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PAGE 34RH THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE October 3, 1986
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Wishes You and Your Family
a Happy and Healthy New Year
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The meaning of Tashlich
May your
holiday
be filled
with
happiness
Cohen & Landis
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Joseph Cohen Alan Landis
by Carol Green
World Zionist Press Service
Toward late afternoon on the
first day of the new year, Jews cus
tomarily gather alongside the banks
of a river, ocean, stream or other
body of water to utter praises to
God and "cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
This ceremony, known as Tash
lich, from the Hebrew “to cast,” is
performed by observant Jews all
over the world. Jews can be spot
ted casting breadcrumbs, symbolic
of their sins, along the shores of the
Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean
seas, at the Sea of Galilee and in
landlocked Jerusalem at the Shi-
loah or Silwan tunnel, through
which the Gihon spring flows.
The origins of this symbolic rit
ual, however, remain a mystery. It
is not mentioned in either the Bible
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or the Talmud, or by the early rab
binic authorities. The earliest ref
erence is found in the writings of
the 15th century German sage Rabbi
Jacob Moellin in the Sefer Mahar-
vil, but though he acknowledges
the existence of the practice he
doesn’t explain how and why it
developed.
Several commentators link the
idea of going to a body of water on
the new year to a legend about our
father Abraham. According to the
legend, after God ordered Abra
ham to sacrifice Isaac, Satan came
to God claiming, “This is too much.
I can’t believe that your servant
Abraham will bring his only son—
the son he has waited for his entire
life—to the slaughter.” So confi
dent was the Almighty in Abraham
that He made a bet with Satan. The
legend explains that God allowed
Satan to do everything in his power
to tempt Abraham and divert him
from his path. '
To frighten Abraham, Satan dis
guised himself as a mighty river.
When the aged patriarch and his
son saw the river they were puzzled.
“1 have passed this place many
times before and never have I seen
this river,” said Abraham. Deter
mined to reach his destination—
Mount Moriah, the hill designated
for the sacrifice—Abraham and
his son waded into the river. Soon
the water reached their necks.
Abraham called out to God asking
Him for the strength and clarity to
help him do His will. When Satan
saw this, he caused the waters to
recede, allowing Abraham and Isaac
to pass.
In Jewish tradition, the new year
is the time man takes stock of him
self and asks himself how well he is
serving God. By going to the banks
of the river or other body of water.
we recall the legend of our father
Abraham who stood prepared to
fight any obstacle, no matter how
great, that stood in the way of his
divine service. As we ask God to
forgive our sins and grant us an
other year of life, we pray that we
too will be able to overcome any
obstacle.
In Jewish tradition Torah is
called a “well of living waters.” Our
sages teach that only by cleansing
ourselves in the living waters of
Torah can we overcome our weak
nesses and serve God properly.
To illustrate this, at Tashlich,
Kurdish Jews literally jump into
the water to observe the ceremony.
In the Tashlich prayers we say to
God “arouse your mercy that we
may be cleansed from all forms of
impurity.”
The Code of Jewish Law, or
Shulhan Arukh, states that Tash
lich should be recited alongside a
body of water containing fish. This
is because fish are vulnerable. They
are constantly prey to hooks, nets
and other large fish. So, too, is
man vulnerable, to his impulses
and destructive tendencies and must
constantly be aware of his feelings
and actions so as not to fall prey to
sin.
In the Tashlich service, we recite
the 13 attributes of divine perfec
tion, recalling that God is compas
sionate, forgiving, slow to anger,
etc. Judaism teaches that man
must strive to imitate divine per
fection and incorporate these at
tributes into his personality. Abra
ham, more than any Jew in history,
succeeded in this.
The Torah also teaches that man
was created out of the dust of the
earth and before man was created
the earth was covered with water.
Standing along the waterside, on
the first day of the new year, we
recall where we came from, where
we are going and the great task we
have ahead of us. The Tashlich
ceremony reminds us both of how
small we are, and how great we can
be.