19th August 2026 Bulletin Eco-Corner

Eco Corner loves a mitzvah that is re-interpreted or adapted for environmentally-friendly ends. With Rosh Hashanah fast approaching (September 11th to 12th), Jewish eco-movements are encouraging us to take part in reverse tashlich. Obviously Eco-Corner is extremely learned, knows exactly what tashlich is, and didn't have to look it up, but if one were to do so, one would learn that it is the Rosh Hashanah custom of symbolically casting one's sins into water, by shaking out the corners of your pockets or throwing breadcrumbs into a river, lake or the sea.  

Eco-Corner's favourite bit of tradition around this is that bodies of water with fish in them are preferred, because in Jewish folklore, fish are not subject to the evil eye (according to the Talmud, “the water covers the fish of the sea so the eye has no power over them”). The Jewish charity Repair the Sea (Tikkun HaYam) came up with the idea of the reverse tashlich, where instead of casting stuff into the water, we take stuff out, both literally and symbolically cleansing the water of pollution and the 'sin' of pollution. We hope to have more on this in future Corners but, in the meantime, anyone can perform reverse tashlich at any time by gathering litter and waste from, for example, riverbanks or beaches, but remember to be careful near water. Don't tashlich yourself!