"Tahlikh" - a poem for tashlikh
Tashlikh
by Benjamin Mordecai Ben-Baruch
Behold the flowing river,
Symbol of life.
Source of life
Sustainer of life
Fountainhead of sexuality
The essence of humanity --
flowing, changing, nurturing life
constant yet unpredictable
the quintessence of tranquiility yet
possessing explosive power
that transforms the world
The flowing river, streams of life
which waters life as it courses its way through our
hills and valleys,
fields and plains,
cities and towns
As it sculpts its own course in the earth
it brings life and
fashions a greener, lusher world.
When alone -- erosive,
but with other life forces -- transformative.
We can bathe in the river
rinse off our tears and sweat
wash away dirt sticking to our skin
refresh our bodies, purify ourselves.
The river takes our refuse and
deposits it as silt for flowers and grains or
merges with the sea
where -- in suspension -- it nourishes and protects life
as it becomes
new life.
We use the power of the river to clean and enrich,
live and grow.
We symbolically cast our misdeeds into the wellspring of life --
a natural way of cleaning ourselves and our world.
Yet, are there also evils which pollute the river,
acts that cannot be penitently rinsed away,
atrocities which do irreparable harm?
Victorious over oppressive forces
Deborah sang:
"The torrent of the Qishon stream swept them away,
the torrent that has raged for ages, the Qishon stream"
Amos exhorted:
"Let justice surge like a mighty wave,
righteousness like a powerful stream"
and Isiah proclaimed:
"On that day a piercing blast shall be trumpeted
from a great shofar".