By Karen Grossman
Last year I was inspired when I read an article in Boston’s Jewish Advocate’s September 27th issue regarding “Reverse Tashlich”. People in Florida had collected trash from the ocean’s shoreline, literally gathering the “sins” of others instead of throwing away their sins figuratively, “Tashlich” during the month of Elul or on the high holidays.
In New England—we have so many watersheds: Neponset, Ipswich, Charles Rivers, and the one that is closest to my heart the Mystic River—I thought why not do this here!
For our first Reverse Tashlich, 63 community members went out and cleaned up 23 bags of trash (plus some large items—including rugs, a tire and scrap metal), as well as three bags of Japanese Knotweed from seven sites on the Mystic between Sept 19-28th. Garbage was removed from Spy Pond, Horn Pond, Mystic Lakes, Meadowbrook Park, Mill Brook and Amsell Colebrooke Playground along the Mystic River, while the invasive knotweed was removed from Cooke’s Hollow.
Our actions for “Reverse Tashlich” can be our effort to care for the health of our natural environment. What we do upstream in a watershed can have a major impact in more urban, social justice communities downstream. As you know, Covid-19 has a greater impact in those areas because the environment is unhealthy. So, our efforts can attempt to take away the “sin” of those who do not care for the earth and to repair the world, “Tikkun Olam”. That’s really the goal of “Reverse Tashlich”.
I was happy to help organize this event—both at my Temple Shir Tikvah in Winchester and through the Jewish Climate Action Network. All told, we had volunteers from Temple Shir Tikvah, Winchester, Temple Beth El, Belmont, Temple Isaiah, Lexington and Temple B’nai Brith, Somerville.
I also got out to my local waterbody on the Mystic—Spy Pond—and collected litter. I really enjoyed the thank-yous that park visitors directed to me and it was fun chatting with people from a safe distance during the two hours I spent there on that beautiful fall day. It renewed my spirit to be outdoors, interacting with others and I felt the satisfaction of having done my part for the Mystic River Watershed environment.
Thank you to everyone who participated this year. Our watersheds do so much for us from providing countless hours of recreation, to serving as homes for birds and fish, to even providing drinking water. I look forward to an even bigger “Reverse Tashlich” for 2021!
About the Author (pictured cleaning up Spy Pond for Reverse Tashlich): My interest in wildlife, trees and plants began in my childhood growing up in a small town in a house on Pennsylvania woods, hills, and mountains. I also visited our beautiful national parks with my parents and have toured many countries of the world as a single woman and with my husband, Fred Moses. After my professional career, I have become the President of the Friends of Spy Pond Park in Arlington, MA where I live and am a past board member of the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), presently volunteering on the Outreach and Development Committees.
With those recent experiences I’ve come to understand and appreciate that crucial to promoting the growth of native plants and trees is eliminating prevalent invasive plants that compete with them. Through my involvement with the Mystic River Watershed Association, I’ve seen how working with a watershed association can expand outreach to many communities and enhance an essential healthy environment for all waterbodies: oceans, rivers, brooks, lakes and ponds.
