Published: 16 September 2017
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Tashlich does not stand by itself but is part of a larger process of forgiveness… If we learn from our mistakes and correct our ways, the sea will always be willing to absorb our mistakes
Every Rosh Hashanah, we go to the sea or to any stream of water and empty our pockets. This tradition – in Hebrew called Tashlich (the act of throwing away) – has existed for centuries and symbolises the disappearing of our sins. We do not only empty our pockets; we also open our hearts and empty our inner selves so we can start the new year on the right foot.
What is actually happening with our sins? The prayer that accompanies this tradition clarifies this issue: Our sins go in the sea, the endless sea, as we borrow Joel’s prophetic words and request from God to “conquer our iniquities”, and to “cast them into the depths of the seas”.
The idea of the depths of the seas has an interesting role in this process. The depths accept our sins. They are this special place that is so far, so large and so unreachable that we can be sure our evil side will not return from there. They seem to be beyond the physical boundaries of the world.
However, the development of science and economy on the seas and under them has changed this perspective, and invites us to redefine the way we see the Tashlich tradition. During the past century, we have been able to establish the cartography of the deep sea and to understand the abysses in the same way we understand the high summits of the Himalayas. We are able to witness the particular forms of life that are developing and fructifying there, with their special shapes and colours.
We have also begun to dig into the deep sea, to lay communication cables, gas or oil conduits and to catch fish. The scarcity of fish over the seas is so severe (for example, there are 90% less fish in the Atlantic than a century ago) that we are breeding comestible fish into farms and nourishing them with deep sea species. Pollution is so significant in closed or half-closed seas (like the Mediterranean) that oxygen is becoming scarcer even in the deep sea.
Do we still throw away our sins to the deep sea today? To some extent yes, and maybe even more than in the past. The problematic situation of the deep sea from an environmental perspective is nothing but the reflection of our failure, as an occidental civilisation, to develop ways of life and economic growth that keep themselves within the limit of natural boundaries, recognise the right of future generations to enjoy a natural capital and that of every element of the creation to stay in place - simply.
In an ecological system where all species are interacting with one another, the damage we cause to the deep sea, as well as what we are causing to all the environment, is coming back to haunt us. At the end of the day, pollution affects human health; the disappearance of species of plants or animals underlies our capacity to adapt to new challenges and situations.
In essence, the Tashlich process has a very clear rationale, which follows the general movement of this period: Tashlich does not stand by itself but is part of a larger process of forgiveness. God forgives us because we are willing to forgive ourselves and turn a new page. If we learn from our mistakes and correct our ways, the sea will always be willing to absorb our mistakes. The willingness of humankind to assume its mistakes and take responsibility endlessly enlarges the boundaries of the deep sea and of all our world.
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