At Pesach, we stand at the hinge of the seasons. The rains are ending. The dry season is beginning. And we turn to the element of fire to clear our homes of chametz.
Flour and water left to themselves are simple things. Give them time, and they ferment. chametz is what has swelled in our lives and spoiled: habits, resentments, distractions, ways of living that have grown beyond their proper place. At the spring hinge of the year, we turn to fire because chametz cannot be simply washed away. It must be removed and cleansed through fire.
Six months later, as we enter into fall, the year reaches its other hinge.
Tishrei arrives as the dry season ends. The rains are coming. Streams will run again. The season of water is returning. And Jewish tradition turns with the earth.
The fall is not about chametz, but cheit, aveira, pesha, and asham. These are the many ways we miss the mark and fall off the path of integrity. The things we have done, the things we have failed to do, the harm we have caused, the ways we have broken faith with ourselves and with one another. These are not things we can simply burn away. We have to face them, name them, feel the weight of them, repair what we can, and learn to loosen our grip on shame and guilt. As we move into Tishrei, Isaiah the Vision Bringer, calls us to: rachatzu, hizaku, “Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean.”
So we turn to the waters. Water receives us exactly as we are with no conditions. It is in the living waters where we can immerse, release, and return.
After Rosh Hashanah, in the tashlich ritual, we go to the shores and cast away our transgression into the cleansing waters. Before Yom Kippur, we enter the living waters of the mikvah and purify our bodies. At Sukkot, we draw and pour our cistern’s last drops in a great act of faith that Creator will send more. We lift the lulav, our sympathetic magic wand, and call on all the winds to carry water to us. On Hoshana Rabbah, we move further into our bodies and dance for the waters to come. And on Shemini Atzeret, the pinnacle moment, we beg and plead, mashiv haruach u’morid hageshem, let the winds blow and the rains fall.
For blessing, not curse.
For life, not death.
For plenty, not scarcity.
Tishrei is the hinge. The year turns from dry to wet, from fire to water. Gather with us, and enter the waters.
I invite you to join one of our many upcoming water rituals here at Adamah SF:
- Tashlich for Rosh Hashanah
- Immersed & Unbound before Yom Kippur
-
Revayah: A Rain Dance Ceremony & Gathering for Sukkot
You can find out about all our community gatherings here.
About the Author:
Eli Witkin is currently the Program Director at Adamah SF. He has spent over a decade teaching Torah, and Five years ago he helped co-found the farm at Gann Academy. He holds an array of certifications including degrees in Geology, Economics, Education, and Experiential Education. He has a strong passion for bringing our ancient tradition, kept for thousands of years in books, alive once again into an embodied relationship with nature and land.
