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Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Rosh Hashana-Yom Kippur
Why do people think
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 9:06 am
..that Tashlich means throwing bread into the water??
When I was a kid, that is totally what I thought. I grew up heimish/chassidish. I remember breaking off larger and smaller pieces, and having in mind that it represents larger and smaller aveiros. It is only when I went to seminary that I saw people going to Tashlich without the requisite bag of bread, and that is when I learned that its actually assur to throw bread into the lake on Yom tov.

And I know its not just me. I just googled Tashlich and this is what I saw on the PJ Library website: "Tashlich, which literally translates to “casting off,” is a ceremony performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah. During this ceremony, Jews symbolically cast off the sins of the previous year by tossing pebbles or bread crumbs into flowing water. " Can't Believe It (not that we can expect better from PJ Library.)

I also remember clearly going on a class trip in grade school (a chassidish school) where we were told to bring a slice of bread from home to throw into the water for Tashlich.
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amother
Indigo


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 9:14 am
I grew up very yeshivish and never thought it learned that. We were taught you daven at the lake.
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amother
Oatmeal


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 9:20 am
amother [ Indigo ] wrote:
I grew up very yeshivish and never thought it learned that. We were taught you daven at the lake.

Same. It was only the older people in my city (who hadn't had the opportunity of going to yeshiva or BY or day school) who brought bread along to throw in.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 9:44 am
I know this isnt just something I was taught wrong. It must be one of those things that circulate in some frum circles. I just put in "Tashlich" in the search bar on Imamother and two entries came up saying something about breadcrumbs.
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mommy3b2c




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 9:46 am
This is a minhag, not sure what’s so shocking about that.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:01 am
mommy3b2c wrote:
This is a minhag, not sure what’s so shocking about that.


Do you have a source for that?
I have come to the conclusion that it must have come about through a mistake. People take their kids to tashlich on a weekday and bring along bread so they have something to do. Eventually people started getting mixed up and thinking its part of the Tashlich ritual.

If you have a source that says this is a legitimate minhag, I would love to see it. If it is, it would mean that those people also have the minhag not to do Tashlich on Rosh Hashana, because throwing bread would be against halacha.
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gootlfriends




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:08 am
Grew up with that. Because we went during chol hamoed. When you go on rosh Hashanah you cant feed the fish.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:10 am
gootlfriends wrote:
Grew up with that. Because we went during chol hamoed. When you go on rosh Hashanah you cant feed the fish.


The question is were you taught that it is actually part of the ceremony, or was it just a fun thing to do once you were going to a body of water?
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amother
Lemon


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:10 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Do you have a source for that?
I have come to the conclusion that it must have come about through a mistake. People take their kids to tashlich on a weekday and bring along bread so they have something to do. Eventually people started getting mixed up and thinking its part of the Tashlich ritual.

If you have a source that says this is a legitimate minhag, I would love to see it. If it is, it would mean that those people also have the minhag not to do Tashlich on Rosh Hashana, because throwing bread would be against halacha.


It's not a mistake. We throw bread into to water to show that we're throwing our sins into the water.
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amother
Pear


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:14 am
Im very chassidish and do not think this and never did that.
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6000miles




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:17 am
We also did that growing up, but we learnt that throwing in the bread represents the aveiros that we're "casting off".

My question growing up was, so now the fish that are eating this bread are full of our aveiros?!
As a child, I wouldn't eat fish on Rosh Hashanah because of this... Lol

ETA: My family would go to tashlich the day after Rosh Hashana so was permissible to throw in the bread


Last edited by 6000miles on Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:19 am; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Apricot


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:18 am
I'm technically a BT but grew up in a pretty traditional Jewish family (there were a lot of rituals we still did and had for generations). It was always our minhag to throw bread, but I do remember learning as a child that is not allowed because of feeding animals. My family was upset to hear that because it had been our minhag for a long time. I always thought it was something that was abandoned as people in general moved more towards the right. I thought maybe as more awareness of the feeding thing came to light (like the signs that say "please don't feed the ducks," rabbeim felt the need to comment on it and educate about it. No idea if I'm right though.
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Elfrida




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:20 am
Taslich can be done until Yom Kippur, and some hold until Hoshanah Rabba. There are a number of weekdays when one can throw in bread.

We always learnt that it was the accumulated gunk from the bottom of ones pockets that gets thrown away, symbolizing the accumulated gunk (sins) in ones life. Depending on what one keeps in their pockets, that may include a few breadcrumbs.
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BrisketBoss




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:44 am
I'm a BT and this was what I thought too. Then my husband explained to me that the bread is something that is just done for the chinuch of children. I told my parents that tashlich isn't about the bread, and they were shocked! Now I learn that it is possible for a heimish/Chassidish person not to realize this until adulthood, and am surprised anew.
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flowerpower




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 10:56 am
The kids throw bread in the water to keep them involved. We have a few pages of tefillas to say and what do they do? Go to the lake and then what? This is their contribution. Most adults go during the aseres yamai teshuva with a machzor....
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amother
Molasses


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 11:00 am
mommy3b2c wrote:
This is a minhag, not sure what’s so shocking about that.

This. As hakoras hatov for the fish for “taking” our aveiros. It’s symbolic obviously, but it’s a minhag.
The main part is the davening and the teshuva, not the bread part.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 11:58 am
In the 15th century, R. Eliyahu del Medigo makes fun of recent immigrants from Germany to Italy who throw bread crumbs into the water for tashlich, and then don't eat the fish from that river all year long.

I can't find it online, but it's a great example of seeing the movement and development of a minhag.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 12:38 pm
I'm asking if anyone who claims that it's a legitimate minhag has a source. Did they ask their posek/rav/dayan?

The only place I can find this online is in the reform/conservative websites. In the sefarim and machzorim, no mention of bread, except to say its assur on Yom tov.

If I'm wrong, please enlighten me.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 1:05 pm
BrisketBoss wrote:
I'm a BT and this was what I thought too. Then my husband explained to me that the bread is something that is just done for the chinuch of children. I told my parents that tashlich isn't about the bread, and they were shocked! Now I learn that it is possible for a heimish/Chassidish person not to realize this until adulthood, and am surprised anew.


If I understand you correctly, your husband is saying they use bread to demonstrate tangibly to children what it means to throw our Aveireos away.

If so, I think this is the exact opposite of chinuch. Because it basically teaches the child a wrong concept which sticks with him forever. I would Davka not let my kids feed the fish if we go during the week just to avoid this confusion. They would end up thinking that the throwing of the bread is actually part of the ritual. (Which is what happened to me and many others. )
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amother
Mimosa


 

Post Sun, Sep 05 2021, 1:19 pm
Why is feeding animals assur on Yom Tov? Which of the 39 melachos is it part of?
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