Tashlikh marks looking back at the year just completed and forward to the year just beginning. Jews celebrate several “new years,” namely Passover, marking the new year of being free, and Tu B’Shevat, marking the birthday of the trees. Tashlikh enables us to take stock of what is past and to look forward to the potential for growth in the new year.
The setting beside a beautiful small stream, lake or pond is an ideal location for getting to know other members of our congregation. Children can play on a nearby lawn. Bring a picnic and stay a while.
Some Thoughts for a Tashlikh Service
— Adapted from the Tashlikh service of Kahal B’raira, the Secular Humanistic Jewish Congregation of Boston.
We cast away pessimism and cynicism, and we lift up the belief that we can be, we are, the change we have been waiting for.
What else would you like to cast away, either individually or communally, this year?
As we shed the negative habits we would like to let go of, we make space for new and enriching ideas and behaviors. What qualities, values, or actions would you like to draw close to you this year, to help you become the person you want to be?
Below are some suggested readings and reflections which you can use for your tashlich ceremony this year.
Tashlich, which means “you will cast away,” is the ancient custom of throwing crumbs, or dirt from our pockets, into a stream of running water. When we observe tashlich, we symbolically cast off the ways we’ve strayed from our goals, and the ways we’ve hurt ourselves and others. When we cast away our wrongdoings, we can’t actually throw them away, as though they no longer existed. When we hurt someone we cannot undo the hurt. Instead we set an intention to transform the energy of our wrongdoings in order to renew our commitment in the struggle for justice. Today, we reflect on our personal and collective wrongdoings in order to turn away from fear, violence, and hate, and towards justice, compassion, and love.
Questions for Reflection
- Water, though life-giving, also has a capacity for destruction. What qualities in myself have a similar capacity for both nourishment and destruction? How can l embrace the positive while restraining the negative?
- How have I wronged myself this year? What are the patterns I am casting off? How can l be healthier this year?
- How have I wronged people close to me this year? How can I best show up for others in the year to come? How can I support my friends and family?
- How have I been complicit in wrongs committed in my name this year? What can I do in the new year to resist the temptation to be complicit in injustice? How can I support my community?
Take a few minutes to collect twigs, pebbles, pine needles, and dirt to cast into the water. As you cast the dirt and pebbles into the water, read the following: “We cast away silence and complicity, and lift up our voices and our comradeship. We cast away fear, and take on courage.”