What is Tashlich?

Tashlich is a Rosh Hashanah custom of going to water and reciting verses expressing hope that God will cast sins into the depths of the sea. Its name comes from Micah 7:19. The Rema records going to a river and saying this verse (Rema, Shulchan Aruch, OC 583:2); it is a custom, not the mechanism by which sins are erased.

Mishnah Berurah describes going on the first afternoon after Minchah and before sunset, and mentions a river or well, preferably with living fish (Mishnah Berurah 583:8). These details describe the custom rather than requirements for a separate biblical mitzvah. The same comment records some communities postponing it to the second day when the first is Shabbat, partly because carrying prayer books outside the permitted area can be a problem. Postponement is therefore not a universal rule for every congregation.

Although codified by the Rema, Tashlich is also observed in many Sephardi communities; the wording and arrangements should follow local custom rather than be assumed identical.

A Beit Din may ask whether attending Tashlich replaces teshuvah. It does not. Repentance requires abandoning the sin, regretting it, resolving not to repeat it, and verbal confession (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 2:2). A common mistake is understanding “casting away” literally. The water provides an image for prayer and reflection; changing one’s conduct is the substance of repentance.