Parashat Vayeilech

September 26, 2025
4 Tishrei 5786
Parashat Vayeilech
Deuteronomy 31:1 - 31:30

Dear Friends,

Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat of turning or repentance, is observed this weekend. I want to share an experience that began this process for a number of us. There is a new ritual afoot, or rather, a reworking of one that has been with us since the thirteenth century. Tashlich is the practice of throwing bread into a body of water to represent all we have done wrong in the past year, traditionally done on the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

Tashlich echoes earlier practices by the Jews of Babylonia, who sent containers out into the water containing their “sins." The Talmud describes a practice of growing beans or peas for a few weeks before the New Year in a woven basket, one for each child in a family. The basket was swung around the head of the child seven times and then flung into water.

In spite of these precedents, the rabbis were not particularly fond of the practice of throwing bread into the water, deeming it a superstitious act, one far from the process of making amends or doing teshuvah. But the need for people to do something physical to reflect the process they were embarking upon during these days of Awe could not be forestalled. Interestingly, the notion of water as a purifying agent was most clearly exemplified by the Kurdistani Jews who threw themselves into water and swam around to be cleansed of a year’s worth of wrongdoing.

With all of this water related activity, the rabbis connected the activity to midrashim (stories) around Abraham and, more clearly, as symbolic of the creation of the world and all of life. They used Biblical references to water where purification was the objective, since water as a cleansing agent is a very potent medium. 

Growing up, tashlich was something we did on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where Jews of all stripes (and different modes of attire) would gather as we cast our bread into the Hudson River. We all worshipped in different synagogues, yet in this act we came together as one. It’s true that each shul's leader led each group, but we were still doing the same thing for the same reason.  There was a great deal of challah floating in the Hudson.

Over the past number of years, keeping environmental concerns in mind more and more, groups doing tashlich have stopped throwing bread. I want to thank our own Howie Waldman for clarifying the importance of not using bread. Over the past number of years, we too have changed the way we do tashlich. Since we no longer do it at a pond filled with turtles and ducks, we are not disappointing any animals. 

When we go to Untermeyer Gardens, it is both an opportunity to come together and reflect upon what we are about to do, and to do it individually as we cast our pebbles into a waterfall with eddies.

Everyone present is asked to think about a way in which they have missed the mark over the past year. Instead of everyone throwing in their single pebble at the same time, people line up one by one and throw their pebble into the water. The result is extremely moving. As each pebble creates a ripple if thrown in a pool, it is a reminder of how even small acts have a ripple effect, much like when you skip a stone across water. Unlike the bread, which was eaten or fell to the bottom of the pond, the ripples in the water give us pause.  

The moment is deepened as we sing a niggun before we separate and each individual finds their place from which to  cast a pebble. We are made aware in no uncertain terms that our actions have consequences, whether we are aware of them or not. Instead of being a ritual that the rabbis of old could negate, here is a ritual that opens the door to repentance and makes each of us present aware that we were not alone and that what we did had an effect on the world around us. Our very presence in the world creates change, how much more so our actions and behaviors.

Wishing you and yours, a year of sweetness, kindness and joy. Remember as long as there is light there is hope.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova,

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn