Elul 23 - Tashlich: Rekindling our Connection with God

0:00You're listening to Rave Arya Wudi, Director of Torch, Tora Outreach Resource Center of Houston. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. All right, welcome back everybody to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast. The topic we're going to talk about tonight is we know that we have many different customs, many different minha-gim that we observe on Rosh Hashanah. And I want to elaborate on some of them, get into the depths of what's really going on behind them. So the first we know is Tashlach. Tashlach is where we have a custom. We go to a body of moving water with their fish. It's ideal for there to be fish. And we say a certain blessing, a certain prayer. And then we shake off our clothes as in to show that we are wiping ourselves off from our sins.

1:00So Allah-Kha-Tak is about this. We mentioned this in our everyday Judaism Podcast this morning talking about the halakh is regarding Tashlach. How to throw away our sins. But the Ramah, Ramosh Isulish from Halakh says the following. He says we go to the water, the body of water. And we say and we shall throw into the depths of the sea all of our sins. Veheena-il khariye-shlahavin, as I mean again, what is this custom that we observe is odd custom that we observe on Rosh Hashanah. Someone was unable to do it on Rosh Hashanah. They can do it all the way till Shmi'ni-a-Taris the end of Sukkot. But Madu'a, Bishvil, Loma, Apostok, Echot, Tiknu, Lattes, Adema, Yan. He says for this verse, Allah-Kha-Tak says that we go there to say this verse. Why do we have to go to a body of water to say this verse?

2:02It's not such a big deal, you know what I mean? You can find other places to say this verse. Haireb-e-Vad-e-Dawar-Kazeh-Lokha-Khazman, it takes a lot of time for us to go out and to walk to the water and hear in Houston. It also takes a lot of energy because it's about 100 degrees. Umar-e-Roh-Lataka-Kha-Kh-Dafqa-Biyom-Nura-Kazeh-Lokha-Kazeh-Lokha-Kazman. Why specifically this Mitzvah is commanded by our sages on this holy day of Rosh Hashanah? Why do we need to go all the way to the water to say this verse? As we mentioned in many of our previous podcasts, we talked a lot about how important this day is of Rosh Hashanah. A day of judgment for our coming gear, every penny that you're going to earn next year is determined already on Rosh Hashanah. Additionally on Rosh Hashanah we're determined who's going to live, who's going to die during this coming year. I woke up this morning and someone I knew passed away.

3:05You know, he didn't pass away this year. He passed away last Rosh Hashanah already. It was decreed that he was going to pass away. It wasn't just a sudden thing. To us it's a sudden thing. But in the heavens it was already decreed that he won't make it to the next Rosh Hashanah. So all of this is going on. Umar-e-Roh-Lataka-Kh-Dafqa-Biyom-Nura-Kazeh. And such an awesome day of Rosh Hashanah. They have judgment, a day of making God king over us. That's the day we got as a field trip with our family. We walk to the nearest by you or we walk to the nearest body of water. And we throw away our sins. Shakal-Regga-Yakar-Pee-Khamah. On these two days of Rosh Hashanah, the day is so much more powerful because it's such a small period of time. In fact, I say just tell us that every single action that we do on Rosh Hashanah is magnified throughout the year. So if it's a good action and action of sweetness and action of kindness and action of happiness, that is expanded over the entire year.

4:07If it's an action of anger, then heaven forbid our entire year can be influenced by that anger. It's a tragic thing. So it's a very serious time. And specifically our sages brought this custom to go throw our sins into the river on Rosh Hashanah. Afshab-e-Vade-Torchla-Nacellus, as man, of course, we have to maximize our time. Gam-Bah-Halika, even when we're walking, not to waste time, not to just talk idle chatter. Adain-Yesh-Kant-Miyah. Still, it's very difficult. Why do we have this custom on Rosh Hashanah? The Gam-Torchla-Havan, another thing we need to understand, is ma-ham-e-Yuh-Had-Bab-Sukam-Elo. What is so precious in these verses? The Alam-Alone-Mah-Mah-Rim, the basic nexus. In Senegal, we should just be in Senegal. And we say, Vesach, Shulak-Mum-Zulas-Yam, Kakhat-E-Sainu, we should throw into the river all of our sins. What do we need to go into the water for?

