Tashlich

Background:

This ritual reimagines the traditional practice of tashlich, a ritual that symbolizes casting away the ways we have “missed the mark” in the past year. Using the language of “missing the mark” is a way of acknowledging past mistakes without the punitive connotation conjured by words like “sinning.” The idea of missing the mark also suggests opportunity for improvement and progress, a chance to get closer to our ideal selves. The following ritual plays on this concept with the practice of drawing a target as a metaphor of “making the mark.” It is meant to be practiced at the beach on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, but some find it meaningful to do it during the ten Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Yamim Nora’im, or even until the last day of Sukkot, expect on Shabbat.  

Beginning:

Arrive at the beach and find a moment to ground yourself. This can be by taking a dip in the water, sitting in the sand and taking a few deep breaths, or any other way you like to be present in body and mind. Find a stick or other tool for drawing in the sand and draw three large concentric circles. Find three small objects. Think rocks, seashells, or pebbles. You may also choose to use a small token or object that represents your cultural background.  

The three circles represent community/the world, the middle represents people who are close to you, the smallest one represents yourself. 

Stand or sit in the outer circle and take a minute to think about how you “missed the mark” with each of the groups and how you can improve/contribute more in the coming year. Place a stone or object of choice in each circle as you move through the activity. You can think about specific actions you are not proud of, or take a more general approach guided by the following questions:

1. How can I be a better part of the community at large?
2. How can I improve my relationships with the people I am closest to?
3. How can I be more compassionate to myself?

As you move from outer to inner circle and contemplate the answers, ground your feet or legs in the sand. Feel the ground and the warmth of the sun supporting you. 

Middle:

Next, take a small bag of bread crumbs, representing things you have done in the past year that you have not been proud of. Here is another opportunity to use something that represents your unique background. For example, instead of bread crumbs, you can use salt or another spice– anything that can be easily dispersed in water. Thank G-d or a higher power for giving you another chance to improve in the coming year. 

If you want, you can use the traditional tashlich prayer, or any alternative that resonates with you. 

Here is one option:

Holy One of Blessing

Here I am again

ready to let go of my mistakes.

Help me to release myself

from all the ways I've missed the mark.

Help me to stop carrying

the baggage of my poor choices.

As I cast this bread upon the waters

lift my troubles off my shoulders.

Help me to know that last year is over,

washed away like crumbs in the current.

Open my heart to blessing and gratitude.

Renew my soul as the dew renews the grasses.

Amen.

-Rabbi Judith Beiner 

End:

Return to your circle. Collect the three objects and return to the outer, largest circle. You will repeat the opening exercise, but instead of asking yourself how you can do better, ask:

1. How have I contributed to my community/the world this past year?
2. How have I helped/loved the people I am closest to?
3. How have I been compassionate to myself?

The goal is to bring the energy of all the good you have done into the new year. You can end the practice by placing your hand on your heart, closing your eyes, and visualizing yourself starting the new year in joy and peace, committed to spreading this very joy and peace to others. 

Alternative practices: If you don’t have access to a beach, you can do this ritual at home with a sand tray and a bath tub, or at a park! Sand art kits work great too!

Note: To make this practice extra special, you can wear something new for the ritual, such as a new bathing suit/sun hat. This can also be done as a shared experience with a friend or family member. Make the ritual your own by adding or modifying to meet your unique needs!  

Feliz Año Nuevo and Shanah Tovah!

Ritual by Elianna Bernstein

Prayer for Rain in the Merit of the Matriarchs
By Rabbi Jill Hammer

Sukkot is a time of fullness and generosity, but also a time to pray for the coming season. Shemini Atzeret, the festival when we pray for rain, is an expression of our need for water, which in the Jewish tradition symbolizes life, renewal, and deliverance. The Geshem (Rain) Prayer speaks of five patriarchs. In that spirit, I have included five verses, for Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, and for Miriam the prophetess, paralleling verses for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron.  This prayer uses water as a metaphor for devotion and faith, asking that God grant us life-sustaining rain. 

Remember the beautiful one: her radiance pure as water!
She welcomed new souls through immersion in water.
In her old age her breasts flowed with milk like water.
Her offspring will increase like grains of sand near seas of water.
For Sarah’s sake, do not withhold water. 

Remember the maiden: rising up to greet her, water!
She let down her pitcher and gave to the thirsty water.
She drew even for camels from the well of water.
Over her tent hovered a divine cloud full of water.
For the sake of Rebekah’s righteousness, grant the gift of water. 

