So, a Rabi brings 9 Jews to go ziplining one day.
No, this is not the beginning of a joke, it is the beginning of a life- changing story.
Myself and my co-worker began our day as usual, setting up and welcoming the group of 10 to our 'zip extreme' site. They were all smiles and excitement, getting harnessed up and ready. The men ranged in age, mid 20s to mid 50s, with the oldest of them being their Rabi.
We taught the group how to set up to rappel, we coached them over the edge and one by one the men giggled and panted their way down the cliff. Most of them were quite nervous but extremely enthusiastic. Once the crew were comfortable on the ropes we went to set up the zip.
The structure of the course is to attach clients to the zip line in the same way that they would have been attached to the rappel. They hold their own ropes and run off the edge of the cliff. With a microsecond delay, their rope catches their weight and they zip out across the river, lowering themselves down into the water at their own speed.
Usually this event is what the industry refers to as " challenge by choice" meaning individuals feel no outside pressure to participate in all the activities. Consequently, many people end up roping up only to walk to the end, gasp and spend 10- 15 minutes deciding whether or not they can force themselves off. Sometimes they ask us to push them, sometimes they bum slide off the rocky edge and occasionally they decline the experience.
On this particular day, the first gentleman was set up and before we could instruct the him on how to run, the Rabi leaned over from the sidelines " Okay so you are ready?" the gentleman nodded. " Are you nervous?" the gentleman says " yes, Rabi, I don't think I can do this". The Rabi then talked the man backwards, asked him about the systems in place, did he trust the ropes? yes. Did he trust his set up? the gentleman squeezed his carabiners and looked at me for approval and then said yes.
" okay, so logistically you are safe. Is your fear logical?" the gentleman shook his head, no.
" what you have done in this situation, my friend, is you have acknowledged that you are safe. What you are about to do is safe, your fear is irrational. Now what you have to do, is let go of your mind. your mind's role is done, it checked the system, it chose the action, now its time for your heart to take over."
"Now what have you chosen?" The rabi asked the man.Leaving me confused and wondering what kind of choice he really had at the moment.
"Hamor Blee das" exclaimed the man. The Rabi smiled " great, great choice. Now think about your wife, think about your kids, think about anything but the edge... and go".
With that the man charged the edge of the cliff firing himself airborne over the gorge. The rope pulled tight and he was off, chanting a psalm which I might never know.
I turned to the others beside me as we were pulling the ropes back in and asked what ' hamor blee das' represented. " it is a piece of scripture" one explained. " it means ' to be a donkey with blinders on'".
I was shocked as each of the men had similar pep talks and for the first time in my experience with zip lines, not one person hesitated at the edge. Some men even asked for more slack in the rope, prolonging their initial freefall, therefore challenging their fears even more. These men were exercising their trust, their fear and their will power through their faith. They were learning to let go of thier mind, learning when they do not need their rationalizing hemispheres.
Do the task at hand. Become a donkey with blinders on.
This is the very same exercise I have been studying and trying so hard to harness over the past few years, through kayaking and climbing. It is the art of meditation, of quieting the mind during activity. How can you possibly clip a bolt or climb above pro without over gripping. How can you let yourself exist in the moment you are in, perform under pressure or circumstances that you cannot control.
Perhaps it is a form of meditation, something which each person experiences differently. Alex Honnold experiences it by free- soloing half dome. Even then there was a moment when all of his talismans against fear disapated and he was stuck for some time on a ledge, trying to reconstruct his " Hamor Blee Das".
As the day went on, each of the men soared across the gorge chanting and mediating and finding ways to allow themselves to charge the unknown. It was ridiculous to the untrained eye and inspiring for anyone who has ever searched themselves for the strength to overcome irrational fears. I had never given religion the credit of experiential learning like this.
Mazel tof, boys.
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