By Betzy Lynch
LA JOLLA, California — Just before Shabbat, I returned home from a ten-day visit to Israel with six colleagues representing the largest Jewish organizations in San Diego.
This journey was part of a program created nearly five years ago by the San Diego Jewish Federation to strengthen our nearly 25-year relationship with our sister region in Israel, Sha’ar HaNegev. Federation’s CEO, Heidi Gantwerk, had the vision to ensure this sacred partnership wasn’t held by Federation alone, but shared and nurtured across all our Jewish organizations. Out of that vision, the Gesher Project, “gesher” meaning bridge in Hebrew, was born.
Our first Gesher trip took place four years ago, as the world cautiously emerged from the pandemic. Now, fast forward to Gesher 2.0, which launched on September 1. We stepped into a partnership marked by challenges none of us could have imagined during that first trip, realities of conflict, loss, and resilience that tested every fiber of connection.
Over ten days, the bridge between San Diego and Sha’ar HaNegev was fortified through raw conversations, shared tears, difficult questions, and profound prayer. We sat with pain and trauma, yet also discovered new pathways of hope, resilience, and creativity. We exchanged love, the kind you feel only among family, woven together with longing for the safe return of hostages and the dream of peace for everyone in the region..
Our Israeli colleagues delighted in reminding us that English can turn almost anything into a verb by adding “-ing”: Chairing, Boarding, Bridging. Each day we teased one another about “what we were bridging” that day. Their humor triggered a persistent earworm for me, the melody of “Gesher Tzar Me’od.”
“Gesher Tzar Me’od” is a teaching of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, that is now a Jewish folk anthem of sorts. It goes, “Kol ha’olam kulo gesher tzar me’od, v’ha’ikar lo l’fached klal. The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the essential thing is not to be afraid at all.”
For most of the trip, I hummed the tune absentmindedly. But somewhere on the 16-hour flight home, exhaustion and reflection connected my heart to my head. The words finally landed, and their impact brought me to tears. I realized that this teaching had been narrating our journey all along.
Rabbi Nachman’s ancient teaching does not sugarcoat life. Existence is fragile. We are always suspended between what was and what will be, between stability and collapse. Like a narrow bridge, life sways beneath us, leaving us vulnerable to fear. But bridges are made for crossing. Growth comes not from avoiding the bridge, but from stepping forward, even when trembling.
In Israel, my colleagues and I experienced the narrow bridge firsthand: sirens and shelters, protests and exhaustion, grief and courage. Yet we watched our traumatized and trembling colleagues and friends cross that same bridge, with courage and hope for healing, creativity, resilience, and joy. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.
Rabbi Nachman’s teaching is not that fear will vanish, but it is that fear must not paralyze us. The bridge itself is not the danger; it is fear’s grip that can stop us from crossing. True courage is to keep walking, step by shaky step, trusting that we are not alone. Jewish tradition reminds us that wherever Israel goes, G-d travels too. Even on the narrowest bridge, holiness walks beside us.
What became so clear on our trip is that love and joy are not luxuries. They are essential tools for crossing the bridge. Fear contracts the heart, but joy expands it. The investments Federation has made into spaces and places for the residents of Sha’ar HaNegev to sing, dance, and laugh again are not small distractions; they are the essential sparks of joy that steady life’s swaying path.
I am deeply grateful for the chance to strengthen the bridge between San Diego and Sha’ar HaNegev, especially at a time when we need each other more than ever.
May the joy we shared steady us on the narrow bridge that is our future together.
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Betzy Lynch is the chief executive officer of the Lawrence Family JCC