New on Rikers Island: a Jewish prayerbook designed with incarcerated congregants in mind

JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY—When some of Rabbi Mia Simring’s congregants named themselves The Very Narrow Bridge Congregation, they weren’t just referring to the anthemic Hebrew song “Gesher Tsar Meod” or the teaching from Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav on which it is based.

They were also alluding to their status as inmates on Rikers Island, New York City’s largest jail.

“Everybody there knows that they are separated from the rest of their lives by an actual very narrow bridge,” Simring said.

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On hand were representatives of the New York Jewish Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform, a nonprofit that helmed the project, and its funders, including JCRC-NY, the Revson Foundation, the NY Board of Rabbis and Central Synagogue. They understood the long and winding path to create a prayer book that could meet the mix of Jewish, Jewish-curious and non-Jewish individuals who attend services on Rikers.

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