(Jewish Group) Just in time for Rosh Hashanah, a new reason to feel guilty

[Behind the Aegis]

My favorite Jewish food is borscht, my favorite Jewish holiday is Sukkot, and my favorite Jewish ritual is tashlich.

Maybe I need to rethink that last one.

Tashlich, which in Hebrew means “cast off,” is a New Year’s ritual during which Jews symbolically throw away their sins. Many communities, including mine, typically do so by tossing bread into a stream, river, ocean or pond — any body of flowing water.

But now, citing concerns over animal welfare and food waste, more and more people are calling for a change. Some congregations are replacing the bread with pebbles, wood chips or, following an Israeli custom, simply standing at the water and turning their pockets inside out.

Really? Et tu, tashlich?

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I have never participated in this custom or even remember it.