Tashlich, the Art of Letting Go
Earlier this week I ventured out with my pad and pen to a nearby park. It was the day after Rosh Hashana and I planned on spending some serious time writing and dumping.
It is a wide-spread custom to do Tashlich on Rosh Hashana. Tashlich is a ritual that symbolizes casting off our wrong-doings. It is performed overlooking a body of water containing fish. Tashlich is a practice to help free ourselves from our negative thoughts and behavior.
In addition to the formal Tashlich, you can personalize your 'Tashlich' in your own private, undisturbed space. It's a practice I've been doing for well over a decade. The text of the Tashlich prayer was formalized by our sages several hundred years ago. Today, many people find that this prayer (meant to illicit a yearning to be free of the negativity of the past) leaves them devoid of emotion and disconnected from the original intent.
I find I have to stir myself in order to awaken the emotions necessary. Once I put that pen to the paper, the words come flowing out. I can't imagine sufficing with just saying the words of the text.
For me, there is nothing like taking the time to sit in nature near a body of water with my pad and do the work. I want so much to be open to allow Hashem’s (the Creator's) Light into my life so I can serve Him from the best place possible. It is very freeing to peel off the layers. We get used to looking at the world through dirty glasses. Clarity comes with letting go. Clearer intuition comes with releasing. When we empty out the less desired stuff, there is so much more room for love, acceptance, and the sincere will to flow with the One Creator.
To me, it's not about 'confessing my wrong-doings. It is about owning up to the thoughts and behaviors I know are keeping me from being my true self. And it's about believing deep down that if I am prepared to let go of it, Hashem will simply take it all back and set the slate clean. It's that simple. I don't believe He is sitting with a huge gavel just waiting to give me what I deserve. No. He is waiting for me to give it up and give it back. I believe it's about my willingness to truly let things go. And when I do, it no longer exists. Yes, it's that simple.
I invite you to do the work. What have you got to lose? With Yom Kippur just days away, this is a golden opportunity to clear the slate from the inside and come that much closer to the Creator. Ridding ourselves of the negativity we tend to embrace is a vital step in revealing the true holiness within and the very real inner desire to experience Hashem’s Presence and Love.
Would you like to personalize your Tashlich this year? It's a simple process. Write it down. Give it over. Destroy it. You will be happy you did. And if you meet the challenge and feel it brought you nowhere, you can rest assured that your efforts will not go unnoticed. ... And if a little voice in your head tells you otherwise, tell it to jump in the lake.
Click here to contact me and request your free Step-by-Step Instruction Sheet for personalizing your Tashlich.
I bless us all with the ability to let go as we prepare ourselves for renewal.
MashaFaygel