Tashlich Basement Clean-Up

(יט) יָשׁוּב יְרַחֲמֵנוּ יִכְבֹּשׁ עֲו‍ֹנֹתֵינוּ וְתַשְׁלִיךְ בִּמְצֻלוֹת יָם כָּל חַטֹּאותָם.

(19) He will again have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Bamidbar

במדבר ה׳:ז׳

(ז) וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ וְהֵשִׁיב אֶת אֲשָׁמוֹ בְּרֹאשׁוֹ וַחֲמִישִׁתוֹ יֹסֵף עָלָיו וְנָתַן לַאֲשֶׁר אָשַׁם לוֹ.

Numbers 5:7

(7) then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty.

שבת קנג. 22-27

תנן התם רבי אליעזר אומר "שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך" שאלו תלמידיו את ר"א "וכי אדם יודע איזהו יום ימות?!" אמר להן "וכל שכן ישוב היום! שמא ימות למחר ונמצא כל ימיו בתשובה!"

Shabbat 153a:5

When R. Eliezer said, "Repent, even if only one day before your death," his disciples asked him, "Does any man know what day he will die?" R. Eliezer: "Then all the more reason that he repent today. For should he die tomorrow, his entire life will have been spent in repentance."

משנה אבות ד׳:ב׳

(ב) בן עזאי אומר, הוי רץ למצוה קלה [ כבחמורה ], ובורח מן העברה .שמצוה גוררת מצוה, ועברה גוררת עברה.ששכר מצוה, מצוה.ושכר עברה, עברה .

Pirkei Avot 4:2

(2) Ben Azzai says: Run to do an easy mitzvah, and flee from sin; since one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah, and one sin leads to another sin; since the reward for a mitzvah is another mitzvah, and the reward for one sin is another sin.

Take a few minutes to think about things you have done this year that you would qualify as a "sin." How can you improve upon these actions for the coming year? Write down a word or a few words that symbolize a "sin" you have committed in the past year.

משנה אבות א׳:י״ד

(יד) הוא היה אומר, אם אין אני לי, מי לי.וכשאני לעצמי, מה אני.ואם לא עכשיו, אימתי.

Pirkei Avot 1:14

(14) This was another favorite teaching of his: If I am not for me, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?

How does this text relate to the work we will be doing this year?