Thoughts on the Rash Hashanah ceremony Tashlich and those who struggle with porn and masturbation. A Christian perspective.
Tomorrow evening, Monday, September 6th evening that is :), will start the Jewish celebration of Rash Hashanah – the Jewish New Year.
No, I am not Jewish, but I was reading a note regarding the celebration and in keeping with this site and my thinking, I thought about those of us who struggle with porn and masturbation.
There apparently is a ceremony that is done during Rash Hashanah called Tashlich. It is where the Jewish people head to a body of water and simply toss in a small piece of bread.
The symbolism is one of casting our sin (the bread) into the water where it is swept away by the current or eaten by fish.
I will let Neil Freyman from Morning Brew** share the thoughts I read:
Tashlich isn’t a “get out of jail free” card to use when we mess up. Rather, it’s an understanding that we all do things we’re not proud of. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone’s accumulated a little bread over the past year. But instead of dwelling forever on what we’ve done wrong, Tashlich allows us to acknowledge that we’re simply human…and only when you forgive yourself for your past missteps can you focus on improving in the future. And I really like that message.
There are a couple of things that stand out to me.
We all struggle and fail
“Everyone has accumulated a little bread…” – Porn and masturbation have become the ultimate private sin.
I mean, you could literally sit next to your spouse in your living room and watch porn. No one is privileged to see my thoughts and a quick stop to the bathroom and that’s it.
Because of that, those who are struggling to stop often feel great shame and are unable to tell anyone.
This is our accumulated bread!
We hold onto it and no one knows we have it – except of course, God.
Casting off our sin (failing; missing the mark)
I love this part by the way.
The idea of taking that accumulated bread – throwing it in the water – and watching it wash away or be eaten by fish.
It is me letting go of that shame.
And in some cases, represents the casting off of the acts that brought us here.
It is me forgiving myself and admitting that I’ve failed (maybe even again).
It is a sign for ourselves that it is time to put the past (that which we cannot change) behind us and look forward with new commitment, hope and freedom.
Taking it a step further for the believer
For those of you who are Christians, let’s take that a bit further.
In Romans 3:10 it says, “As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.” – to repeat it, we’ve all accumulated a little bit of bread.
Micah 7:19 says, “He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
In Acts 4:12 it says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name [Jesus of the Bible] under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
And in Galatians 5:1 (NIV) – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
My point?
God has loved you and knew we’d get stuck in our struggles.
He loved you so much that he sent his only son to die a thief’s death, so that those who place their trust in him should have everlasting life.
Through Jesus we find true freedom from our sins (failings; missing the mark).
I conclude with this:
Philippians 3:13 & 14: Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold [perfect freedom], but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
So take a moment.
Take your bread.
Cast it into the sea.
Forget about the past.
Jesus paid an incredible price so that you could.
And walk in newness of life my brothers!
Thanks for taking time to read. If you liked it please share on Facebook or Twitter. Feel free to use #shackleroad, or tag me at @JayOnShackleRoad on Facebook and @ShackleRoad on Twitter.
It’s time to break free!
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