"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 #RikersIsland, #NewYorkCity’s largest #jail.

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

So when it came time to name the jail’s new #siddur — perhaps the first ever #Jewish prayer book compiled expressly for the use in a correctional facility — the choice was obvious. “The Very Narrow Bridge: A Rikers Island Siddur” entered use earlier this summer."

https://www.jta.org/2025/08/11/religion/new-on-rikers-island-a-jewish-prayerbook-designed-with-incarcerated-congregants-in-mind

"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 #RikersIsland, #NewYorkCity’s largest #jail.

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

So when it came time to name the jail’s new #siddur — perhaps the first ever #Jewish prayer book compiled expressly for the use in a correctional facility — the choice was obvious. “The Very Narrow Bridge: A Rikers Island Siddur” entered use earlier this summer."

https://www.jta.org/2025/08/11/religion/new-on-rikers-island-a-jewish-prayerbook-designed-with-incarcerated-congregants-in-mind