The Tightrope of Life
My wife’s great uncle, Rabbi Mendel Futerfus, was sentenced to nine years hard labor in a Russian gulag in Siberia because he disseminated Judaism during Stalin’s evil regime. The assortment of fellow inmates were not imprisoned there for “holy” crimes perpetrated against communism, but were overwhelmingly incarcerated because of real criminal activities. Reb Mendel loved people and served as the spiritual leader to his fellow prisoners. One inmate once related to Reb Mendel that he was a tightrope walker, and proceeded to walk across a rope stretched between two trees. When Reb Mendel asked him how he could accomplish such a feat, he shared with him his secret. “Always focus on your destination and you won’t fall down.” Reb Mendel continued to focus on his goal of one day being free to serve his people and he ultimately became the spiritual mentor of Chabad in Israel. An old Chassidic song goes “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, but the main thing to recall is to have no fear at all.” Our lives are about building and maintaining bridges. Connecting links from one finite point to another that allow us to courageously reach our destinations without succumbing to the fear of falling down. These tightropes connect us to each other, to our future, and to our G‑d. It is during this time of the year that we examine the high wires that connect us to all the important relationships in our lives. These are the “Thick cords of love” that bond us with G‑d, family and the Jewish people. It is on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur that we officially inspect the state of our ropes. Are they taut, or have they slackened over the year because of the strain and stress that are exerted upon them? Do they need to be replaced or just retied? Ironically, it seems that the most important affinities with the tightest cords of connection are the ones that need the most attention. These are the ones most likely to become frayed as they are tested again and again over the course of the year.
