Submitted by Matilde Yahni
Rosas del Plata
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Nordelta Synagogue, Judaica Norte invited the Rosas del Plata team to participate in the Tashlich ceremony. This was a very special and significant gesture for our team of paddlers of life.
This ceremony is a unique opportunity to connect spiritually, reflect on the year that has passed, and renew your spirit for the new year.
The Tashlich ceremony is a beautiful ritual that symbolizes leaving behind the bad moments of the past and welcoming a new year with a clean and renewed heart.
It takes place by the water, where we throw breadcrumbs as a symbolic act of ridding ourselves of our transgressions.
We have lived a unique, extremely enriching experience that illuminated our souls and moved us deeply.
We have shared this special moment of spiritual connection and camaraderie with the Judaica Norte community and we feel happy and honored that they have given this important space to our team!
Thanks from my heart. Pink Hugs!
Tashlich Ceremony Transcript
We would like to thank you for taking part in the Tashlich ceremony. It means a lot to the Jewish people.
I would like to express our gratitude that you are taking part in this because you bring the voice of breast cancer survivors through water and water is an element that is very important in this ritual.
Tashlich is a ceremony where we throw something into water where fish are present. We can throw little stones, bread crumbs or even thoughts. You don’t need to throw an actual, physical item. By throwing something we are getting rid of those moments of disease, of bad thoughts and deeds.
In Judaism we don’t talk about “sins”. The word “sin” is somehow forbidden. We talk about bad moments and negative things you have done during the previous year. So, by throwing these items, you are symbolically getting rid of those negative things.
We perform Tashlich on a lake or river where there is water flowing and where we can find fish. Fish need to be present because fish don’t look up. They always look to the front and down so there’s no evil in a fish.
When we throw the stones or breadcrumbs or thoughts, we must say this sentence: The scriptures say you will throw your bad thoughts and deeds onto the water so they will be washed away for this new year that is starting.
So every mistake that you made or every unintentional bad thing that you did will be forgotten and will be cleansed.
You’re bringing the voice of all we could have done better. You are redefining your disease, in this case, breast cancer. You are bringing the voice of all the things we need to hold onto and all the things we need to continue doing. You also bring the efforts we must continue to make as individuals and as a group collectively to make the world a better place.
We are grateful for your presence this Sunday and it’s an honour to have you doing Tashlich with us.