5:08Just say it in Senegal. What's the deal here? The Bi-Yuh-Ain-Yan-Vesiyat-E-Dash-May-Yuh. Let's understand this with God's help. We will succeed. In these verses that we say, when we're throwing away, when we're casting away, our sins are the 13 attributes of mercy. When we say the 13 attributes of mercy, do you know what we reveal? We reveal our desire to be close to Hashem. We reveal to the world. We're declaring. We want to get closer to Hashem. Add Kadeem-Misir-Sneffesh to the point where if someone put a gun to our head and said, bow down to an idol or I kill you, what do we need to do? Get ready to be killed. We'll amala-mi-Kal-Sechel. Beyond any intellect, beyond any logic, we're ready to dedicate ourselves to Hashem.

6:12We'll al-Hain. A-Khare-Khalat-Fil-A-Sfat-Kiyos. After all of the prayers and all of the blowing of the shofar, we call him Maikhen-Shikib-Aunlin and all of the elevated state that we have attained on our O-Simd-Arab-Bip-Shitos-Gmura. We do something which is so simple. We go out to the waters. Lomar-Jaham possibly say a little simple verse. Ta-Sh-Tach-B-Mitsul-O-Syam-Kal-Hat-Osam. Throw into the depths of the ocean of the sea, K-Hat-Osam-O-L-The-Sins. K-Khiv-An-Chakos-Mitsul-O-Syam, what is Mitsul-O-Syam? The depths of the waters. Azay-An-Yot-Sim-Alamay-M-Kyib-Shuto. We actually don't just say it should be thrown into the water. We go and demonstrate it. What did we do the whole day? We're talking about, yeh, Hashemullah-Kim, God is our King. And we say, if it's Simul-Khato, you should be our King. The entire prayer, everything is V-E-D-K-O-P-O-L-K-A-T-O-F-I-L-T-O.

7:13Every person should know that Hashem is our King. That Hashem is our Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Creator of mankind. God is King of the Universe, everything. But what did we do about it? How did we demonstrate it? How did we show that this is really what's going on? That we demonstrate by going out and doing Tashlach. By going out and demonstrating that we don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Wul-Akhayn, A-Khar-E-Kalat-Fil-A-S-Fat-Kiyos. Therefore, after all of the prayers and all of the belonging of the Shofar, V-E-Khal-Mohans-Shik-Ibal, and all of the elevated states that we have attained on our O-Syam-Dawra-Bip-Sh-T-O-S-Gmura, the Yodzim-Alamayim, we go out of the water. We physically go out and walk the walk. V-Tashlach, Anu-Kaviyach-Ozarkum-Asa-Sah-Sah-Hushlan. What we're also doing, when we're throwing away, we're shaking off our sins, we're really throwing out our mind.

8:13Our mind. Why are we throwing out our mind? We're matkhi-lim-e-at-Khala, ki-yelat-Katana-Mavaksh-um-A-Schananim, Bipash-tus-vit-mi-mus. What we do is, like a little child, the child doesn't say, well, explain it to me, but they just do it, because they know it's my father, my mother telling me what to do, and therefore, then we become arrogant, we become older, and we start questioning everything, and everything needs to make sense to me. And it has to fit into my worldview, that's not the way God is. God doesn't have to fit into your worldview. We have to fit into God's worldview. What we're doing essentially, when we are throwing away our sins into the water, what we're doing is we're symbolically throwing away our intellect, not that we shouldn't understand Hashem, we should definitely understand, in fact, there's a commandment in the Torah that says, you should know Hashem.