Remember the shepherdess: she brought her sheep to water!
She wrestled God-wrestlings mightier than crashing water.
For her exiled children she weeps tears of water,
and they will return to their land like returning streams of water.
For Rachel’s sake, do not withhold water. 

Remember the hidden one: her veil like a fall of water!
Her womb and her deeds were more abundant than springs of water.
She praised You for Your glory as there flowed from her birth water.
King and priest suckled her as lilies suckle water.
For the sake of Leah’s righteousness, grant the gift of water. 

Remember the sister: she watched at a distance from water!
She spoke softly to newborns and saved them from the river of water.
She took up her timbrel and sang at the parting of water.
For her sake, You granted the people a well of water.
For Miriam’s sake, do not withhold water. 

To learn more about this prayer, visit: https://opensiddur.org/prayers/lunisolar/joyful-days/shemini-atseret/a-geshem-prayer-invoking-the-matriarchs/

In This New Year By Lee Hendler


In this new year:
I promise to work harder at being the best me I know I can be.
I pray for the strength to be reliable and fair,
A good listener and kind friend,
A person who thinks before she speaks,
Helps before he is asked.
I promise to work harder at holding back my anger
And unleashing my joy.

In this new year:
I pray for the strength to turn away from old habits
That fit me like my favorite old gym sneakers.
My mother doesn’t like the way they look but they feel so good to me.
My sister can’t stand the way they smell—she says they make her gag.
And my dog likes to chew on the laces even though that’s not good for him.
It’s hard to give up things I’ve lived with for such a long time.

In this new year:
I pray for the courage to act
When I know an injustice has taken place,
And all around me others are choosing not to act.
I pray for the wisdom to choose action
That will make a good difference
And may persuade others to act too.

In this new year:
I pray that I can remember to remember what I promised.
I promise a lot because it is easier to say yes than no.
Then I end up saying no to my yeses.
I hope this will be the year I learn to say no and make my yeses
The promises that I can remember.

In this new year:
I pray for patience with myself and all my loved ones.
The long span of history suggests that in difficult times
Hope does more for us than despair.
I choose to be hopeful about our future
And to act based on that choice.
I will be more than content with what I have.
I will rejoice in my fullness and work to assure that others have that same privilege.
I will watch less news and see more life, listen to fewer podcasts and talk to more family members.
I will make a new friend.
I will renew an old friendship.
I will get involved in a new cause.
I will learn one new thing every day.
I will tell someone who has never heard it from me that I love them.

Rosh Hashanah invites us to turn and return—to ourselves, to our inner truth, and to Divine presence. This ritual is designed to support this process through physical, embodied turning. As we move our bodies, we shift our energy. As we turn, we also return. 

Begin by choosing three objects that are small enough to hold in your hands—candlesticks, for instance, or a child’s toy. Each will stand in as the answer to one of the following questions:

1. What are you grateful for in this past year? 

2. What are you turning away from, that is, what would you like to leave behind? 

3. What are you turning toward in the year to come? This can be specific, such as “my art practice” or more broad, like “kindness to strangers.” 

If you’re having trouble choosing, feel free to just go with the first three beautiful or meaningful objects you find, either in your home or outdoors, and assign them these qualities in your mind. 

Once you have your objects, it’s time to set up the mini-altars that will become your ritual space. Choose a room where you can either make a little bit of space for each object along each wall, or bring in small tables or stools where you can place each object near a wall. 

When you’ve done this, you should be able to see each object upon entering the room and they should be surrounding you in the shape of a triangle when you walk into the room’s center. Feel free to spruce up your mini-altars with leaves, stones, fabric, or anything else you might have at hand. 

When you’re ready to begin the ritual, enter the room and stand at the center. You may wish to ground yourself with a deep breath in and out. Then, turn first to the object that represents what you’ve been grateful for in this past year. Walk up to the object. As you look at it, give thanks to whatever it is you’re grateful for. Then, turn in a clockwise circle, in place, and walk back to the center of the room. 

While standing at the center, turn toward the next object in front of the adjacent wall. Walk up to it, and state aloud what it is you’d like to turn away from this year. Then, turn in a counterclockwise circle, in place, and walk back to the center of the room. 

Turn towards the third object and the third wall in the space. Walk up to it, and speak aloud what it is you’re turning towards. Turn in a clockwise circle, in place, and return to the center of the room. 

Remain in the center of the room for a few moments. What did it feel like: the gratitude, the turning away, and the turning toward? What are you taking with you?