כל העולם כולו, גשר צר מאד והעיקר לא לפחד בו
The world is but a narrow bridge - the essence is not to fear it.
These words, paraphrasing the great Chasidic Master Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav have been running through my head ever since Rick Ellis called me this morning with the news that Susan Wehle was on the plane that crashed last night.
When we heard the news of the crash last night before bed or this morning upon awakening, our minds - as is only natural - began to wonder if we knew anyone on the plane AND THEN if any Jews were on the plane. To hear that there was someone we knew so well, someone who touched each of us, and gave so much of herself to our community, shocked us, numbed us, rattled us to our very core.
For many here tonight, in the face of pain or death, it was Susan to whom we turned for comfort, for music, for a hug, for a kind word. And so we gather here tonight as a community, on Shabbat, to find a measure of Shabbat Shalom, of Shabbat healing, of Shabbat wholeness, of Shabbat peace.
We want to cry out “Why!?” But we know that is not the question. The question is how to live our lives to honor Susan’s memory.
כל העולם כולו, גשר צר מאד והעיקר לא לפחד בו
The world is but a narrow bridge - the essence is not to fear it.
Susan knew and we know the fragility and preciousness of life. Susan knew and taught us that a life lived in fear is a life unlived. We all walk that narrow bridge. Let us join hands and hold each other up. Let us begin to heal each other. Let us walk the narrow bridge together unafraid in the knowledge that our community helps carry us across in peace.
