Pictured: Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, CEO of Repair the Sea. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.

On September 10th, Temple Sinai’s Jquest will join Tikkun HaYam - Repair the Sea®, and Jewish communities around the world in the 6th Annual Reverse Tashlich, a global waterfront cleanup. Repair the Sea, an organization “where science and spirituality intersect from a Jewish perspective” is a nonprofit group founded by CEO Rabbi Ed Rosenthal. During his time as campus rabbi for Eckerd College where the biggest major is Marine Biology, Rosenthal, who is also a scuba diver, says he did a deep dive to find the intersection between Judaism and the ocean. Through his Scubi Jew program, Rosenthal was teaching his students about Tashlich, a ceremony performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah where Jews symbolically cast off the sins of the previous year by tossing pebbles or bread crumbs into flowing water. One of his students suggested that they do a reverse Tashlich, where they actually remove human sin from the water rather than throwing it in. From there, the inspiration for Repair the Sea was born.

“I started Repair the Sea as an independent 501C3 organization to share the spiritual wonders of water in the sea from a Jewish perspective and to raise awareness about the many threats that are facing the marine environment,” shares Rosenthal. “And I’m so happy to say that the organization grew from five students in 2016, to this past year where we had 245 teams register in 12 countries on six continents.”

In the years since, Reverse Tashlich has become a High Holy Days ritual around the world. In 2022, 245 communities in 12 countries registered to participate in the global tradition, with over 3000 participants worldwide. Synagogues, Hillels, Jewish Community Centers, Jewish Federations, Jewish Day Schools, Community Organizations, Moishe Houses, Young Adult Divisions, Mitzvah Projects, Families, and more joined the initiative in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Israel, Moldova, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Rabbi Ed Rosenthal said he is “overwhelmed” by the global response to this program. “There are so many issues facing the Jewish community, but the environment is barely addressed. The response to the Reverse Tashlich shows that the environment should also be a priority. Nature is an intrinsic part of the Jewish tradition and, as Jews we are charged with the responsibility to protect it.”

September 10, 10:00am, South Lido Beach, Ted Sperling Park.

Pictured: Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, CEO of Repair the Sea. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.