This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nahamu - the Shabbat of comfort or consolation. Named for the first word of the Haftarah, it speaks of the prophetic vision of Isaiah of the anticipated consolation after the destruction of the First Temple: "Nahamu, Nahamu ami - Comfort, comfort my people, so says your God."
Last Sunday, as we observed Tisha B’Av (Ninth of Av), we marked a Jewish day of mourning to commemorate the destruction of the first and second temples (as well as the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, most notable of which was the expulsion from Spain in 1492.) Events of many, many centuries ago come back to haunt our collective consciousness as if it happened yesterday. So, we mourn the falling of temple, Jerusalem of old, and the exile from the land.
As with any experience of loss or desolation, it is the Jewish way to seek comfort and consolation. Thus, the rabbis instituted that Isaiah’s words of Nahamu, Nahamu ami - Comfort, Comfort my people - be read on the Shabbat following Tisha B’av - the ninth of Av, a theme of which continues in every haftarah between now and Rosh Hashanah. In each of the seven haftarot during this season, we read prophetic words of hope announcing Israel’s redemption.
Yet, this week, as we approach Shabbat Nahamu listening to news from Israel, the comfort and promise of Isaiah’s words seem like a distant dream. As we watch on television and read in the news, we see the very hard reality of what it means to hold on to the land of Israel. No matter how one feels about Israel’s plans to pull out of 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 settlements in the West Bank, it is hard not to be affected by the images and news of what continues to unfold. Whether, in the long run, this move will or will not help Israel extricate itself from conflict and decrease its vulnerability to terrorism, is unknown, and will only be revealed in the months and years ahead. Yet, in these moments, it seems that the weeping of Lamentations that we read on Tisha B’av is still present and comfort is yet to be found. Where is the comfort in watching the pain of those individuals struggling with having to uproot themselves and leave behind their homes? Where is the comfort in hearing reports of the behavior of a fanatic settler who took the lives of several Palestinians? Where is the comfort in seeing the images of confrontation between Israeli riot police and settlers in the sacred space of a local synagogue?
Ironically, a closer look at the Haftarah shows that despite the promise of consolation, the Haftarah offers no assurance of rebuilding, no promise that the people will be redeemed from exile. There is no plan for how to re-establish the Temple, no road map for right actions and/or wrong actions. Rather, Isaiah’s explanation of consolation is far more subtle: "Indeed man is but grass: Grass withers, flowers fade - but the Word of our God is always fulfilled!" (Isaiah 40:7-8). The comfort, it seems, comes from presence.
The midrash of Pesikta Rabbati describes how God’s comfort is to be brought. It describes how God appoints Abraham as His emissary to comfort Jerusalem. But, says the midrash, Jerusalem will not be comforted. So, God sends Isaac who meets the same results. God then sends Jacob and Moses and they too meet with the same resistance. And so, they say to God: "Jerusalem will not accept comforting from us." So, then God enters and says "it is for me to comfort Jerusalem…"
In moments of desolation, it is hard to see beyond the experience of destruction or the tears of loss. It is impossible to see any one action as the indicator of reality or of the long-term outcome that will result. We cannot know what will happen in the days, weeks, months or even years ahead as Israel continues to seek peace. We can, however, hope for comfort and consolation of God’s presence.
And, so this Shabbat, as I read and hear the words of Nahamu, Nahamu ami, I will fight off the tears with a prayer that God continues to have this conversation with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, and that God will indeed enter to say "It is for me to comfort Jerusalem…".
Shabbat Shalom.