Tashlichi installed on August 25, 2021 / 17 Elul 5781 in the Chautauqua Creek in chautauqua, Ny
Tashlichi 2021 — Clay sourced from Chautauqua Creek, community participation and the artist’s body.
Tashlichi, Hebrew (fem.) for “casting off,” is a ritual performed on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). During this ceremony, Jews symbolically cast off the sins of the previous year by tossing pebbles or bread crumbs into flowing water. While on residency at the Chautauqua School of Art, my cohort had a heightened awareness regarding our place in the Chautauqua community and the land which we are creating on. The residency was during the Hebrew month of Elul which is a time for self-evaluation and deep reflection — an opportunity to recalibrate and recommit ourselves to our values. I invited my fellow cohort to participate in an embodied experience invoking the ritual of Tashlich to connect our bodies to the land, our ancestors and each other and be an opening to release ancestral traumas and karmic baggage which blocks us from reaching our greater potential.
Tashlichi (Part 1): Creating the stones to toss into the water
I invited my cohort to squeeze clay we had sourced from the Chautauqua Brook (guided by artist Rahele Filsoofi) to create stones to toss back into the water (returning the clay, transformed by our marks). The following meditation was offered:
Squeeze the clay in your hand.
Release that which doesn’t serve you.
Squeeze the clay in your hand.
Release love to someone or somewhere.
video by cady spencer.
Tashlichi (Part 2): Releasing your Tashlich Stone
When the stones were fired and ready to be returned to the water, we gathered under the full moon for a meditation to open ourselves up for clearer expression. Each of us has a stone in hand, squeezing it, feeling the imprint of one another’s hands in our own. We called out everything we wanted to let go of. Everyone was invited to return the stone to the water when ready or to entrust me to return their stones on their behalf. The following meditation was offered:
Verbalize what you are releasing that does not serve you.
Verbalize to whom you are releasing love to.
Release the stone into the water,
Return the soil to the earth.