128 Friday, September 11, 1982
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
500-Year-Old Custom of Tashlikh Casts AwaySins
By RABBI DAVID GEFFEN
World Zionist Press Service
JERUSALEM — "A foul,
watery stream apparently
not much more than ankle-
deep ran along the drainage
way. Reb Yehiel Mazur
crouched all doubled over
with a foot on each side of
the pipe above the stream.
The Jewish boy, Wladislaw,
held the light down through
the jagged, chiseled hole, as
the voice of Reb Yehiel
Mazur echoed and echoed in
the arched conduit. "And
Thou will cast (tashlikh) all
their sins into the depths of
the sea.' "
This poignant depiction of
the tashlikh ceremony in a
subterranean sewer area in
the Warsaw ghetto from
John Hershey's novel, "The
Wall," typfies the determi-
nation of the Jew, in spite of
all obstacles, to perform this
symbolic ritual on Rosh
Hashana. Fortunately,
today in most locales
around the world the obser-
vance of tashlikh is much
easier. Nevertheless, the
actual act itself, wherever it
maybe performed, is rooted
in 500 years of tradition and
may even have deeper roots
than that.
The actual name tashlikh
derives from the verse in
Micah 7:19 ("And thou will
cast all their sins into the
sea"), which along with ver-
ses from Isaiah and Psalms
are recited during the cere-
mony itself.
The earliest specific
reference is found in the
15th Century Sefer
Maharil authored by
German Rabbi Jacob
Moellin. "It is customary
on Rosh Hashana after
eating," he wrote, "to go
to the sea or to a river and
to cast one's sins into the
depths of the waters." He
continued by forbidding
the throwing of bread
crumbs into the water in
order to feed the fish. His
prohibition was not
accepted since the use of
bread crumbs has be-
come a normal part of the
ritual.
Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the
commentator on the
Shulhan Arukh, suggested
that we go to the water's
Tashlikh prayers on a Tel Aviv beach.
edge for the ceremony be-
cause the "depths of the
seas" were created on Rosh
Hashana.
In communities today,
tashlikh is performed on the
first afternoon of Rosh
Hashana. However, when
Rosh Hashana begins on
Saturday, as it does this
year, then the ceremony is
put offuntil Sunday to avoid
desecration of the Sabbath.
Unusual tashlikh rituals
include a Kurdistan custom
of physically jumping into
the water to observe the
ceremony. Kabalists,
Jewish mystics, shake their
garments as a way of fre-
eing themselves from the
"shells" of sin which have
formed during the year.
Their act is based on the
talmudic statement that the
cleanliness of garments is a
sign of moral purity.
Sephardi - Oriental Jews
have celebrated tashlikh
since the 16th Century.
While the Mediterra-
nean and Sea of Galilee
shores have been regular
venues for tashlikh
through the years, the
residents of such land-
locked cities as
Jerusalem and Safed had
to devise alternate ap-
proaches. From the 18th
Century on it was cus-
tomary to climb to the
roofs of these cities and
look toward either the
Sea of Galilee or toward
the Dead Sea and recite
the appropriate verses.
Today the main location
for tashlikh in Jerusalem is
the Shiloakh or the Silwan
tunnel through which the
Gihon spring flows. The
tunnel, cut through solid
rock by King Hezekiah's
workers in the Eighth Cen-
tury BCE, is an amazing
engineering feat.
The Shiloakh is mainly
accessible via the Dung
Gate since it is in the City of
David area now being exca-
vated. From all parts of the
city Jerusalemites are
drawn by the magnet of the
onl natural spring in the
municipality. Moreover,
they are also attracted by
the opportunity of seeing
friends for the first time in
the New Year.
A multitude of languages
are heard on the way down
to the Shiloakh at the base
of the Kidron Valley. All
along the way greetings for
a good and sweet year are
heard — in Jerusalem it is a
wonderful way to begin the
year.
This year, 5743, as
Jerusalemites come to
the Shiloakh as Jews the
world over go to their
own rivers, streams, seas
and oceans for tashlikh
they will, as Reb Yehiel
did in the ghetto and as
our ancestors have done
for over 500 years, meas-
ure themselves and the
year just past. From this
introspection and soul
searching they will pray
for a year filled with
shalom and fulfillthent,
not just for Israel and the
Jewish people but for all
mankind.
Major Events Affected Israel and Jewry During 5742
By GEOFFREY WIGODER
World Zionist Press Service
JERUSALEM — The
main focus of Jewish con-
cern over the past year has
been Israel. The country has
been involved in one crisis
after another and indeed
the attention of the world
has been disproportionately
fixed on this tiny area.
Events followed one an-
other at dizzying speed —
the annexation of the Golan
Heights, the withdrawal
pains in Sinai, the war in
Lebanon, not to mention
Mr. Begin's virtuoso tight-
rope performance to main-
tain a precarious majority
in Israel's Knesset.
