Rosh Hashanah - 5787 Tashlich

Rosh Hashanah - 5787 Tashlich

Rabbi Hal Miller

  One should go to the river to say the verse v'tashlich b'mitzulot yam kol chatoteinu,

  you will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins. [Rama to Orach Chaim 583:2]

This verse, from Micah 7:19 that Rama is citing actually reads chatotam, "all their sins" as opposed to chatoteinu, "all our sins", but the purpose of the Rama is the same. There is a very widespread custom on or shortly after Rosh Hashanah to go to a body of water and say a particular litany of prayers. Where did this come from, and what is the purpose?

Our verse uses the word tashlich, meaning to cast away. The simple explanation is that we are to cast away our sins at the time of God's mercy, that neither He nor we will remember them again. Since this explanation does not explain how one does that casting away, many customs have developed, so many in fact that the Shulchan Aruch and colleagues needed to set some rules to ensure people do not get lost in symbolism without recognizing what they are doing. Rama, for example, specifies that we are not to use nuts. Mishnah Berurah says one must go down to a river or well for it is desirable that this custom is performed outside of a town. It is preferable "to go to a place where there are live fish, as a symbol that the evil eye should have no dominion over us and we will be fruitful and multiply as fish". He also ties the use of water to Avraham, so we will remember that he crossed a river as deep as his neck when going to the sacrifice of Yitzchak.

​Talelei Oros describes this ritual as a reminder of the constant renewal of Creation, from "the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters", from Bereishit [1:2]. He explains that God created everything from water, and since Rosh Hashanah falls at the time of the completion of Creation, this is to keep that fact in our consciousness.

Rabbi Avraham Chill notes that while many authorities severely censure this ritual, most seem to allow it. He says the ritual is to go to the water to pray, and while there to shake out one's pockets to rid himself of sins. He explains three reasons, 1) that spilled water becomes mud and can disappear into the ground, so man is always in danger of doing likewise, 2) man should recognize from the fish which swim unsuspectingly yet get caught in traps, that he too will be trapped unless he is vigilant, and 3) he relates the story of Akeidat Yitzchak and Avraham.

​Rabbi Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard addresses the topic and gives reasons for the custom. 1) He relates the Akeidah story, saying that it was the Satan who nearly caused Avraham to drown and Avraham called out to God to save them. 2) He gives the Creation story above. 3) He notes Nechemiah [8:1-2], "and all the people gathered in the street which was before the water gate ... on the first day of the seventh month." 4) He brings Horayot [11a] that on Rosh Hashanah we are crowning God as our King, and notes that kings are always anointed near a wellspring. He also explains why people do not go say Tashlich on the first day when it falls on Shabbat, in that it is usual to go outside the city for Tashlich and one would not be able to carry a machzor, so they put it off until the following day, which he brings from Mishneh Beruruah.

There are those who bring bread to "cast away", which would also prevent following the ritual on Shabbat. While this is roughly equivalent to the shaking of pockets noted above, it is commonly discouraged as it tends to be looked upon as feeding the fish, which is not allowed on the holiday.