Jewish Rite Of Casting `Sins' Into Water Again Has Its Day

September 26, 1995|By Paul Galloway, Tribune Religion Writer.

In the renewal of an ancient ceremony of repentance, some 100 members of the Kol Ami Congregation gathered Monday at Oak Street Beach and threw their past year's transgressions into Lake Michigan.

No cause for environmental concern. Only bits of bread, symbols of the sins that deserved to be jettisoned, were actually deposited into the water during the observance of Tashlich, a Hebrew word meaning "Thou shalt cast away."

Tashlich is customarily held near a sea, river or stream on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the new year in Judaism, which fell this year on Monday.

Rabbi Steven Denker of Kol Ami Congregation, whose synagogue is in Water Tower Place, led worshipers to the lakefront from the grand ballroom of the Knickerbocker Hotel, where Rosh Hashanah services were conducted to accommodate the large turnouts Sunday evening and Monday morning.

It was the first time that Kol Ami had observed Tashlich.

At the water's edge, cantorial soloist Michelle Pearlman chanted selections from Hebrew scriptures, and everyone read in unison from Psalm 130, the Book of Isaiah and the key passage in Micah 7:19 that addresses God: "You will again have compassion upon us, subdue our iniquities and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

In this case, into Lake Michigan.

"Tashlich is a very old ceremony," Denker said after the service. Some think it can be traced to the 1st Century, although the first mention comes in Jewish writings from the 15th Century in Germany.

The ceremony has been reinstituted by numerous American synagogues in recent years, Denker noted, especially by those of the Reform tradition, such as Kol Ami.

"I think people today are more interested in participatory ritual," he said. "I hear this from Catholic priests and other Christian pastors I know."

And, he added, people are less squeamish about a recently unfashionable concept.

"We can use the word `sin' again," Denker said. "We haven't been able to use that word for a long time. It made people uncomfortable."

Why? "Because we've been caught up in a `no-fault' world for a long time-with no-fault car insurance and no-fault divorces. The idea was: `Do what you want, and you're never guilty.' "

He's seen a sea of change of sorts.

"Now people are realizing we have to take responsibility for our actions. The Jewish belief is we're in partnership with God in perfecting creation, and it's obvious that there's such a thing as evil and sin in this world. We can look at the Holocaust and what's gone on in Bosnia."

Still, he was surprised by the size of the crowd.

"I communicate on the Internet with rabbis I knew in seminary, and in the last few weeks we've had a discussion about Tashlich-who's done it and how it went.

"Almost everyone said to expect only a handful the first year, and then it builds."

Maybe some credit should be accorded to You-Know-Who. Surely the Almighty had something to do with the gloriously warm and sunny weather, perfect for heading to the lake and ridding oneself of imperfections.

To Denker, the appeal was apparent. "After spending the morning indoors in prayer and worship, who wouldn't be happy to come out into the world and to feel a part of God's creation and to be able to literally wash away your sins?"

Among those with newly cleaned internal slates was Denker's son, David, 8.

And what were his sins in the just-completed Jewish year of 5755?

"Sometimes I was mean to my brother, Alex. He's 4 1/2. I fight with him."

Doesn't sound so bad, but you toss away what you can.