The High Holidays are doing it again. . .  they’re arriving early!  Unlike the guest who rings the doorbell 15 minutes early without warning, the holidays don’t really sneak up on us. The first day of the Hebrew month Tishrei is where it always is on the Jewish calendar and this year it falls on Saturday, Sept. 12.  

With the news a near constant barrage of disturbing reports of antisemitism – much of it occurring in places once considered safe – it feels even more important to pause, to turn it all off, and to observe and celebrate the Jewish New Year.

In Tidewater, we’re fortunate to have multiple options for worship, with a style or type of observance for nearly everyone.  In fact, many congregations are advertising within these pages, welcoming old and new members to their services.  The rabbis, cantors, musicians, administrative staffs, and volunteers at these congregations all put in enormous amounts of time and effort to assure their services are meaningful, inspiring, and safe.  If you haven’t already, now might be the moment to join or re-join.

For me, the approach of the season is packed with fond memories of family gatherings and traditions, along with the awareness that it is important to be open to creating new ones.  My hope for you, our Jewish News readers, is that this Rosh Hashanah is filled with good health, peace, and the makings of memories to cherish for years to come. 

L’Shanah Tovah,

 The sale comes barely a year after the team’s controlling stake was sold for $10 billion to Mark Walter, the billionaire CEO of Guggenheim Partners who also owns MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks, Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women’s Hockey League and Cadillac’s Formula 1 team. 

 Walter, who is not Jewish, is reportedly seeking cash to pay down loans in response to a Department of Justice investigation.

 Kushner, 41, is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and advisor to President Donald Trump who has played a central role in Israel policy. The younger Kushner is a billionaire venture capitalist who holds a minority stake in the Miami Heat — which he will have to sell to complete the Lakers sale — and was previously a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.

 “As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” Iger and Kushner said in a statement. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of [longtime owners] Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”

 The Lakers sale is the latest in a string of recent high-profile NBA team transactions by and among Jewish businesspeople — including Mat Ishbia’s purchase of the Phoenix Suns, Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall’s purchase of the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan, and Mark Cuban’s sale of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson.

 Kushner, who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors and was raised in an Orthodox home in Livingston, New Jersey, was at the center of a controversy in the world of professional soccer earlier this summer when his investment fund Thrive Eternal attempted to purchase a stake in FIFA’s World Cup tournaments.

 Under pressure from stakeholders from across the sport, who objected to the prospect of private ownership of the sport’s preeminent contest, the global soccer body withdrew the privatization offer.

 The Kushner family has donated millions of dollars to Jewish organizations in America and Israel, including the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, multiple West Bank settlement organizations, Chabad, the Ramaz School in Manhattan and Kehilath Jeshurun synagogue on the Upper West Side. The Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston is named for his grandfather, who launched the family’s real estate empire.

 Kushner’s father Charles serves as the United States Ambassador to France and Monaco. 

 Iger, 75, ended his second stint as CEO of Disney earlier this year. He and his wife, Willow Bay, are the owners of the professional women’s soccer club Angel City FC. Iger was raised in a Jewish home.

 Following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that launched the Gaza war, Iger sent a note to Disney’s Jewish employees to “express my shock and sadness.”

 Throughout the summer, I watched children playing and relishing their time at Camp JCC. 

 Over the past year, I have seen my own two teenagers strengthen their Jewish identities and friendships through Tidewater BBYO. I have watched our BBYO teens connect with hundreds of peers at regional conventions and thousands more at the BBYO International Convention in Philadelphia.

  I have seen our Tidewater Maccabi Team compete alongside thousands of Jewish teens from around the world at the Maccabi Games in Toronto, where Team Virginia Beach proudly brought home a gold medal in basketball! 

 I have seen Jewish Family Service of Tidewater volunteers package food for families in need during the holidays. 

 I have seen students in our Jewish day schools and synagogue religious schools mark milestones ranging from the first and last days of school to Confirmation ceremonies to graduations.

 I have witnessed the impact of our community’s generosity around the world. Earlier this year, participants on our Women’s Mission to Argentina visited JDC programs, the ORT school, and numerous other programs supported by the dollars we raise each year through our Annual Community Campaign.

