7/24/10
“Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, says your God. Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she received of Adonai’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40: 1,2)
Thus begins this week’s haftarah, also known as Nachamu, the Hebrew for “comfort”. After three weeks of prophetic rebuke, we are reminded of our people’s greatest tragedies, all of them related to Tisha b’Av. Finally, with this Shabbat’s haftarah we start the long road toward forgiveness and repentance, seven weeks of consolation until the High Holy Days. And the road begins with comfort.
True repentance is achieved when we act differently if presented with the same situation. But in order to get to that stage, we need to forgive ourselves. We need to realize that we cannot change the past, just live with its consequences. Destruction and ruins might lie behind us; we can only be prepared for the future when we accept our past and can live comfortably with it.
According to some commentators, the repetition of the word “comfort” is meant to address both the exile imposed on the Israelites by the Babylonians, and the later one imposed on us by the Romans. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th century, Germany) explains that Isaiah wants the people to be filled with strength and courage to meet the hardships they will face ahead, while coming back into their land for resettlement.
As Jews, we face a hard journey: these upcoming 7 weeks leading to the High Holy Days are meant to be introspective. We hope to devote our resolutions to our personal improvement. As a congregation, we face a very hard journey: this upcoming year will also be a year of reflection and self discovery. I look forward to this journey with you.
Shabbat Shalom,
Hazzan Henrique Ozur Bass