The evolving minhag of Tashlich

by Holly Shifrah

(AJNews) – Tashlich is a New Year tradition which many say began in the fourteenth century amongst Jewish communities in Germany. Others believe it is an evolution of ancient superstitions about water spirits. Still others believe it may be related to the less contemporarily popular tradition of Kapparah. For centuries Jews have debated and done tashlich in differing ways. Some authorities have argued against casting anything whatsoever into water. Some emphasize the symbolism of visiting a river specifically, rather than any body of water. Some early rabbis emphasized fish as a symbol. A Kurdish tashlich custom includes jumping into the water fully clothed. Some Jewish communities shun the practice entirely. However any community or individual may relate to tashlich, one thing is clear from its history and the diversity of practices today – it is a minhag which evolves over time.

One such evolution Jews can advocate for in their communities is to perform tashlich rituals with respect for creation and all the diverse forms of life with which we share the natural world. And that means it’s time to imagine better alternatives to using bread for this New Year ritual. Why? Bread wreaks havoc on wildlife and water ecosystems, particularly for waterfowl who can develop a deformity called “Angel Wing Syndrome” for which eating bread is considered a primary cause. The deformity prevents flight and ultimately proves fatal for most wild birds. Bread can also cause digestive problems for waterfowl including fatal yeast infections.

Meanwhile the bread that goes uneaten and sinks beneath the surface of the water can also disrupt the health of the water body in which it is left, causing all sorts of problems with algal bloom and bacteria; which in turn impacts the fish, amphibians, and insects that form crucial parts of the wider ecosystem.

So what alternatives can an eco-conscious Jew consider?

One option is to opt out of using food entirely, and drop a few small pebbles into the water instead. Another option is to upgrade from bread to bird-friendly foods such as halved grapes, defrosted frozen peas or corn, chopped greens, or even duck pellets or freeze-dried mealworms ordered online or bought from a farm supply store. Or one could eschew adding anything to our waterways altogether and instead consider taking something out, namely Reverse Tashlich, a pollution clean-up effort promoted by Repair the Sea/Tikkun HaYam.

Reverse Tashlich officially began in 2018 but according to Repair the Sea’s founder and CEO, Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, it was happening in a less organized capacity for a few years prior. Rabbi Rosenthal, an enthusiastic scuba diver, was working for the Tampa Bay region Hillel at the time, including with a campus group for Jewish divers called “Scubi Jew” at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. He said it was during a discussion with those students about Tashlich and starting a new year with a clean heart that one asked whether there was already enough human sin in the water. And the idea of removing human mistakes from the ocean rather than symbolically dropping sin in began.

Rabbi Rosenthal is blunt about his well-supported view that the state of our oceans is humanity’s “greatest existential threat” and that “if the ocean dies, we all die.” But he also speaks with pride, optimism, and enthusiasm about the capability of the Jewish community to accomplish big things, asserting that “when Jews get involved in an issue, substantive change takes place.”

That change is already happening at a fast-growing pace. What began with just 5 students cleaning up 75 pounds of debris from amongst Florida mangroves has grown into an international movement with 221 teams officially registered in 28 different countries cleaning up beaches, rivers, lakes, etc. Rabbi Rosenthal comments that “all rivers run to the sea” so those of us living in land-locked areas truly are helping repair the sea when we clean up garbage in our local rivers before it can be swept downstream. In fact, Rosenthal added that a majority of the teams now registered are land-locked. Those interested in learning more can visit www.repairthesea.org/reverse-tashlich-2025 to get involved.

This High Holidays, as people’s thoughts turn to repentance and making changes for the better, they can apply those good intentions not only to their relationship with the Divine and to interpersonal relationships, but also to inter-species relationships. All it takes is slightly tweaking a minhag in a way that honours the Jewish responsibility of planetary stewardship, and by encouraging our families, friends, and synagogue communities to do likewise.

Holly Shifrah is a Local Journalism  Initiative Reporter