 I have also witnessed the challenges we continue to face. Antisemitism remains a grim reality.  Acts of hatred impact us all, whether near or far, and require increased security measures to protect our Jewish community.

 And truly, these are only a few examples of the wide-ranging activities, programs, and challenges that take place and/or emanate from Jewish Tidewater. The story of our community is far larger. We are an extraordinary and caring community that, year after year, generously supports the Annual Community Campaign, enabling our Federation to allocate these funds to support, grow, protect, and sustain Jewish life in Tidewater and around the globe.

 For that, you should be proud. Proud of the strength, resilience, and commitment that define Jewish Tidewater. Proud of what we have accomplished together. And committed to helping secure our future for generations to come.

May 5787 bring us renewed opportunities to strengthen and protect Jewish life in Tidewater and across the Jewish world.

From my family to yours, L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu.

Betty Ann Levin is executive vice president/CEO of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family Jewish Community Center.

 Ahead of the visit, VBPD’s Community Liaison Unit, along with the 2nd Precinct’s sergeant and officers, met with synagogue leadership for an introductory conversation and walkthrough of Temple Emanuel and its education building. The meeting provided an opportunity to build relationships, discuss challenges and opportunities, and familiarize officers with the facility, recognizing that it is far better to become familiar with a property before an emergency than during one.

 “The strength of Virginia Beach lies in our ability to foster deep, meaningful collaborations between the police department, our citizens, and our faith-based communities,” says Chief Paul W. Neudigate. “When law enforcement joins hands with the people we serve and the spiritual leaders who guide our neighborhoods, we create an unbreakable network of support and communication.”

 The meetings underscored the importance of strong partnerships between law enforcement and faith communities. Participants discussed the Jewish community’s unique needs while identifying opportunities to strengthen communication, collaboration, and ongoing security and preparedness efforts.

 “United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is grateful to Chief Neudigate, his leadership team, Captain Gordon and the officers of the 2nd Precinct, and Captain Gervin and the officers of the 4th Precinct, where the Sandler Family Campus is located, and the Virginia Beach Police Department as a whole for their partnership and commitment to helping ensure the safety, security, and well-being of the Jewish community,” says Betty Ann Levin, UJFT’s executive vice president/CEO.

 Secure Community Network trainings and services are offered at no cost thanks to the generosity of donors to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. The support helps ensure every Jewish organization has access to expert security resources, regardless of size or budget. To help sustain this important work, please consider donating to UJFT’s Annual Campaign.

To learn more about SCN, visit JewishVA.org/SCN or email Mike Goldsmith at mgoldsmith@securecommunitynetwork.org.

 Six years ago, while still in middle school, Scolnick founded Ballers Basketball after watching his younger brother, Oliver, who has autism, lose opportunities to play organized sports as competition increased. Partnering with Aid Another, he created an adaptive basketball league where children with unique abilities, including those with autism, Down Syndrome, mobility challenges, and other disabilities, could experience the joy of sports in an environment centered on inclusion rather than competition.

 Today, Ballers has grown from seven players to 40, pairing each participant with a volunteer buddy who provides one-on-one support throughout the season. For his commitment to building that community, Scolnick is recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater, an initiative of the Konikoff Center for Learning at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater that celebrates local Jewish individuals whose lives exemplify leadership, service, and Jewish values. 

 This is not his first recognition for creating Ballers Basketball. In 2025, Scolnick was named one of 15 recipients for the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award – the youngest recipient in last year’s cohort. He was also named one of the Top 100 Emerging Innovators through the Horn School of Entrepreneurship at University of Delaware.

 Now entering his senior year at Cape Henry Collegiate, Scolnick has watched Ballers evolve into something much bigger than he originally imagined.

 “What started as a program for my brother and his friends has become something that’s valuable for the whole community,” he says.

 That community is built intentionally. Scolnick works to pair players with the same volunteer whenever possible throughout the season, giving friendships time to develop. By the end of each winter, conversations extend well beyond basketball. Buddies catch up on school, favorite foods, and weekend plans.

