Gesher tzar meod The world is a very narrow bridge (Rebbe Nachman of Breslov)
FOR 10 days now, our lives are just a little bit different from any other time of the year.
We are living an examined life. We are doing some comprehensive stock taking of who we are as complete entities and people, reflecting and taking responsibility for every aspect of this entity me, in my entirety like no other time.
There are concrete steps taken toward change in our behavior, extra sensitivity toward each other, and insertions in our prayers. It is the time of and the 10 days for a request: Zachreinu le-chaim remember us for life.
It is the bridge we are walking from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.
This is how I picture the journey we travel in these aseret yemei teshuvah, 10 intense days of (literally), return crossing of a bridge.
Each of our bridges may be very different. The height of our bridges may vary. The deep gorge below us may be, for some, closer, while for others farther away.
The bridge may be sturdy and strong for some of us, while for others, shakier and more fragile.
The view may be lovely or scary, safe or exposed.
Whatever the specifics may be, we are all, in fact, crossing the bridge of life. The bridge toward life.
As we travel this bridge, with each step we endeavor and hope to transform ourselves into fuller, better, more caring, developed and appreciative human beings and religious personalities.
A BRIDGE is built for the utilitarian purpose of walking to and fro, crossing from one place to another. In these 10 days of awe, it is a crossing from what is to what is not yet. It is a crossing to what you hope will be.
We are all crossing into the mist the unknown. And that can be frightening.
But aside from the utilitarian dimension of the bridge, the bridge is a poetic symbol of inspiration.
A bridge is always one of my favorite parts of a car ride or road trip. I just love crossing the bridge. Something about it overcoming the natural limits of nature to find a way to get across, riding at a height with the beauty and breeze from the waves of the water below, plus, here in New York (and many other places), being enfolded and tented on both sides, feeling veiled by harplike strings, or curving on an angle as on the Brooklyn Bridge crossing a bridge is, indeed, quite an inspiration.
Rebbe Nachman taught:
Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar meod, ve-haikar lo lefached clal the whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be afraid.
How well we know the fears that sometimes make us get stuck right in the middle of that narrow bridge of life! But Rebbe Nachman taught us to have courage in the face of fears . . . not surrender to the fear . . . to navigate our way across that little narrow bridge. No matter how deep the gorge below us, no matter how shaky that bridge, one gentle, faithful, step at a time forward is how we can try to get across, safely.
The word bridge can be a verb, to connect or reduce the distance between. As we walk this passage and transition from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, may this transition become, a religiously transformative process for us, whatever it is we are seeking to change and improve about ourselves.
May this walk across the bridge of the increased spiritual sensitivity of the 10 days of repentance may this time bridge the gap for us between who we are and where we are and who we want to become.
Zachreinu le-Chaim. May we be remembered this Yom Kippur for life.
