A

s people in Metro 
Detroit get ready 
to celebrate Rosh 
Hashanah, they will find many 
options to participate in the tra-
ditional tashlich ceremony. 
Tashlich is the custom of 
ceremonially throwing one’s 
sins into a body of water as a 
way of starting the New Year 
with a clean slate. The ritual has 
evolved over the centuries and 
is easily accessible to Jews of all 
observance levels.
Every temple or congregation 
throughout Metro Detroit has its 
own traditions for tashlich. 
Rabbi Aaron Starr of 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 
Southfield says the congregation 
gathers the afternoon on the first 
day of Rosh Hashanah and takes 
a short walk together to a nearby 
stream where they hold a brief 
service overlooking the water. 
“We sing songs; we read 
psalms; and we consider con-
temporary poetry reflecting the 
themes of the High Holidays,
” 
Starr said.
“The peak of the service, of 
course, is the opportunity to 
cast the previous year’s mistakes 
and misdeeds into the flowing 

stream,
” he added. 
 “While the act of tashlich 
does not replace our obligation 
to apologize directly to those 
whom we have wronged, it 
allows us to forgive ourselves for 
our shortcomings and to move 
forward with a lighter spirit and 
eyes gazing forward.
”
Congregation Shir Tikvah in 
Troy combines its second-day 
service of Rosh Hashanah with 
a tashlich service at a river in 
Jaycee Park in Troy. 
“For tashlich, we use bird seed 
because bread isn’t good for the 
wildlife. Everyone takes a cup of 

birdseed and goes off on their 
own in different spots of the 
river to take a moment to reflect 
before tossing the seed into the 
river,
” Rabbi Alicia Harris said. 
“We get a chance to think 
about what matters to us and 
how we were this year. We talk a 
lot in our culture about the idea 
of sin, but I really like the idea 
of missing the mark, and where 
did we go wrong? Where do we 
need to do better next year?” 
After the services, the congre-
gation enjoys the park and has 
a picnic in a BYOP (bring your 
own plate) lunch. 

“We do it in the same place 
every year, but we are very 
different people every year. It’s 
just like the reason we restart 
the Torah again because every 
year we approach it differently,
” 
Harris added. 

CREATIVE OPTIONS
Rabbi Mark Miller of Temple 
Beth El in Bloomfield Township 
says they hold their tashlich ser-
vices at the Franklin Cider Mill 
in West Bloomfield. Instead of 
bird seed, they use frozen peas.
“Tashlich is a beautiful sup-
plement to Rosh Hashanah,
” 

ROSH HASHANAH

Metro Detroit congregations 
 share their customs for the holiday.
Tashlich Traditions

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

56 | SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022 
 
 
 
 

CSZ Young Family’s 
tashlich at the 
Franklin Cider Mill.

Shir Tikvah’s 
tashlich service at 
Jaycee Park in Troy. 

continued on page 58

