This poem by Trisha Arlin describes the intensity of the process of repentance and growth of the High Holiday season, focusing on the power of Jewish liturgy and community in transforming these days into ones of joy and celebration. Trisha Arlin is a writer/performer of kavanot and a rabbinic student at the Academy of Jewish Religion (AJR), a pluralistic institution for rabbinic and cantorial training. She submitted this piece to Ritualwell.org, a project of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College that provides a platform for creating new Jewish practices.
Kesher V’Gesher: A Prayer for Rosh Hashanah
We cross a scary, narrow bridge,
It has an awesome span.
From Tisha b’Av to Simkhat Torah and back again.
It’s not a simple stroll across this bridge,
Revealing truth with each step.
How do we get across intact?
Tread gingerly, alone,
Exposed before our friends and family and yes, the Infinite.
But most of all, to ourselves.
We know what we have done. We do.
So what helps us across that bridge?
Our music, the poetry, the liturgy;
The wise words, the sharing, the rhythm of the rituals and conversations with God.
Tefillah.
Our gathering, these clergy and prayer leaders, this community,
Social justice and acts of loving kindness,
Tzedakah.
Our self-awareness, honesty, regret, humility, atonement,
Our forgiveness, grief, redemption, and joy,
Teshuvah.
The same stuff every year but shockingly different each time.
This is Kesher, our connection to truth and hope.
This is Gesher, our bridge across these Days of Awe.
Kesher v’Gesher
Connect. Cross the bridge.
From Tisha b’AV to Simkhat Torah:
From Regret to Celebration
From Celebration to Teshuvah
From Teshuvah to Sweetness
From Sweetness to Atonement
From Atonement to Awe
From Awe to Abundance
From Abundance to Torah
Blessed One-ness, Breath of Everything, we are not alone on this journey.
Walk with us as we cross each bridge to a new year and yet another beginning.
Amen.