 One pairing particularly stands out to Scolnick. One of his friends volunteered and was matched with a girl who had never played basketball. As her confidence grew each week, so did their relationship. By the season’s end, not only was the player beaming with pride, but her family expressed deep gratitude for the friendship that had formed.

 Those relationships often change the volunteers just as much as the players.

 Scolnick sees Ballers as an expression of the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world, not simply by serving children with unique abilities, but by introducing neurotypical teenagers to peers they might otherwise never meet. Many volunteers arrive with little experience interacting with people with disabilities. They leave with new friendships, greater empathy, and a broader understanding of inclusion.

 Running Ballers has also transformed Scolnick. Beyond organizing practices and recruiting volunteers, he has learned to navigate setbacks, solve problems, and adapt when plans inevitably change.

 “If one day we don’t have enough volunteers, we have to figure it out because these kids depend on us,” he says. “I’ve had to learn how to adapt quickly and keep the program running no matter what.”

 Those experiences have reshaped his understanding of leadership. Rather than seeing leadership as being in charge, Scolnick believes it means paying attention, making sure everyone feels welcome, recognizing when someone is struggling, and stepping in before a small challenge becomes a larger one.

 That philosophy stems from his relationship with Oliver, whose experiences first inspired Ballers. When asked about his parents’ belief that, as Oliver’s older brother, Scolnick has been the most meaningful intervention in Oliver’s life, Scolnick is both humbled and quick to redirect the focus.

 “It’s gratifying,” he says, “but I’m not doing this for the praise. I just wanted him to have the same great childhood and opportunities I had.”

 Part of Scolnick’s preparation for next year when he’ll be in college is considering Ballers’ future. He’s already training younger student leaders to take over the program, hoping each generation of volunteers will mentor the next. His goal is to keep Ballers going and for it to remain youth-led, giving high school students the opportunity to grow as leaders while serving others.

 Asked what success would look like 20 years from now, Scolnick says he hopes former players and volunteers will look back and realize that Ballers helped shape who they became.

 If that happens, he believes the program will have accomplished exactly what he set out to do: create a place where everyone belongs.

Interested in nominating someone to be recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater? Visit JewishVA.org/TidewaterHeroes or contact Sierra Lautman at SLautman@UJFT.org.

 AEN is an academic organization comprised of more than 1,300 faculty members on nearly 400 campuses who combat antisemitism and advocate for open and robust discourse on Israel.

  The Faculty Changemaker Award honors AEN members who demonstrate exceptional dedication to confronting antisemitism on campus and whose actions have helped bring about positive change in their community. 

  This is not the first time Milligan has received recognition for her commitment to fighting antisemitism and dedication to teaching. In 2018 she received the John R. Broderick Diversity Champion Award from Old Dominion University. In 2020, she won the Jeffrey B. Spence Award for Interfaith Understanding from Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. In 2023, Milligan accepted the Robert L. Stern Excellence in Teaching Award from Old Dominion University. In 2024, she was selected as one of 20 participants nationwide for Resetting the Table’s training on navigating difficult conversations about Israel and Palestine. In 2025, she earned the Shine a Light on Antisemitism Civic Courage Award for University Educators and Administrators from The Jewish Education Project. 

 “This national recognition is especially meaningful to me because it reflects work that has become such an important part of my professional and personal life: supporting Jewish and Zionist students, confronting antisemitism in higher education, promoting civil discourse, and helping create campus communities where students feel supported, empowered, and able to speak openly about their identities and their connections to Israel,” says Milligan. “I see this award not as a culmination, but as an encouragement to continue this work.”

At ODU, Milligan has worked to create a safe environment for her students. In April 2025, with initial funding from AEN, she opened the Am Yisrael CHAI Café in her office to provide Jewish students with a gathering place to find community, ask difficult questions, and talk through their experiences in a supportive environment. Her mission is to promote civil discourse on campus to create an environment where all students can speak openly about their identities, perspectives, and connections to Judaism. She has sneakers that are painted with Am Yisrael Chai and feature the Star of David, which she wears regularly while teaching and attending events. It’s just one of the many ways she truly walks the walk.

