#tashlich

Our family usually does Tashlich right here on the pedestrian bridge over the creek, but today we joined a group from our synagogue at the tiny neighborhood arboretum about another block downstream. This gathering was one of four neighborhood clusters from the congregation, reminding us that all the streams connect.

In addition to the traditional prayer, there were contemporary readings that were new to me that I liked. Some people brought bread crumbs or matzah or pebbles, and there was a provided bag of bird seed to cast into the water. I liked the birdseed, especially with so many people sharing at once, so we didn’t spoil the appetite of any local birds.

Tashlich is often done in the first day of Rosh Hashanah, but I think waiting until today gave us more time to mingle and contemplate, since we weren’t rushing to or from services.

Bread is actually not great for birds (fills them with empty calories and keeps them from seeking out food they actually need) and seeing as ~Life~ is a staple, that seems like a good compromise to me

The spider fam (Natasha, Yelena, and Peter) doing their first Tashlich together as a family.

Peter and Yelena: הייב מײַנע צרות פֿון מײַנע פּלייצעס

Many people are concerned that the bread would be harmful to the ecosystem, but you can use many other things found by the river! Small stones, tree bark, twigs, etc.

Many people don't live by a river, that's okay too! You can write mistakes on a dry erase board and rinse them off, bake your errors into food to be eaten, or burn them up on slips of paper.