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Israel Drazin

The Tashlich Ceremony: A Bribe to Silence Satan

The tashlich ceremony preserves a superstitious belief held by Jews of ancient times concerning water and the divine beings that dwell in and around it. The rite has been reinterpreted over time, modified slightly and rationalized, but its original superstitious and pagan origin is quite clear. Here is just some of what I wrote about it in my book “Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind.”

The name tashlich is derived from Micah 7:19 where the prophet states v’tashlich, “you will cast all of their guilt into the depths of the sea.” However, most scholars believe that the practice began in the Middle Ages.

The basic practice of tashlich is the recitation of certain prayers near a body of water. Many of those who observe the ceremony prefer any body of water that contains fish. They toss breadcrumbs or other foods to the fish. Either consciously or unconsciously, they feel that the bribe of breadcrumbs will stop Satan from accusing them of past misdeeds before God. Underlying the practice is the widespread belief that God and demons are always near water.

The association of God and demons and their location near or in water can be seen long before the Middle Ages, indeed as early as the beginning of Israelite history.

The Ancient Uneducated Jew Believed That God Consults Demons

Many unsophisticated ancient Jews retained a primitive notion that God does not make decisions without first consulting with angels and demons and that the angels and demons can persuade God to act contrary to the interests of humans. This was supported by misreadings and misunderstandings of many biblical and post-biblical sources.

For example, these Jews took the first chapter of Job literally. The chapter relates a satan had a discussion with God about Job and tried to persuade God to punish him. The term satan in Job does not refer to the demon who was given this biblical name many years after the book was composed. In the book, satan means adversary. Nevertheless, the average Jew saw the Job story as a depiction of the very thing he feared and wanted to avoid: Satan acting as a prosecutor in the heavenly court, seeking to persuade God to punish him.

The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b, bolsters this view. It clearly states: “God does not do anything without first consulting heavenly beings.” These beings, the masses were convinced, were angels and demons.

Tashlich

The ancient custom of gathering before water and preventing Satan from appearing before God with accusations against the Jewish people was especially important on the day of Rosh Hashanah when the people expected to be judged. The ancients were convinced that heavenly beings, including God, angels, and demons, could be found in the vicinity of water. They attempted to use bribery, giving the main demon gifts to keep him from accusing them. The tossing of bread to the fish was one of several methods used to transmit the bribe. The Jews were confident that the fish would take the offered food and deliver it for them to Satan.

The Ancient Belief That God and Demons Are Found Near Water

Maimonides and other rationalists would certainly reject the superstitious notion that God, whom they believe to be present throughout the entire universe, is located in a body of water. They would be shocked at the thought that a Jew should seek God at bodies of water for prayer or for any other purpose and reject the idea that demons exist near water or anywhere else. Nevertheless, the vast majority of uneducated Jews held these beliefs; they are reflected in talmudic and midrashic statements by rabbis who also bought into the superstition. The average Jew even turned to the Bible itself for proof of divine figures, God, angels and demons near water.

The following are some examples. There are dozens more in my Maimonides book.

Demons and Water in the Bible

  1. Abraham and Abimelech make a covenant before a well at Beer Sheba in Genesis 21:31–32, perhaps believing that the chosen location enables them to swear before God that they will not breach the covenant.
  2. David’s son Adonijah gathers his friends at the well of En Rogel in I Kings 1:9 and offers sacrifices there, perhaps thinking that he is standing before God who can help him succeed his father David to the throne of Israel.
  3. Similarly, after Adonijah fails in his attempt to secure the throne, Solomon is appointed king at the well of Gihon in I Kings 1:33, again, possibly thinking that he stands before God.
  4. The Babylonian Talmud, in Horayot 12a and Kerithoth 5b, seems to support this interpretation. The Talmud states that kings were appointed only at wells so that their reign may be long-lasting. The Talmud states that a prayer for a long reign was said at God’s dwelling place, water.