 Through Milligan’s efforts, she hopes to instill in her students the courage to connect across differences while empowering them to stay true to themselves and their identities.

 Milligan describes AEN’s faculty network as an important source of professional support and community that has strengthened her work as an advocate and educator.

“There is still important work to do,” says Milligan. “I remain deeply committed to educating about antisemitism and anti-Zionism and advocating for Jewish and Zionist students wherever I can.”

 It was an election-season stunt that drew such a flood of responses that the number’s WhatsApp account was blocked within minutes and those calling received a busy signal.

 It also drew suspicions that it was a ploy to collect voter data.

 In a video posted to social media, Netanyahu is seen with longtime adviser Topaz Luk, who asks the prime minister whether he can publish his phone number. Netanyahu initially reacts with disbelief, saying, “Topaz, have you gone crazy?” before agreeing. 

 “I want to hear from you. Your suggestions, your questions, your problems. I want to hear, so leave me a message,” Netanyahu said. He added that he could not promise to answer everyone but would respond to as many people as possible. 

 Hundreds of messages and calls arrived within minutes and the WhatsApp account associated with the number was blocked. Luk later posted on X that the account had been disabled because of the volume of calls and said Netanyahu’s team was working to restore it, directing people to Telegram in the meantime. 

 Kan political correspondent Michael Shemesh questioned whether the number belonged to Netanyahu at all and suggested on X that the exercise was “probably designed to harvest the phone numbers of potential voters.” 

 Other users pointed to another clue that the handset seen in the video was unlikely to be Netanyahu’s personal phone. One of the WhatsApp groups visible in Luk’s video was a synagogue updates group whose latest message appeared to back political rival Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister who now heads the Beyachad party. 

 “Something tells me that Bibi isn’t signed up to the ‘Menachem’s House Main Shul Updates’ group,” one X user wrote, “especially not when the latest message there is ‘yalla, it’s time for Bennett.’” 

 It was not the first time Netanyahu handed out what he presented as his personal number during an election campaign. In August 2022, little more than two months before the vote that returned him to power, the then-opposition leader published another number and invited Israelis to video call him. 

 “Why should only some people have my phone number? Everyone should have it,” Netanyahu said at the time, joking that the move was a “dramatic, world-changing decision.” He told supporters who sent proof they had joined his Telegram channel that they would have a better chance of receiving a video call from him. 

 The response was similarly intense. Likud said Netanyahu received 9,420 calls within the first 30 minutes, while follow-up videos showed calls and messages flooding the phone. 

 Netanyahu’s rivals mocked the stunt. Then-Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman released a parody video saying Netanyahu “has not picked up the phone in 12 years,” while Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid dismissed it as a “fictional phone operated by Netanyahu’s aides.” 

 The episode comes as Netanyahu faces a difficult reelection campaign, with roughly 20% of voters remaining undecided, many of whom are disillusioned Likud voters, according to pollsters and researchers. 

 A Channel 13 poll put Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party at 23 seats, ahead of Likud with 21, and Netanyahu’s current coalition projected to win just 49 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Eisenkot also led Netanyahu 47% to 34% when respondents were asked who was better suited to serve as prime minister. 

 The phone-number appeal is the latest in a series of efforts to put Netanyahu directly in front of voters. 

 Likud also rolled out billboards showing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani alongside the leaders of Iran, Turkey, and Hezbollah under the slogan, “They want Netanyahu to lose. Don’t let them win.” 

 Camp JCC hosted its very first-ever Camp Gala during Week 7, followed by the camp’s much-anticipated annual lip-sync performance. Max Chapman, a veteran Counselor in Training (CIT), served as master of ceremonies for the lip sync and did an extraordinary job with his crowd work. In Week 4, a camp carnival was introduced, complete with cotton candy, face painting, and classic carnival games. The camp also hosted its first Apache Relay race in years, which turned out to be a massive success, with the red team clinching the Color War victory that exact same week. The second consecutive Watermelon Day featured a hilarious counselor-blindfolded obstacle course, endless watermelon treats, themed crafts, and a special appearance by Captain Melon. Jewish Tidewater’s Shinshinim led a meaningful Israel Day, and the summer season wrapped up with a camp-wide cookout featuring burgers, hot dogs, and plenty of refreshing pool time.