9:14It doesn't say you should have a Munah, a Munah means faith. Yeah, I trust that there's Hashem. I believe that there's Hashem. That's not knowledge of there being Hashem. We have to have absolute knowledge that there's Hashem. So we do have to have intellect, but the idea of that we're not going to have to filter everything into our intellect, it has to make sense to me. So what do we do? We go like a little child, who follows what their parents say. That's the way we are, we follow what the Almighty says. And this new beginning, he beets a madrega guvaya biya sir. It's a very high level. The truth is that for the mercy of Hashem, there's no limit. We come as a Khinullah, as much of that mercy that we have been privileged to attain and to be recipients of, ain the clumbia khaslamasho bhamis. It's a fraction, if any, of God's great mercy that he has.

10:18Bilakhine al-Aaf shakfar zakhineumahat, even though we've benefited and merited to a little bit of that mercy from Hashem, Anu tsawq and la Hashemisbah, we yell towards Hashem and we plea, and most of them will always not show us, and we dedicate our soul to Hashem, kaviyahum, vatlam, as kol masya, asa'gnu. We're ready to let go of everything. We're omrum ain anu yodum klu'm, we don't know nothing. I don't know anything. Bilakhine al-Aaf shilamahat, khalo bapshitos. And therefore we start all over again from the beginning. So what we're saying here, if we just stop for a moment, never, never do this. But if you stop for a moment and you just think, what is this ritual of throwing away our sins in the water, what we're doing is, we're demonstrating that not everything needs to make sense to me anymore. I'm so committed that whatever Hashem says goes, and it doesn't have to make sense to me. It doesn't have to make sense.

11:18And al-Yedayahatchala, hakhadashahazayis, shenazis, betashachach, and by this new beginning that is done by tashlach, by this ritual of throwing away our sins, Hashemisbah, has mercy on us, so manig, asanub, yudgim, amidus, or rakim, and god, bestows upon us the thirteen attributes of mercy, lamalim, mikhal, kla'liyam, ishbath, above all of the rules of judgment. Now what is the difference between judgment and kindness? Well you see like this, what is kindness? Kindness is not truth. Kindness is not truth. Because what is kindness? Kindness is that I'm going to give you even though you don't deserve it. What is truth? Truth is you deserve it, you get it, you don't deserve it, you don't get it. That's judgment. Kindness is beyond that. You don't deserve it, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. I'm going to extend myself beyond what you deserve.

12:19What we're trying to attain in this action is trying to get into the realm of kindness, the realm of mercy, where we know we don't deserve it. Who can say that they've fulfilled their task in this world perfectly? And therefore they deserve to ask God for anything they want. It's not a sense, nobody's done that. Yet what do we do? We come on Rosh Hashanah, we ask Hashanah for all of the great things. Eh, Hashanah give me life, Hashanah give me this, Hashanah give me that. Hashanah want this, Hashanah want that. Okay, I'll give you an example. So two people are fighting over $10. Okay, Wendy comes and she says, Rabbi, you owe me $10. I say Wendy, I never bought a $10. You bought a $10 for me last week, you don't remember maybe, but you bought a $10. I said, never bought it running money from you. So we come to you and we're both, she says, you owe me $10. I say, no, I don't, right? So now we come to you for advice.

13:20What do you recommend? How do we make peace here? Okay, let's say it's $10,000. Okay. So what do most people say? Why don't you just compromise, give five and you're done. That's what most people say, but that's for sure a lie. It's either zero or it's 10, it's not five. Understand that sometimes you need to bend what is truth to find a resolution. Okay. All right. Iqr derach l'zakoyz laham, shah laham shahas, haracham him. He what's the best way to bring down that mercy from the heavens? Anybody here have a challenge in their life? Anybody? Anybody have a challenge? We want mercy, right? Say, how do we get that mercy to come down to this world? To us, to me? How do I get that mercy to come down? Al Yiday Emuna Pshuta. Simple knowledge of Hashem. Simple knowledge of Hashem. Shiyuhudi miso'yuhir b'pshitos alashemisbach. Vaseshemisbach miso'yuhir lahacham alachem alaf.

