The Optimal Location for Tashlich

Q. Where is the best place to recite Tashlich?

A. The Mishnah Berurah (583:8) writes that the preferred location for Tashlich is a body of water that is outside the city. Binah Loitim suggests it is done outside the city to invoke the memory of Akeidas Yitzchok which occurred on the mountain of Moriah. If a body of water outside the city is not accessible, Tashlich can be said in the city. It is preferable that the water have fish as a siman tov (good sign): We should multiply like fish, and not be subject to ayin hara (evil eye), just as fish are hidden from view and are not affected by ayin hara. If there is no body of water with fish, one may recite Tashlich by a well. The Kaf Hachaim (583:20) writes that even if the well has dried up, one may still recite Tashlich, since the water and fish are not an integral part of Tashlich but serve only as a positive siman (sign), as noted above. The custom of the Chasam Sofer was to stand on an elevated area that overlooked the Danube River and recite Tashlich (Minhagei Chasam Sofer, p.38). This implies that one does not have to be near water; so long as the water can be seen, even if only from afar, that is sufficient.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.