 Teenagers took part in four Mitzvah projects throughout the summer, marking a historic first for the program. They traveled to Mutts with A Mission for a site beautification project, assisted Jewish Family Service by assembling birthday baskets for the local food pantry, learned all about air pollution and recycling at the Brock Environmental Center with Lynnhaven River Now, and wrapped up their community service by cleaning up litter across the Sandler Family Campus. The teens also enjoyed field trips to Norfolk Tides games, the Adventure Park, Croatan Beach, Owl Creek Landing, Ocean Breeze, and other local spots.

 Camp JCC is ready to keep the excitement going as School Days Out programs quickly approach. Registration opens at the beginning of September for Veterans Day, Winter Break Camp, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, and Spring Break Camp.

To learn more about Camp JCC, contact Kate-Lynn Cipolla, director of Camp, at klcipolla@ujft.org or 757-321-2306.

The concept might not immediately resonate with children, most of whom have not lived quite long enough to gain a real perspective on their place in the world. 

Nonetheless, there are myriad ways to introduce the holiday and familiarize youngsters with it in a meaningful way. Here, three Strelitz International Academy families share their approaches.

In Irina Komarovsky’s home, Rosh Hashanah is all about sweetness. She leans into the holiday’s central wordplay, calling it a “sweet new year,” and fills her table with apples dipped in honey and an array of desserts. One small, playful touch has become a family favorite: Swedish Fish, meant to symbolize being a leader.

This year, that table will look a little different. Komarovsky’s son, Palmer, nine years old and a fourth grader at Strelitz International Academy, will be joined by his soon-to-be stepfather, Nick, and four-year-old stepbrother, Luca – the family’s first Rosh Hashanah as a blended household of four.

The holiday is now a chance for the two boys to bond. Palmer has taken on a teaching role of his own, sharing his collection of PJ Library books with Luca to introduce him to the holidays their new family will celebrate together. 

Komarovsky, who was born in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States as a toddler, says her own approach to the holidays shifted after she lost her grandparents and became a mother.

Growing up, she says her family didn’t always celebrate at home, but she wanted to change that – both for Palmer, and to honor her grandparents’ memory.

“I want Palmer and Luca to remember the smells of the house while Nick and I cook,” Komarovsky says. “I want them to remember the warmth around the table as we include both found family and blood family when we celebrate Jewish joy.”

Other parents point to the shofar as a point of fascination. Aly Yaary’s oldest son, Asher (who is, by his own emphatic correction, three and three quarters), has always loved music and instruments. 

When he learned that Rosh Hashanah has its own instrument to blow, he was thrilled. There was just one problem: the family doesn’t own a shofar.

Undeterred, Asher enlists his mom to “fake blow” one by making trumpet noises. He coaches her through the holiday’s four traditional blasts – tekiah, shevarim, teruah, and tekiah gedolah – and he does not let mistakes slide.

Asher is far from the only child with a shofar hyper fixation. Pati Oliszewski shares that the shofar has made Rosh Hashanah particularly meaningful to her six-year-old son, Ben.

Given that his father is Rabbi Ari at Temple Emanuel, Ben has been watching his dad blow the shofar since he was born. Last year, his parents gave him a mini shofar of his own to play at home. 

He did so well that he and two friends now take part in the official shofar blowing during services.

“It gives them a real role in the holiday rather than simply watching the adults celebrate it,” Oliszewski says.

Apart from the shofar, she highlights community as an important aspect of Rosh Hashanah. Going to synagogue and seeing everyone (especially those they only see once a year) is part of what makes this time of year so special.

“That feeling of belonging and experiencing the holiday together is something I really value and hope our children will remember,” she says.

It’s wonderfully intuitive – as participants in the ritual tear up the pieces of bread, they acknowledge their sins with a faint whisper and a prayer. Then, once repentance is made clear, the guilt-ridden crumbs are thrown into the running water, to be carried away by the currents. 

