All You Need is Chalk and Water for This Rosh Hashanah Ritual by Jamie Steinfeld

My husband and I don’t belong to a synagogue, but we still want to celebrate Jewish holidays with our family and friends. Being in an interfaith marriage and having a group of friends from many backgrounds, we’re always looking for new, inclusive ways to celebrate and connect with our community. We love spending time outdoors, especially walking around the pond where we live near Boston. Having a body of water near us often brings us back to the present moment.

Tashlich is a ritual during Rosh Hashanah that offers us a space to transition into the Jewish New Year by letting go of things from the past. We wanted to find a fun way to practice this ritual with a group of friends who aren’t all Jewish (and to avoid feeding “junk food,” aka bread, to the ducks). Thinking creatively about this tradition led us to using sidewalk chalk to write down the things we want to let go of going into the new year. Most important, we wanted the experience to be accessible, fun and comfortable for anyone to do.

Read detailed instructions and watch a video of Jamie's family tashlich ritual here: https://18doors.org/all-you-need-is-chalk-and-water-for-this-rosh-hashanah-ritual/