by Aish.com Staff

Rabbi Nachman of Breslav teaches that he whole world is a narrow bridge, and the main thing is to not to fear.

print formatted text of this song (#8)

listen to audio of this song
Vocals and piano by Sam Glaser

Story: The Flood

This is a story about a simple man named Jake, who was caught in the midst of a flash flood that struck his town. Despite the fact that he was not learned, Jake was an exceptionally pious person, and because of this he was certain that God would send him help and rescue him.

As the waters began to flood his house, Jake grabbed his prayer book and climbed onto his roof to pray for salvation. As the waters rose, a rowboat passed by. "Climb aboard, Jake!" shouted those in the rowboat. But Jake replied, "Don't worry about me, I am going to be saved!"

After a while a rescue helicopter passed overhead. "Grab the rope, Jake!" they cried. Jake lifted his hands to heaven and shouted, "It's okay. I'm going to be saved!" and he waved them on.

Just then the floodwaters rose, knocking poor Jake off the roof and drowning him. When he arrived at the gates of heaven, he was angry and confused. "I was such a righteous man all my life," Jake said to God, "why didn't you save me?"

God replied, "What do you mean? I sent you a rowboat. I sent you a helicopter... What more were you waiting for!?"

Discussion Questions:

a) If the whole world is a very narrow bridge, why shouldn't we be afraid?

b) Is fear always negative? How could fear play a positive role in our lives? If you needed surgery, would you want your surgeon to have a certain degree of fear during the operation?

#9 of 12 in the Aish.com Shabbat Songs Series << Previous "Hiney Ma Tov" - Unity Next >> "Mitzvah Gedola" - The Importance of Happiness

Top of article Submit comment Email this Print this

E-mail this article:
"Kol Ha'olam Kulo" - Jewish Courage

Privacy Guarantee: Information submitted on
this page remains private.

Recipient's E-mail address:
TIP: Send to many email addresses, put a comma in-between.
Your Name: (optional)     Your E-mail:

Your Personal Message: optional

Send me a copy.

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT:

Name required		Display my name? Yes   No
EMAIL required - not displayed		Your email address is kept private. Our editor needs it in case we have a question about your comment.
One Line Summary:
Comments required

VISITORS COMMENTS: 1

(1) leo 1/10/2005
chizuk (supportive strength)
I love this song.

I remember when I was in isreal hearing a group of children singing it from their schools as I looked out along the beautiful hills of Israel.

I also remember a rally I attended last year to support Israel. Unfortunately, it was a small rally with only around 15 people there. It was cold and raining, so we had to take turns holding up our protest signs. Well, after a few hours, when all our strengh had left us and we were feeling rather down, a nice Jewish man with a guitar showed up (yes, in the rain! :) ) and started to play that song. It was absolutely inspiring. Everyong regained their strength and we all began to dance around slowly as we sang along. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

This song gives me strength. even though we have rough times in our life, both personal and as a People, we can be sure that Hashem is our faithful Sheperd (Psalms 23). He can guide us along the narrow bridge safely. we have nothing to fear.

About the author:

Like what you read? As a non-profit organization, Aish.com relies on support from readers like you to enable us to provide inspiring and relevant articles. Click here to support Aish.com.