It’s literally a rite of passage, or at least, a rite. For the past five years, Chabad of Bedford in Bedford Corners, N.Y., has held Tashlich in Leonard Park in the nearby village of Mount Kisco, N.Y.
This year, however, the Jewish center, which has been directed by Rabbi Arik and Sara Wolf for 22 years—they arrived in 2003—has been denied a permit to use the public property for the Rosh Hashanah tradition, scheduled for Sept. 23.
The Tashlich ceremony is one where Jews gather to “cast off” their sins, typically throwing pieces of bread or some pebbles into a body of water that preferably has fish—their eyes being always open is akin to God’s watching over the Jewish people. It represents a clean slate going forward into the Jewish New Year, 5786.
The turn of tides came as a surprise to the Wolfs since the reason given was that religious events cannot be held in the park, though no language supports that, according to a lawyer who reviewed the deed associated with permit permissions. When the rabbi pointed out that an Easter egg hunt took place there this spring, the reply was that it was “an egg hunt.”
“This is unfair,” Wolf told JNS. “You’ve chosen to deny our permit without cause. We just ask for fairness.”
The ceremony includes a few prayers, some songs and the blowing of the shofar, and typically draws about 100 people. “There’s no chairs, no tables, no structures. We go there because it is within walking distance to the Chabad House,” said the rabbi, who is originally from Australia.
His lawyers have reviewed the deed and determined that any blanket religious restriction would be unconstitutional and unenforceable. They are not yet moving forward with legal action but continuing to “use every avenue” available to hold their event in the park, Wolf told JNS.
He said that he met with Michael Cindrich, mayor of Mount Kisco, for two hours last week, but didn’t walk away with any better understanding of the issue. A message left by JNS on Cindrich’s voicemail on Tuesday to speak about the situation went unreturned.
“It feels unusual,” said Wolf. “We don’t understand why now, why the change? There has been no communication from the village, and so far, the village has refused to speak with our attorney.”
He said Cindrich has always been friendly to Chabad and a supporter of Jewish activities, and the local Parks Department “has been gracious.”
But the silence is disconcerting. And the appearances don’t look good.
“It leads people to jump to conclusions. It seems divisive,” said Wolf. “We just want to be included.”
