September 17, 2012

• 
  Day 9:  Cast Your Bread Upon the Water

  Tonight is Tashlich.  It’s the second evening of Rosh Ha’Shana, and Tashlich is so much fun.  It’s the part of Rosh Ha’Shanah where the person goes out and throws bread (representing their sin) into the river… based on Ecclesiastes 11:1.   Now… you have to understand something – I NEVER UNDERSTOOD THIS.   At all.  Look at the verse, and you’ll see why”

  Eccl. 11:1 – Cast thy bread upon the waters:
  for thou shalt find it after many days.

  Now forgive me for this, but why on EARTH would I want to cast my bread (sins) upon the waters (God)… so that I can find them again?  That makes NO sense.  So I checked my feast book (I have a feast book to help me learn about these traditions)… and in it, they throw pebbles, instead, as sin is hard and when it’s thrown into the river, the pebbles simply disappear among the other little stones (sins) forever, and we can’t take them back.  THAT I’m good with.  THAT fits better with the idea BEHIND Taslisch, and so when I say to you that when we do Tashlich, we throw PEBBLES to represent our sin, not bread.  Call me weird or blonde, but… I can understand that better.  ((And I don’t care what the Messianics think of me.))

  Psalm 103:12 – As far as the east is from the west,
  so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

  But anyhow, in trying to research this, I found some things I wanted to share.  From OverComerStudy.com:

  Cast your WHAT upon the waters? Down home, the only conceivable reason you might cast bread upon the water was if you wanted to feed the catfish or to lure the poor suckers close enough to the bank to net them.

  This tidbit of wisdom from the Old Testament, which the collector was referring to in this verse goes back to an ancient practice of sowing seeds (not bread) over flooded fields along the riverbanks, such as the Jordan River. When the rains had come, the river swelled and crested its banks and the low lying fields of the Jordan River valley were well under water, the farmer would get into a boat, row out over his fields and sow his seeds upon the face of the water. To the casual observer or the traveler from distant places who witnessed the farmer casting his seed from the boat, that farmer gave every appearance that his elevator did NOT go all the way to the top! The struggles of the every day process of life had taken their toll and that farmer was now Looney-bin material.

  What the Palestinian farmer knew that the concerned traveler did not, was that as the seeds sank to the bottom of the water, the current would deposit a rich silt covering over them, almost guaranteeing that farmer of an excellent harvest. Neat, huh? The next time the conversation begins to lag, you can whip this little nugget out and proceed to wow the socks off everyone. Here is the object lesson. When you chose to become a Christian, you joined the ranks of an elite, faith-walking organization. The God you now live for wants you to believe in Him. He wants you to have FAITH in Him. He expects you to stop leaning on YOUR understanding and depending upon YOUR muscles and YOUR smarts. Climb out on the limb. Step out on faith. Put your weight on His strength. Lean on His insightfulness and His wisdom and upon His knowledge. You may have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but when you became a Christian, you invited Him to become not only your personal Savior, but the Lord of your life. Now back off and let Him be that. God has an interest in every facet of your life. He has a will and a purpose for you.

  Is that not kewl?  I mean, it has NOTHING to do with Taslisch, but it certainly was something I didn’t know or think about… and it’s an excellent lesson, don’tcha think?  Anyhow I just had to share.  And I had to share the funny I found on Taslisch, too… ideas for what bread to throw:

  For ordinary sins, use — White Bread
  For exotic sins — French or Italian bread
  For dark sins — Pumpernickle
  For complex sins — Multi-grain
  For truly warped sins — Pretzels
  For sins of indecision — Waffles
  For sins commited in haste — Matzah
  For substance abuse — Poppy Seed
  For commiting arson — Toast
  For being ill-tempered — Sourdough
  For silliness — Nut bread
  For not giving full value — Short bread
  For political chauvinism — Yankee Doodles
  For excessive use of irony — Rye Bread
  For continual bad jokes — Corn Bread
  For hardening our hearts — Jelly doughnuts

  Anyhow, I learned something about the whole ‘casting bread upon the waters’… and realized a few things about Tashlich… and got a real laugh at the same time.  So…!  I thought I’d share.  Just to brighten your day, feed your faith, and give you something to contemplate.  ((grins!))

  • 8:54 am
  • Leave a comment