Parashat Va’etchanan: Love and Comfort
Tonight, on this Shabbat, a very interesting convergence takes place.
We have three major events worth noting:
- First, tonight is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Comfort. It is the first Shabbat to follow Tisha B’Av, the holiday that commemorates a litany of tragedies that have taken place throughout Jewish history, including the destructions of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
- Second, this week’s Torah portion, called Va’etchanan, contains words that are not only familiar to every Jew, words not only contained in every prayer service we hold, but words that are indeed the doctrine of Judaism for all time: the Shema and V’ahavta.
- And, third, today we celebrated a beautiful holiday called Tu B’Av, a holiday about love and partnership.
When taken together, these three events teach us some very important ideas about Judaism.
Tonight is called Shabbat Nachamu because of the Haftarah portion that is read, which is taken from Chapter 40 of Isaiah. This text begins with the words Nachamu, nachamu ami – “Console, Console my people, says your God.” Usually, the Haftarah reading on Shabbat pertains to a theme in the respective weekly Torah portion. However, when a given Shabbat has a different character – like on a Festival or on the first day of a new month – the Haftarah reading reflects the specific theme of the day instead. Thus, on the three Sabbaths between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and The Ninth of Av, the Haftarot reflect the sense of calamity that characterizes the period. The first two are drawn from Jeremiah, while the third is from Isaiah.
The Haftarah of Shabbat Nachamu is the first of the “seven consolations” – the seven Haftarot which are read on the seven Sabbaths following The Ninth of Av. Why seven? Well, as you might know, seven is already a holy number, representing creation, as well as the wholeness and completion in the days of the week. In addition, these seven Haftarot count off the weeks between Tisha B’Av, a holiday that commemorates destruction, and Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, which presents an opportunity for renewal, rebuilding, and hope in the new year. All seven Haftarot are taken from Isaiah and record the prophetic messages of consolation which Isaiah offered Israel.
Quite interestingly, there are 144 verses altogether in the seven Haftarot,and 143 verses contained in the so-called four portions of admonition in the Torah recorded in Bechukotai, Ki Tavo, Nitzavim, and Ha’azinu – 144 of consolation versus 143 of admonition, So we see that the consolation exceeds the admonition.
“Console, console my people” the word nachamu – “console” – is repeated, and there are many explanations given for this repetition. Let those above console her and those below console her; let the living console her and let the dead console her; console her in this world and console her in the World to Come; console her for the ten tribes and console her for the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. Perhaps the Haftarah mentions the word twice – nachamu, nachamu – to symbolize extra consolation. Some Rabbis maintain that every word in the Torah has a purpose, and when a word is repeated, it teaches us that the word is emphasized. Thus God is giving us an extra dose of reassurance.
“Nachamu, Nachamu Ami – Comfort, Comfort My people,” – the words of the prophet reverberate through the following weeks. After remembering the degradation and suffering experienced by the Jewish people throughout our history, the prophet consoles and comforts them. But the Jews respond in the text by saying that they don’t want the comfort of the prophets, they want to be comforted by God directly.
So, we might ask, Why did God comfort the Jews through a messenger? By commanding a human being to comfort the people, God imbues each of us with the ability and the power to comfort another. We may sometimes be scared, and feel that we can do very little to console one another – we don’t have the power to compensate for loss or the ability to change someone’s situation. But, through these words of comfort given to us through a human being, God gives each one of us Divine strength to truly comfort another human being who is suffering and in pain.
Yet all is not pain and suffering. As you know, we have many holidays that are joyous, and filled with love and hope. As I mentioned, we have another big event coming up – Tu B’Av, the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Av. Since our Jewish calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the fifteenth of each month is always a full moon.
In mystic terms, the full moon of Av is associated with relationships. The Talmud tells us that, On this day, “the daughters of Jerusalem would go out … and dance in the vineyards,” and “whoever did not have a wife would go there” to find himself a bride (Talmud, Taanit 26b). So it is pretty much like the Jewish Valentine’s Day! But why is this so, why is this day associated with finding a soulmate? Judaism teaches, and so does every Jewish grandmother, that every person has a ‘beshert’ – the other half of their soul for whom they search in order to marry. There is a lovely belief that forty days before a person is born, a heavenly voice announces their ‘beshert.’ The 15th of Av is forty days before the 25th of Elul which is the first day of Creation. That is why the full moon of Av celebrates relationships
Just as the moon needs the sun to shine and feel complete, we seek completion within ourselves, within our relationships, and, ultimately, within our relationship with God. The love we feel for one another is said to teach us how to love God. Jewish philosopher Martin Buber takes this one step further – Buber says that, in every loving relationship, there is a silent third partner: God. Thus, one + one equals 3.
Which brings us to the Shema and the V’ahavta. Ahavah is the Hebrew word for love. The text, which is now a prayer in our siddurim, begins, “And you shall love Adonai your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.” Tu B’Av encourages us to love one another, while our Torah portion tells us how to love God.
A Chasidic Midrash says that three times, the Torah asks us to love: Twice in Leviticus, we are commanded to love fellow human beings. Then, here in Deuteronomy, our love is directed toward God. Only after we have learned to love people can we come to love God. So, Tu B’Av is also a day of deep love between God and the Jewish people. How do we know this? The sages teach that a person’s sins are traditionally forgiven three times – on Yom Kippur, on Tu B’Av, and on one’s wedding day. It is on these three times that God reaches out to form a bond with the Jewish people, and out of God’s unbridled love for us, forgives us of all of our sins.
Even though we may transgress against ourselves, our loved ones, and God, God always returns out of love to forgive us. God gives us another chance. On Yom Kippur when one’s fate for the year is finalized, God forgives our sins, and grants us a new life. So too, a wedding day is considered a “mini-Yom Kippur” – The bride and groom might choose to fast, And it is believed that each one’s sins are forgiven, and each partner has the chance to start with a fresh, clean slate. On all these days God reassures us – nachamu, nachamu, be comforted, for your sins are forgiven.
Some of us even find this kind of comfort in the words of the Shema, found right before the V’ahavta in the Torah text. Recite it with me:
Shma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.
Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is One.
There is a tradition, in which one might say these words before bed each night, as the final words spoken before retreating into sleep. It is also customary to say the Shema before death, as a comforting affirmation of faith in God even to the final breath.
Ultimately, these three events: Shabbat Nachamu, Tu B’Av, and the text of the Shema and V’ahavta, join together to bring us much comfort and surround us with love.
As difficult as it might sometimes be, this Shabbat reminds us that we can find comfort and solace, even in our darkest hours. We are reminded to reach out to comfort those around us, and to accept comfort when we, ourselves, are in need.
May we all be surrounded by love, consolation and comfort whenever we find ourselves in need. May we seek out hints of God’s presence in our most precious relationships. And may we find ourselves bringing our hearts, souls, and strength to all of our encounters, eventually hoping to find ourselves with the ability to truly love ourselves, our fellow human beings, and the Eternal One, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.
May this be God’s will.
Amen.
