Subject: A GUIDE TO TASHLICH by Rabbi Richard J Israel z"l The writing below was taken from the more extensive list by Rabbi Richard Israel (of blessed memory), which you can see in full at: www.bricklin.com/crumblist.htm On Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), there is a ceremony called Tashlich. Jews traditionally go to the ocean (or a stream or river), pray, and then throw bread crumbs onto the water, for the fish can symbolically eat their sins. Some people have been known to ask what kind of bread crumbs should they throw. For ordinary sins, use.................................White Bread For exotic sins............................................ French Bread For particularly dark sins.............................Pumpernickel For complex sins........................................Multigrain For twisted sins.......................................... Pretzel For tasteless sins....................................... Rice Cakes For sins of indecision................................ Waffles For sins committed in haste........................ Matzo For sins committed in less than eighteen minutes....... Shmurah Matzo For sins of chutzpah.................................. Fresh Bread For substance abuse/marijuana................ Stoned Wheat For substance abuse/heavy drugs............ Poppy Seed For committing auto theft ......................... Caraway For petty larceny.......................................Stollen For committing arson................................. Toast For timidity ................................................Milk Toast For being ill tempered/sulky .................... Sourdough For silliness ..............................................Nut Bread For not giving full value.............................Shortbread For jingoism..............................................Yankee Doodles For risking one's life unnecessarily ......... Hero Bread For excessive use of irony........................ Rye Bread For telling bad jokes................................. Corn Bread For hardening our hearts.......................... Jelly Doughnuts For being money hungry........................... Enriched Bread or Raw Dough For warmongering................................... Kaiser Rolls For immodest dressing..............................Tarts For causing injury or damage to others.....Tortes For promiscuity....................................... Hot Buns For promiscuity with gentiles.................... Hot Cross Buns For racism................................................Crackers For sophisticated racism.......................... Ritz Crackers For davenning (praying) off tune.............. Flat Bread For being holier than thou........................ Bagels For unfairly upbraiding another.................Challah For indecent photography........................Cheese Cake For trashing the environment....................Dumplings For sins of laziness...................................Any Very Long Loaf For being hypercritical.............................Pan Cakes For political skullduggery..........................Bismarcks For overeating........................................Stuffing Bread or Bulky Rolls For gambling........................................... Fortune Cookies For abrasiveness.................................... Grits For sins of pride...................................... Puff Pastry For cheating.......................................... Baked Goods with Nutrasweet and Olestra For being snappish............................... Ginger Bread For impetuosity...................................... Quick Bread For incompetent child rearing................ Raisin Bread For negligent slip ups............................. Banana Bread For dropping in without warning..............Popovers For trying to improve everyone within sight..............Angel Food Cake For being uptight and irritable.................High Fiber or Bran Muffins For sycophancy..................................... Brownies Remember, you don't have to show your crumbs to anyone. For those who require a wide selection of crumbs, an attempt will be made to have prepackaged Tashlich Mix available in three grades (Tashlich Lite, Medium and Industrial Strength) at your local Jewish bookstore