The Jews of the world
have been fascinated and
vicariously participated in
Israel's triumphs, tragedies
and problems. The war in
Lebanon evoked demon-
strations of sympathy and
fund raising but the impact
could not be expected to
compare with that of the
Six-Day and Yom Kippur
Wars when Israel itself was
endangered.
American Jews were
involved in various
struggles on Israel's be-
half, notably over the sale
of AWACS to Saudi
Arabia. Their attempt to
stop the sale almost suc-
ceeded — not only be-
cause of the threat to Is-
rael but also because
many Americans, citing
the precedent of Iran,
opposed sending sophis-
ticated weapons to an un-
stable country. Intense
pressures by President
Reagan saw the bill
through, but not before
the major issue had stir-
red up anti-Semitic as
well as anti-Israel man-
ifestations.
Israeli soldiers talk with Lebanese civilians after
the battle for Sidon.
The Jews of the world rael and most of the others
were also in the front line of to the U.S.
The Zionist movement
international terror. Pales-
tinian terrorists again tried to persuade the
showed that they did not American Jewish organiza-
distinguish between Is- tion HIAS from helping ref-
raelis and Jews as they ugees, and to cease assisting
selected their targets. As in Russian Jews who reached
the previous year, when the Vienna to go onto the U.S.
It transpired, however,
Paris synagogue in Rue
Copernic was the scene of a that the Jews were con-
murderous attack, so this tacted by other bodies,
year synagogues were again ultra-religious as well as
non-Jewish, who financed
sites of bloodshed.
In October, two women their journey to the U.S. and
were killed and 90 injured eventually HIAS resumed
when a 200-pound bomb its activities.
Inside the USSR, `!refus-
exploded outside the
Sephardi synagogue in niks" continued to be perse-
Antwerp and in February a cuted. One of the best
bomb was thrown at the known, Ida Nudel, was re-
synagogue in Rome. There leased after four years exile
was loss of life when a and returned to her home in
Jewish restaurant in Berlin Moscow but was still not
was bombed in January allowed to join her sister in
while the would-be assas- Israel.
Events
Poland
sins of the Israel ambas-
sador in London were found showed that you don't
to have a hit list of leading need Jews to have anti-
Semitism. Within a few
English Jews.
Ambassador Shlomo hours of the clamping
Argov was shot and criti- down of martial law in
cally wounded in London in December, the state radio
broadcast a harangue al-
early June.
leging that the extremist
The controversy over the faction in Solidarity had
Soviet Jewry "drop-outs" been seized by Jews and
(i.e. not going to Israel) Freemasons! The official
among Jews leaving Russia Communist organ
became almost academic as branded leading Solidar-
the gates of the USSR al- ity advisers for "Zionist"
most closed once again, sympathies and even the
leaving only a trickle where former Communist Party
recently there had been a boss, Edward Gierek,
stream. Only a few hundred was accused of being in
Jews a month were allowed league with the "Zionist
to leave — and of these conspiracy."
about 20 percent went to Is-
All this in a country with
a mere 5,000 Jews.
A sinister sign was the
emergence of the powerful
"Grunwald Patriotic
Union" with a membership -
of 100,000; the union stres-
ses "Jewish influence on
Polish affairs." However,
there is no evidence that
this anti-Semitism has
caught the ear of the Polish
masses who are more anti-
Russian than anti anything the fate of the Falasha Jews
else. And the Polish gov- in Ethiopia. Conflicting re-
ernment, pragmatically, - ports have been received
has permitted the Joint Dis- concerning their plight but
tribution Committee to op- their situation has deter-
erate inside Poland for the iorated drastically in recent
first time since 1967.
years and some are living as
In the field of Jewish- refugees in the Sudan.
Christian relationships, a
In another troubled area,
highmark of the year was Afghanistan, only 17
the Pope's address in March Jewish families now re-
to Catholics engaged in re- main, while further east in
lations with the Jews. He China, the last foreign
said that the terrible perse- Jewish refugee died in
cutions of the Jews have fi- Shanghai; before 1949,
nally opened many eyes and 30,000 foreign Jews were
disturbed many hearts.
living in China. Apart from
In sharp contrast to the six part-Jews in Shanghai,
historical attitude of the the last Jew in China is a
Church, he stressed the 73-year-old woman in Har-
common spiritual heri- bin in Manchuria. She lives
tage and called for a new in a room with a former
relationship based on the synagogue, the last sur-
respect for the full iden- vivor of a community once
tity of each community. humbering 10,000.
He told Catholics that
In Latin America, the
teaching about Jews and Falkland Islands witnessed
Judaism must be done on a small scale a Jewish
honestly and objectively, tragedy that was particu-
without prejudice or giv- larly poignant in World
ing offense, and stressing War I — the spectacle of
the common heritage.
Jew fighting Jew in oppos-
Elsewhere, there has ing armies. A number of
been widespread concern for Argentinian Jews died.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli
Prime Minister Menahem Begin are shown embrac-
ing last October at the funeral of Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat.