Tisha B’Av (A day of mourning in Judaism) is almost immediately followed by a Shabbat of Comfort, Shabbat Nahamu, whose haftarah, Isaiah 40:1-26, begins: “Comfort, oh comfort My people, says your God.” This is the first of seven haftarot from Isaiah, called “the seven consolations". These readings on comfort bridge the period from Tisha B’Av to Rosh Hashanah, as Jews are beginning to ready themselves for self-judgment, self-renewal, and personal change. Today we will seek to understand how we can embrace a state of comfort and why that need is so powerful before we begin a New Year.
(א) נַחֲמ֥וּ נַחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י יֹאמַ֖ר אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(1) Comfort, oh comfort My people, Says your God.
According to the rabbis there are no superfluous words in the Torah. Why then was nachamu repeated twice?
(א) נחמו נחמו . אלקיכם יאמר אל הנביאים נחמו את עמי וכפל המלה יורה על החזוק :
(1) Comfort, Comfort. Your G-d says to the prophets "Comfort my people", and the doubling of the word alludes to the stress of the command.
(א) נחמו נחמו . חוזר על נבואותיו העתידות לפי שמכאן ועד סוף הספר דברי נחמו' הפסיק פרשה זו בינם לבין הפורענו' נחמו אתם נביאי נחמו את עמי :
Comfort, comfort. He returns to his future prophecies; since from here to the end of the Book are words of consolations, this section separated them from the prophecies of retribution. Console, you, My prophets, console My people.
Rashi reads the doubling of the first word as a way to separate the text of Isaiah that rebukes verses comforts. This line is the turning point in the text and in our cycle of the year. Before Tishah b'Av we spend 4 weeks reading about how awful we were behaving. After Tisha b'Av we spend 7 weeks reading haftorot of consolation.
- Why do you think we spend more time on comfort than on rebuke? Is that what you would expect of Torah? Why/Why not?
- Who is doing the comforting? What's most important in delivering comfort - the message or the messenger?
(ו) ובמדרש, נחמות עליונים, נחמות תחתונים, נחמות חיים, נחמות מתים, נחמות בעולם הזה, נחמות בעולם הבא, נחמות נחמות על עשרת השבטים, נחמות נחמות על שבט יהודה ובנימין. לפי שכתוב שתי בכיות (איכה א, ב) "בכה תבכה בלילה", לכך נאמרו (ישעיה מ, א) "נחמו". רוצה לומר כי לכך נאמר לשון רבים "נחמו", כי מתחייב הנחמה לישראל מכל המציאות, מטעם אשר אמרנו למעלה, כי ישראל הם עיקר העולם, ואם לא היה נחמה להם, נחשב בטול אל כל המציאות בכלל. ולכך נחמות עליונים נחמות התחתונים, נחמות בעולם הזה, נחמות בעולם הבא, נחמות חיים, נחמות מתים. כי אלו הם כל המציאות, ומצד כל המציאות מתחייב להם הנחמה, כמו שהתבאר, כי ישראל הם שלימת הכל, ואם ישראל בטל, הכל בטל חס ושלום, ולכך מקבלים הנחמה מהכל:
And according to midrash, heavenly comfort, earthly comfort, comfort of the living, comfort of the dead, comfort in this world, comfort in the world to come, comfort comfort for the 10 tribes, comfort comfort for the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Because "cry" is written twice (in Lamentations 1:2) "cry, oh cry in the night", therefore it is written "comfort" (Isaiah 40:1). That is to say, therefore "comfort" is in the plural, because comfort is due to Israel from all of existence, for the reason stated above, because Israel is the main part of the world, and if they were comforted, its as if it cancels all the suffering in the world. ...
- Comfort carries a real urgency in this text. Everyone ; living now, living in the past, living in the future is in need of comfort. Why do you think comfort carries such urgency for this author?
- Comfort here is connected to sorrow. Is the only reason to comfort in the face of sorrow?
- Why would comforting the people of Israel cancel all sorrow in the world?
(יא) אַרְבַּע מִדּוֹת בַּדֵּעוֹת. נוֹחַ לִכְעֹס וְנוֹחַ לִרְצוֹת, יָצָא שְׂכָרוֹ בְהֶפְסֵדוֹ. קָשֶׁה לִכְעֹס וְקָשֶׁה לִרְצוֹת, יָצָא הֶפְסֵדוֹ בִשְׂכָרוֹ. קָשֶׁה לִכְעֹס וְנוֹחַ לִרְצוֹת, חָסִיד. נוֹחַ לִכְעֹס וְקָשֶׁה לִרְצוֹת, רָשָׁע:
(11) There are four temperaments among dispositions: [a person who is] easy to anger and easy to appease -- his gain is canceled by his loss. [A person who is] hard to anger but [also] hard to appease -- his loss is canceled by his gain. [A person who is] hard to anger, but easy to appease -- [that's a] pious person. [A person who is] easy to anger and hard to appease -- [that's a] wicked person.
- The rabbis connect appeasement and comfort. Dictionary definition do the same: To appease is to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment. They also suggest that being slow to anger and easy to comfort is the definition of a righteous person. Do you agree?
- Is there a connection between your temperament and the ways in which you can find comfort?
- We are days away from beginning Elul - the month in which we begin our journey to the High Holy Days. It is a time for reflection and self-work! Why should we comfort ourselves before this journey? How can you do that for yourself during these challenging times?