Of this new moon, Rachel
wrote: It is Rosh Hashana, literally head of the year, in the Jewish
Lunar calendar. One of the Rosh Hashana traditions is Tashlich, a
casting away of crumbs into moving water, along with sins or feelings
that we'd need washed away to start the new year.
Here is a Tashlich story
to get in the spirit of the gathering, and perhaps encourage you have
your own impromptu tashlich gatherings as the weather turns. Besides
being a story of the digital age, this little essay also has some mom
ideas to ponder - like Magda's clarity that behavior that wouldn't
qualify for "sin" in most relationships was sinful in her relationship
with her mom, and like the author's remark that he turns to his mom for
religious guidance because it is easier than looking in the Torah and
she speaks his language! I wish for the forgiveness to flow between
mothers and daughters, even if I don't always FEEL it. I envision us
tossing our collective crumbs in the Hollenbeck at the Sadeh and
whatever feelings arise, so be it! ...
Some of the "crumbs" we tossed were the need to have things our own way, and the need to follow tradition in the same way every time.
