Eliezer Meir Saidel – Parshas Va’etchanan: Nachamu

 in the event you might have missed this for Parshas Va’etchanan:

Comfort in Rebirth – Va'etchanan 

This last week we read the iconic Haftara after which the Shabbat is named – Shabbat Nachamu – from Yishayahu (40:1). This and the following 6 Haftarot are called the Seven Haftarot of Comfort, following Tisha Be'Av. 

Following the destruction of the 2nd Temple, we were plunged into the longest of all our exiles, the exile of Edom, that has afflicted us for 1953 years (and counting). 

How does one find comfort from such a trauma? 

Firstly, we have Rebi Akiva. The Gemara (Makot 24b) tells how, after the destruction of the 2nd Temple, R' Gamliel, R' Elazar ben Azaria, R' Yehoshua and R' Akiva once went up to the Temple Mount and saw a fox scurrying out from the Holy of Holies. The first three began to weep, but R' Akiva began laughing. They asked R' Akiva "Why are you laughing?" R' Akiva responded "Why are you crying?" They replied "The passuk (Bamidbar 1:51) says about this place 'The stranger that will approach will perish!' and now we see foxes roaming there. Shall we not cry?" R' Akiva replied "Prophecy told us that the Beit Hamikdash will be ploughed into the ground (Micha 3:12) and we see that this actually came to pass. 

Prophecy similarly tells us (Zecharia 8:4) that one day old men and women will once again sit in the (rebuilt) Jerusalem. Until I never saw the first prophecy come to fruition, I was not sure, but now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I am assured of the veracity of the second prophecy". They replied "Akiva, you have comforted us, Akiva you have comforted us!" 

Secondly, HKB"H gave us the gift of "forgetfulness". The ability to forget is a blessing that allows us to continue living. If we did not possess this ability we would drown in grief from every form of bereavement. The blessing of forgetfulness gradually dulls the pain and allows us to pick up the pieces and rebuild, whether it is personal or national bereavement. 

While this is a blessing on the one hand, on the other – even though part of our daily ritual is to remind ourselves constantly of the Beit Hamikdash, we have forgotten so much, that I am not even sure most of us truly understand what we are mourning on Tisha Be'Av. The forgetfulness has worked too well. We all have this void inside us but cannot adequately articulate or pinpoint its cause. As a result, we are in dire need of actually reminding ourselves of the enormity of the calamity that has befallen us. 

The Yalkut Shimoni (Yechezkel 43) says that that immediately following the destruction of the 1st Temple, HKB"H appeared to Yechezkel and showed him the plans of the future Beit Hamikdash. The nation of Israel were broken and being led in chains to Babylon at the time. 

Yechezkel asked HKB"H "Will they be rebuilding now, that You are showing it to me?" HKB"H replied "No, they will not be rebuilding it now, at this moment, but let them study it and keep it alive and I will give them the merit as if they were actually building it!" It was this mindset that resulted in the 2nd Temple being rebuilt a mere 70 years later. 

1953 years after the destruction of the 2nd Temple we are exceedingly lax in following HKB"H's advice to Yechezkel. Yes, we do repeatedly mention the Beit Hamikdash in our prayers and blessings and we deeply mourn its destruction on Tisha Be'Av. However, do we intensely study it and thereby preserve it as a living, throbbing entity? 

I will not even speak about the non-religious world that thinks the Beit Hamikdash is an archaic, obsolete concept of the past that will never return. I am referring to the Torah world, we who intensely study Torah and observe HKB"H's commandments – do we keep the Beit Hamikdash a living, throbbing entity? It is worthwhile checking out the curriculum of most of the Yeshivas (with the exception of Brisk). None of them study Kodshim, the tractates that deal with the Beit Hamikdash. They prefer to concentrate on tractates that have "practical" application today, such as Nezikin (monetary issues), Ktubot (marital issues), etc. By neglecting to study Kodshim we are de-facto relegating it to the same obsolescence as the non-religious world and creating a pseudo-reality of business as usual. Our sincere, fervent yearning for the Beit Hamikdash is in serious decay. 

All is not lost however. The Ba'al Hatanya (Likutei Amarim 1:31) discusses a concept called "shedding form" and "assuming form". In order for a seed to grow, it is necessary to bury it in the ground and allow it to decay. Only once the seed has decayed can it attain rebirth. It sheds its previous form and assumes a new form. From out of the decay of the last 1953 years of exile, new growth will emerge. We already see signs of it with our own eyes. Old men and women once again sit in the city of Jerusalem, as Zecharia prophesied Each day brings us closer to our redemption, we just have to yearn for it with all our being and it will come to pass. 

Parshat Hashavua Trivia Question: How many times did Moshe plead with HKB"H to be allowed into the Land of Israel? 

Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: Which place is "Di Zahav" in the first passuk in parshat Devarim referring to? Rashi says this is the place where the sin of the golden calf took place.