The crumbs, however, are not always carried afar. Where many Jews live, including in Tidewater, the breadcrumbs often wash up on the beach, remain floating in the lake, or are eaten by the aquatic animals inhabiting their waters.

As Joanne Palmer of the Jewish Standard, a regional newspaper serving North Jersey and Rockland, New York, recalls, “someone at our lunch fantasized about the ducks getting ready for their annual feast. ‘I know I shouldn’t eat all that bread but I can’t help it,’ she imagined a duck saying. ‘It’s so tempting. Even though it goes straight to my thighs.’” 

It’s a funny anecdote, but ultimately, there is some truth in the anthropomorphic situation posed here. Ducks, fish, and other wildlife that receive the sin-contaminated bread, in many ways do not benefit from the extra gluten cast into their waters. 

In fact, according to an article on the Chabad website, the ritual is not exactly aligned with Jewish law. “On Shabbat and holidays, one is not allowed to feed any animals that aren’t one’s responsibility and are not dependent upon him for their sustenance.” 

In the decades since this moral dilemma has been posed, alternatives such as frozen peas and river-friendly grains have been championed by Jewish environmental organizations. The Jewish environmental organization Repair the Sea (Tikkun HaYam) has pushed the conversation a step further by introducing a new kind of Tashlich ritual that suggests cleaning up pollution in waterways rather than producing more. 

Created in 2018 by Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, Reverse Tashlich is essentially an organized trash clean-up through a Jewish lens. 

Rooted in the Jewish value of Repair the World (Tikkun Olam), the concept of Reverse Tashlich is maybe just as intuitive as its traditional counterpart. It was brought to Tidewater by Andrea Tank, Ohef Sholom Temple’s Sisterhood president. 

Having worked for the Sierra Club and lobbied on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Tank is extremely aware of the environmental crisis of the 21st century and the importance of Tikkun Olam.

“There’s a lot of young people that have a huge concern for our environment,” Tank says. “To me, this is a very physical way to demonstrate your care and repair of the world.”

Ohef Sholom’s Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg agrees. “It is a creative and good way of reimagining an old tradition for a new day,” she says. “And though it isn’t a replacement for the traditional ritual of casting one’s sins away, it calls upon Jewish communities to do something just as important – be good stewards of the planet.”

The idea began as a joke when Rabbi Rosenthal, founder and CEO of Tikkun HaYam, was explaining the tradition to members of Scooby Jew, the Jewish scuba-diving club he created at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla. One of them pushed back.

“There’s already more than enough human sin in the water,” the student said. “Why don’t we take some of it out instead?”

Rosenthal took the challenge seriously. He recruited five students, and together they pulled about 75 pounds of debris out of the mangroves along Eckerd’s mile and a half of waterfront. 

The next year, the group grew to 10 students, eventually prompting Rosenthal to take the concept off campus and reach out to synagogues across the Tampa Bay area. 

“I was really surprised at the response,” he says. “It showed me that there’s an interest, but there was no vehicle in the Jewish world to raise awareness of it.”

Almost a decade later that response has scaled well beyond Tampa. Last year alone, 320 teams in 31 countries participated in reverse Tashlich events, including a Newport News-based chapter already serving Tidewater.

“When you combine the awareness of the mitzvah and recognize it’s fulfilling the mitzvah,” Rosenthal says, “an ordinary action like a beach cleanup becomes a holy action — no different than going to synagogue.”

The concept has strong roots in religious values, drawing heavily on Bal Tashchit, the biblical prohibition against needless waste. Rosenthal also points to Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim, the prohibition against causing needless suffering to animals.

“It’s very bad for the fish,” Rosenthal says of the use of bread for Tashlich. “It’s not their normal food.” But he doesn’t ask people to abandon the traditional ritual altogether. 

Instead, he recommends observers use pebbles and seashells – things already native to the water. Seashells are made of calcium carbonate, a compound that the ocean is increasingly starved of by rising acidity.

As Rabbi Rosenthal says, “We in the Western world take water for granted, because it’s the most common substance on the planet… in Hebrew, our tradition refers to it as mayim chayim — living water. The water is alive, and it gives life. It sustains life. Without it, we die.”