14:22A person says, you know what Hashem? Amoyors. Hashem says, you're a mine? Amoyors. Very simple. Kee ava mirachem al-bnoi, like a father has mercy on his son. Ha mischana in a love b'pshitos ghamrond. What does the child say? Child is not complicated. Child is saying, I want a drink. I want a drink. What does the father say? Okay, here's a drink. It's not so complicated. The same thing is with us in the Almighty. Hashem. What am I asking for? Just asking for a livelihood. I'm just asking for a spouse. I'm just asking for a child. I'm just asking for a neighbor, for health. I'm simple. God, I'moyors. Keeping things simple. Ve'esh inyon latsheh is daf ko khutsla eer desam, who have the custom of going out of the city in order to do taashlich. Ke sham makam akhitsa inyem, pesham, anum maslichem esachatoyem, shah-hitsa inyem, shahim akhli place, khayaleh, yetzara, ghamrullanum.

15:26So he says over here, he brings, he starts bringing that there are some who have a custom to walk outside of the city. So the external forces don't have control. Anum al-vaatlamosam, and we let go of all of those external forces. Umigal and baomim, bubupem alay, shah-em es, he shah-khul khay, rak malikus, and we say everything is only from the Almighty. There isn't a single thing that exists in this world without the force of the Almighty. Ve'in od milvada, there's nothing other than the Almighty. Ve'chul hara husheqa, like we said last week's Torah portion. All evil is falsehood. Ve'in lo shum ko'ach atmin, we don't have any individual powers, independent powers. Kiraka shami s-bhah-hushaqa, shem does everything. You know, people think, oh, I have money. I have all of the levers of power in the world.

16:28That's not true. You know, there's a story I told about Rothschild. In a massive, massive, safe, he was a, the wealthiest, human alive. And he said one thing, he knows for sure, he's not going to die from hunger. And what happened, he was once in the safe in the door locked behind him, couldn't get out. And he wrote with his blood, before he died, in that safe. He wrote with blood on the wall. I am that same Rothschild who said I won't starve to death. We all need the mercy of Hashem. We all need the mercy of Hashem. What Tashlakh does is we say Hashem with throwing out our arrogance. We're throwing out our thought that we are in control of this world. That we know what we're doing. We've got it all under control. I recently, I just this morning, I think it was maybe. I said the story of what happened when Bill Gates and the Microsoft,

17:30Microsoft wanted to have a certain Shomer Shabbat speaker come talk to them. So they offered him a speaking fee, a handsome speaking fee. And the individual looks at his calendar after they basically arranged the meeting. He says, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't speak. It's going to be Shabbat, I can't do it. So when you meet, you can't do it. We can't change the whole event. We can't change the date of the event. He says, I'm sorry, I can't do it. So he said, okay, what always gets them to do what we want? Money. They said, we're sending you a blank check and we'll see you. He says, it's not going to help. I'm not showing up on Shabbat. It's Shabbat. I don't work on Shabbat. I can't work on Shabbat. I'm not going to do it. Bill Gates at the time was in his jet with his high entire upper echelon of his company. He says, what's going on with this speaker? Is everything organized?

18:31He said, no. He said, did you throw money at him? He says, yes. He said, not doing it. To which he said, it must be amazing to have something in this world that even money can't buy. The Shabbat that we have, the relationship that we have with God, no money in the world can buy that. And that's what we're looking to establish on Rosh Hashanah. It's not just that we pray. It's not just that we listen to the show for being blown. We are looking to bring action into our lives. How do we do that? We walk to the water source. We shake off our clothes. We get rid of those sins. And we get rid of our arrogance. We get rid of our intellect. We get rid of all the things that cheat us into believing that we have the power, that we have the force, the ability to accomplish anything with Hara Shanah. We get rid of all of that.

19:32So that is a little perspective on Tashlach. You've been listening to the Jewish Inspiration Podcast, a torch production. Become a supporter at torchweb.org because your assistance enables more Torah learning around the globe. To find more lessons offered by Torch, please visit torchpodcast.com.