Rosh Hashanah - 5780 - Tashlich

Rosh Hashanah - 5780

Tashlich

Rabbi Hal Miller

Late in the afternoon on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we get together as a family,

head for the nearest body of water within walking distance, and throw away perfectly

good bread, despite the rule against wasting food. Why do we do this? But that isn't

all--we then shake out our clothes, and it isn't for Pesach. It's a good thing nobody is

watching. What is tashlich all about? What is the source?

The Torah tells us about observing Rosh Hashanah. It does not tell us of tashlich.

The Shulchan Aruch does not list it as a halacha, but the Rama mentions it in 583:2.

First both the Shulchan Aruch and Rama discuss the custom of "simanim", the foods

often eaten as signs asking for a good upcoming year. At the end of this discussion,

Rama adds, "One should to go the river to say the verse, 'and You will cast into the

depths of the sea all our sins, etc.' [Micah 7:19]" , Midrash Tanchuma gives reasons,

such as Avraham being confronted by a raging river when he tried to act on the

sacrifice of Yitzchak, brought on by the Satan, but he prayed to God and was saved.

Others say it serves as a reminder of Creation. Tashlich does not seem to be a

commandment but only a custom whose origin is lost in the mists of time.

What type of body of water do we need? Magen Avraham says, "It is customary to

say tashlich near a body of water which contains fish. Man is compared to a fish

ensnared in a net." The Mishneh Berurah explains that since the evil eye has no

effect on fish in the sea, this is our way of saying that it will have no influence on

us either. He brings that he has seen commentators say it should be a river or a

well, and that it should be out of town. Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov adds a spring, a cistern,

or a reservoir so long as they contain rainwater. The Gemara [Horayos 11a] rules

that "Kings are anointed near a wellspring," and what we are doing is anointing God

as our King. The issue of fish is argued by many, as we are certainly forbidden

from feeding the fish if tashlich is done on Shabbos, and possibly also on the

holiday even when not Shabbos. Some have the custom not to do tashlich on the

first day of Rosh Hashana if it falls on Shabbos to ensure people do not carry

bread or machzors out of the eruv. But there could still be an issue of feeding fish,

so many have the custom to leave the bread at home, regardless of the day of

the week, and just say the psalms involved at the water's edge. For that matter,

we used to say it on a mountaintop, overlooking the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

Most who do tashlich do so after mincha of the first day of Rosh Hashana, but

before sunset. The Arizal explains that this is closest to the time on the Friday of

Creation when Adam was judged and vindicated, thus is a propitious time for us

to seek good judgment as well.

There is a kabbalistic custom to shake the clothing to get rid of sins, but this is

strongly opposed by many non-kabbalists as misleading people to thinking they

do not need to do teshuvah to actually free themselves of those sins.

Although the rules are different, one cannot help wondering whether there is a

tie between tashlich and mikva. Both seem to be ways of using a body of water

to help in the process of purifying oneself from sin. Many have the custom of

immersing in a mikva just prior to Rosh Hashana, but we do not immerse in

the water when saying tashlich.

There are communities, particularly in some of the Sephardic areas (others do

so) that do not hold with tashlich at all. We should follow our family custom.