WHERE IS THE COMFORT?
Tisha b’Av has come and gone. It is time to look with clear eyes at the world around us. “Nachamu, nachamu ami … Comfort, comfort My people, says Hashem. Speak to the heart of Yerushalayim and proclaim to her that her time [of exile] has been fulfilled.” (Haftaras Va’eschanan)
What comfort can we draw from Shabbos Nachamu at this time in history, when the world is accusing us of terrible crimes? Where is the comfort? What has changed since a few days ago, when we read these words, “Alas, she sits in solitude. The city that was great with people has become like a widow…. She weeps bitterly in the night and her tear is on her cheek…. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies….” (Eichah 1:1ff)
Where is the comfort?
As always, our only comfort is from the Mouth of Hashem, our only Protector! Please listen, as Moshe Rabbeinu speaks words of wisdom and prophesy, which seem to pertain not only to immediately upcoming events but also to the End of Days, the times in which we are now living. “When Hashem your G-d will bring you to the Land … and many nations will be thrust away from before you – haChiti, haGirgashi, haEmori, haCanaani, haPrizi, haChivi, v’Haivusi – seven nations greater and mightier than you, and Hashem your G-d will deliver them before you and you will smite them, you shall utterly destroy them….” (Dvarim 7:1-2)
Who are the “Chiti?” Who are the “Girgashi?” It is just a story, right?
No, my friends. These are fearsome hordes of enemies possessing deadly weapons and deep hatred. Many nations hate each other; many individuals hate other individuals, but there is only one nation on earth which is hated by every other nation!
Israel has a great army, but we are tiny! It is imperative to understand that Hashem protects us “not because you are more numerous than all the peoples, for you are the fewest,” but because He loves us.
Over recent months, have we not seen miraculous victories over nations “greater and mightier” than we? Do we possess the missiles and bombs of Iran and Yemen and Iraq and Jordan and China and North Korea and Pakistan …. ? The list goes on and on. Yes, the United States has been our friend, but that is also a miracle. President Trump’s unique position as almost the lone friend of Israel is a miracle from the Hand of our One Protector.
They accuse us of genocide.
My friends, please listen carefully. There is no nation more merciful in peace and war than the Children of Israel. But we are commanded: “You will smite them; you shall utterly destroy them….” (Dvarim 7:2)
Is this an exaggeration?
The Torah has been given to the entire world. It has been translated into every language. And the Torah says in black and white that, when we enter our Land, the nations who occupy that Land are to be smitten and destroyed.
I am not paskening whether these words apply to our current situation or were applicable only to the original conquest of the Holy Land. But the nations of the world should be very frightened to oppose the Children of Israel, because their punishment will be stupendous. “Thus said your L-rd Hashem … Behold! I have taken from your hand the cup of stupefaction, the phial of … My fury. No longer shall you drink from it, but I will put it into the hand of your tormentors ….” (Haftaras Shoftim)
Soon they will swallow the bitter waters. “This will be the plague with which Hashem will smite all the nations that rallied against Yerushalayim: their flesh will rot while they stand erect; their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongue will rot in their mouths….” (Zecharia 14:12)
The nations and individuals who hate us must understand that the power of Hashem is limitless, as is His love of Israel. “And the word of Hashem was upon me, saying: Go and proclaim in the ears of Yerushalayim, saying, ‘Thus said Hashem: I remember for your sake the kindness of your youth, the love of your bridal days, your following after Me in the wilderness in a land not sown.’ Israel is sacred unto Hashem, the first of His grain. All who devour him shall bear guilt; evil shall come upon them … the word of Hashem.” (Yirmiahu 2:1ff)
This is our comfort, my friends. In the days to come, I believe that we are going to see wonders and miracles unlike anything since the days of Yetzias Mitzraim. “All the nations are as nothing before Him, as nothingness and emptiness ….” (Haftaras Va’eschanan) I do not believe that the consolation can be far away.
“Speak to the heart of Yerushalayim and proclaim to her that her time [of exile] has been fulfilled, that her iniquity has been conciliated….” (ibid)
May we see the Glorious Redemption soon in our days!
“Nachamu nachamu ami!”
GLOSSARY
Eichah: Book of Lamentations, read on Tisha b’Av
Pasken: to decide questions of Jewish law
Shabbos Nachamu: the “Shabbos of Comfort” after the fast of Tisha b’Av
Tisha b’Av: 9th of the Month of Av, fast day commemorating the destruction of both Holy Temples
Yetzias Mitzraim: the exodus from Egypt
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