Demons and Water in the Midrash and Talmud

  1. A story in the Babylonian Talmud, Hullin 105b, seem to reflect the belief in the efficacy of feeding spirits. The Talmud relates that breadcrumbs and grass were tossed into the water as a gift for the good spirit that dwelt there. Bribed by the gift of food, the good spirit would stop the “demon of poverty” from harassing and harming the people. However, if the good spirit did not receive the bribe, he would unleash the “demon of poverty,” leading to poverty and starvation.
  2. The Mekhilta d’Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the Mekhilta d’ Rabbi Ishmael on Exodus 12:1 clearly report that God is revealed everywhere in Israel but outside of Israel he is revealed “only at a place near water.”

Historical References to Demons and Water

  1. The philosopher Philo records the Egyptian Jews’ custom of praying near water on special occasions. He states that the Jews requested permission from the city authorities for the special privilege and received it.
  2. The Jewish historian Josephus (c. 37–100 C.E.) relates (in Antiquities 14, 10, 23) that the Jews requested and received permission in the second century B.C.E. to have their prayer houses at the most propitious place “at the seaside according to the custom of their fathers.”

These and the many other sources in my Maimonides book show that the belief in the presence of God and demons in or near bodies of water was quite widespread. It should therefore surprise no one that the superstitious rite of tashlich arose, sending Jews to seek the demons at bodies of water in order to persuade the demons not to harm them.

Attempts to Rationalize Tashlich

Some rabbis understood the pagan roots of tashlich but chose to allow the continuation of the custom because of the rabbinic principle minhag avoteinu Torah hi, “the customs of our ancestors is law [for us].” However, they set about disguising its origin, rationalizing it and turning it into a symbolic ceremony with religious significance.

For example, Rabbi Moses Isserles (1520–1572) argues that tashlich is a reminder of the sacrifice of Isaac, a symbolic prayer for a good life and a blessing that Jews should multiply like fish in water. It is also, he states, an opportunity to observe the mighty wonders of God who made the sand a boundary of the sea.

Rabbi Mordecai Jaffe (1530–1612) suggests that the ceremony reminds us of the trial of Abraham who, when he went to sacrifice his son Isaac at God’s command, was, according to a Midrash, hindered in his journey by a deep river. Abraham was able to overcome the obstacle and continue on his mission. In Jaffe’s opinion, Jews go to a place with fish to help them realize that, like fish, they can be caught in a net. Thus both the river and the fish remind the Jew to avoid obstacles but, if ensnared, make every effort to escape the difficulty and accomplish God’s wishes.

Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (1555–1630) writes in his popular Shney Luchot Habrit that Jews go to the water to see fish. This prompts them to think that – just as fish have no eyelids and their eyes are always open – Jews should always keep their eyes open to God.

The Time of Tashlich

Originally, tashlich was performed immediately after the noon meal on Rosh Hashanah because it was felt that Satan would be insulted if food was given to him later than the time that humans eat. However, as the rite began to be rationalized and Satan was removed from it, the time was moved to after the afternoon Mincha service. Why Mincha? The Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 6b, states that “a person should be careful with the Mincha service because Elijah [the prophet] was only answered [by God] with the Mincha prayers.” Thus it was felt that this would be an appropriate time for this important prayer service.

Opposition from Many Rabbis

Many rabbis opposed the tashlich rite. Despite the attempt of other rabbis to rationalize, ennoble, and spiritualize it, it was clear to them that the root and purpose of the practice lay in ancient pagan superstition. Elijah Gaon (1720–1797) and his disciples did not practice tashlich at all because they saw it as pagan superstition. Maimonides did not include this rite in his code of Jewish law for the same reason.

About the Author
Dr. Israel Drazin served for 31 years in the US military and attained the rank of brigadier general. He is an attorney and a rabbi, with master’s degrees in both psychology and Hebrew literature and a PhD in Judaic studies. As a lawyer, he developed the legal strategy that saved the military chaplaincy when its constitutionality was attacked in court, and he received the Legion of Merit for his service. Dr. Drazin is the author of more than 50 books on the Bible, philosophy, and other subjects.
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