs and ceremonies one
is often puzzled at the significance
of certain rituals that have per
sisted through the centuries. One
of these customs is the Tashlich
ceremony which is observed far
and wide by Jews in many lands.
Whether or not we observe this
practice, we are forced to take cog
nizance of the fact, that in almost
every town and hamlet, and per
haps in every traditional syna
gogue, there is always a group of
men and women who will, year in
and year out, on the New Year’s
holiday, go out to a nearby river
or stream and recite the Tashlich
prayers. If we observe them close
ly, we will notice that some of them
will shake out either their pockets
or the extremities of their gar
ments, as if to discard something
into the water. In some of the
small cities of Europe, it w-as not
an uncommon sight to see an entire
village going out together, con
stituting a festive parade of men,
women and children, dressed in
their holiday best, proceeding in
a buoyant spirit on their way to
the river.
Jews of Palestine and Egypt w-ere
known to observe this custom even
if the first day of the New Year oc
curred on the Sabbath. Most other
Jews will postpone the ceremony
until the second day, as is the case
this year, since there is a tendency
to prevent excessive travel even
by foot, on the Sabbath, as well as
preventing some of the people w-ho
are prone to carry crumbs in their
pockets during this ceremony, from
doing so on the Sabbath.
It is related that the Jews of
Kurdistan, in the Near East, would
even go so far as to immerse their
own bodies, clothing and all, in
the water during the ceremony. In
some cities where streams were
too distant, the populace would go
up on top of the roofs, from where
distant streams and rivers were
visible, to perform the ceremony.
QUESTION: Why must the cere
mony be performed near water?
ANSWER: A custom, as old and
popular as this, should deserve
some attention and analysis as to
its underlying motives, its his
torical significance and its an
tiquity. By means of the following
description, it can easily be seen
that the custom itself has its roots
in our ancient literature, bears
memories of historical events and
leaves deep-rooted and lasting im
pressions upon its observers.
The Bible is rich with references
to the significance of the pheno
menon of water. The prophet
Isaiah, in describing the days of
everlasting peace in the Messianic
era, speaks of the harmful crea
tures of thte universe as follows:
“They shall do no hurt ncr destroy
in all my holy mountain; for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea.” Water is thus described
as an agent which shall fill all the
gaping holes of a civilization which
has witnessed barbaric strife and
cruelty.
The verses from the prophet Mi-
cah, which are recited at the cere
mony, imply this same characteris
tic with added meaning when it is
said of the Lord: ‘Thou shalt cast
all their sins into the depths of the
sea.” The sea of w-ater is portrayed
here as a dissolving agent in which
all is lost or forgotten beneath the
rippling waves of time.
QUESTION: Why are crumbs
from one’s pockets emptied at the
Tashlich ceremony?
ANSWER: The custom of shak
ing out the pockets or the extremi
ties of one’s clothing, is sometimes
related to the passage in Nehemiah
which asks that God “shake out
every man who performeth not his
promise.” He regrets the past and
casts off its shackles, thus looking
for a clean slate upon which to be
gin his new year.
The Jew also sees history in the
waterways. The Midrash relates
that when Abraham set forth to
do the Lord’s bidding, he was over
come by a river which threatened
to drown him and prevent him
from accomplishing his divine goal.
After praying to the Lord, the
water dried up and he proceeded
to his duty.
(Copyright, 1949, J.T.A., Inc.)
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The Southern Israelite