With Rosh Hashanah approaching, we spoke with OU Director of Torah and Halacha Initiatives Rabbi Ezra Sarna about the intriguing practice of tashlich. The following has been edited for brevity.
When was tashlich incorporated as part of the Rosh Hashana ritual?
Rabbi Sarna: Tashlich was first described in the 1300s by Rabbi Jacob Moelin, in his book Sefer Maharil — although he didn’t start it.
Is tashlich mandatory, or is it a minhag?
Rabbi Sarna: It’s a minhag, not halacha. So much so, that the poskim discuss different cases where a person should not perform tashlich, due to opposing factors. For example, if the place where people typically perform tashlich is one where young men and women may be inclined to interact inappropriately, it’s preferable to stay home and recite the psukim there. Additionally, during the historic periods when Jews were being accused of poisoning wells, poskim advised not to do it.
While tashlich may be performed on Shabbat, some poskim advise not to do it then, particularly if the body of water is outside the eruv, to avoid potentially transgressing Shabbat by carrying a machzor, for example.
Why is tashlich typically done in front of a body of water? Is it permissible to perform tashlich in front of a running faucet, or an empty ravine?
Rabbi Sarna: The act of performing tashlich symbolizes our desire to do teshuva and to gain Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s forgiveness, hence the minhag of pulling out one’s pockets to symbolize emptying our sins.
Tashlich is based on a pasuk in Micha (7:19), which depicts that Hashem will toss our aveirot into the depths of the sea: יָשׁ֣וּב יְרַחֲמֵ֔נוּ יִכְבֹּ֖שׁ עֲוֺנֹתֵ֑ינוּ וְתַשְׁלִ֛יךְ בִּמְצֻל֥וֹת יָ֖ם כׇּל־חַטֹּאותָֽם “He will return and grant us compassion; He will hide our iniquities. You will cast into the depths of the sea all their sins.”
For this reason, we go to a body of water and read those psukim to meorer (awaken) ourselves to do teshuva.
I have not heard about performing tashlich in front of a faucet or a ravine.
There’s an additional minhag to perform tashlich specifically at a river. On Rosh Hashanah, many of our supplications mention our forefathers; we ask Hashem to remember them, and to forgive us in their honor. When Avraham took Yitzchak to the akeida, he came across a nahar, a river, that blocked their path. Avraham walked through it, and the midrash says that the water went up to his throat. At risk of drowning, Avraham davened, and Hashem removed the river. For this reason, we go to a nahar in order to recall the zechut of the akeida.
All other Rosh Hashanah minhagim are done on the holiday itself. You don’t have a Rosh Hashanah seder, or eat apples and honey, for example, after the chag. But there is a very large window to do tashlich. Why is that?
Rabbi Sarna: Tashlich is associated with teshuva, whereas the minhagim you mentioned are not. Since the teshuva “season” extends until Hoshana Rabbah, it may be performed until then.
Does it make a difference if you perform tashlich at the Dead Sea, versus at a body of water with living organisms?
Rabbi Sarna: Beyond reciting tashlich at a river, an additional enhancement of the minhag is to perform it at a body of water containing fish. In Yiddishkeit, fish have tremendous symbolism:
Firstly, chazal tell us that fish aren’t subject to ayin hara (evil eye) because they’re covered in water; ayin hara generally affects people who are exposed, in the open. On Rosh Hashanah, we daven that Hashem should make us like fish, unsusceptible to ayin hara.
In the simanim of Rosh Hashanah, we also recite a pasuk, asking that Hashem enable us to multiply like fish — “Nifreh V’nirbeh K’dagim.”
There’s another Kabbalistic concept, called “Eyna Pekicha,” which means open eye. Fish don’t have eyelids; their eyes are always open. On Rosh Hashanah, we pray that Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s eyes, kivyachol, should always be open, to watch over the Jewish people and do good on our behalf.
Lastly, just as fish get caught in nets, on Rosh Hashanah we consider ourselves stuck in the nets of sin, as our Day of Judgement approaches. Accordingly, we daven to Hakadosh Baruch Hu to free us from those restrictions.
Is there an issue with feeding the fish during tashlich?
The poskim speak strongly against feeding the fish on Rosh Hashanah. There are multiple halachic reasons why a person should not feed the fish on Rosh Hashanah, especially since the practice of feeding fish has no real source. There are issurim involved, such as unnecessary tircha (effort) on Yom Tov and feeding animals that one might trap. Better to focus on one’s tefillot during tashlich.