Comfort, Comfort My People

This week's meditation comes to you from Toronto where I am in training all week. I am speaking tomorrow at the shul, but I thought that I would give you a little foretaste of it.

This week begins the 7 weeks of consolation. This follows on the 3 weeks of rebuke which culminated in the observance of Tisha B'Av, the commemoration of the destruction of the temples and many other tragedies.

Our Haftorah reading (reading from the prophets) this week is from the first verses of Isaiah 40. It begins, "Nachamu, nachamu ami", "Comfort, comfort, my people". God brings words of consolation to a severely chastened Israel. He tells them that their time of punishment is over, that He loves them, has not forgotten His covenant with them, and will restore them.

The rabbis asked why the word "comfort" is repeated twice. The answer is that they stand for the 2 temples. But it also points to the future temple, the Third Temple. The one that God will bring down from heaven at the end of time. Just as the second Temple was far more grand and glorious than the first, so too this third one will be infinitely more glorious than the second one.

So as we mourn for the destruction that continues to exist in the world, we can take comfort in the fact that someday this will all end in Yeshua's glorious return, not as humble servant, but as powerful king. And to that New Jerusalem, with its Temple at the center.

May we all be comforted.

Rebuke, Repentance, Consolation

Yesterday was the 3rd and last sabbath of rebuke leading up to Tisha B'Av. The reading was from Isaiah. In the Bible the three books are arranged chronologically; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. But in the Talmud, they are arranged differently; Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah. Why is this? The rabbis said that it was because Jeremiah was full of pure rebuke, while Ezekiel was a mix of rebuke and consolation, while Isaiah was almost entirely filled with consolations.

But Isaiah begins with some of the harshest words that God ever sent a prophet to speak to Israel. Why should a book that is almost entirely filled with consoling words, start with this rebuke? Maimonides said that this was because the first step towards repentance was to recognize that you have done wrong. Only then can you repent and receive words of consolation from God.

Tomorrow night begins Tisha B'Av where we remember the destruction of the two Temples and many other tragedies that have befallen Israel on this day. It is tradition to read the book of Lamentations on this night while seated on the floor. It is also begins a day of fasting.

As we enter this commemoration, let us to stock of our failures and repent and receive the consolations of Hashem.

Avoiding Prophets

Tomorrow is the second of the three Sabbaths of Rebuke. If you recall, there are three weeks between the 17^th of Tammuz and the 9^th of Av where the readings from the prophets recall the sins of Israel that led to the destruction of the Temple and the Exile.

This week’s reading is from Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4; 4:1-2. God uses strong language through His prophet Jeremiah to chastise Israel for its idolatry. He uses metaphors like harlots spreading out under any tree and donkeys in heat. God plaintively calls out to Israel, “What have I not done for you that you would defile yourselves with these idols? Did I not redeem you out of Egypt and bring you to a rich land?” He then tells them that they have brought the coming destruction upon themselves.

This passage is reminiscent of Yeshua’s mournful lament over Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Mattityahu/Matthew 23:37)

The reading begins with the words, “Hear the words of Hashem[1], O House of Jacob…” There is a midrash[2] (Pesikta d’Rav Kahana) that says that the reason it begins with these words is to tell Israel, if you had listened to God’s words, the Holy Torah, you would not have needed prophets sent to you to reprimand you. Had Israel followed God’s Law and not worshipped idols, God would not be sending Jeremiah and the coming destruction would have been avoided.

So it is with us. I believe that sometimes life circumstances can be brought upon us as a wake up call; to call us back to obedience and devotion to God. I don’t believe as some do that everything we experience in this life is brought upon us by God as a chastisement, but I think sometimes it is. These are “prophets” that serve as a wake up call. If we listen and obey God’s holy law then there would be no need for Him to send us “prophets” to call us to repentance. We can avoid these prophets, if we would only listen to and follow God’s Holy Torah.

May we all seek a life of holiness and devotion to God’s Holy Torah so that we can avoid the need for Him to send us prophets.

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[1] Literally “The Name”. This is used so as not to speak God’s holy name, sometimes rendered as LORD.

[2] Creative interpretation of scripture

Three Weeks of Rebuke

Tomorrow night, 7/3, is the 17th of Tammuz in the Jewish calendar. This is the day where the Romans breached the walls into Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of the Temple. It is also on this day, according to Jewish tradition, that Moses shattered the tablets when he came down from the mountain and saw them worshipping the Golden Calf.

This is a minor fast day and marks the beginning of the Three Weeks of Rebuke leading up to Tisha B'Av. The readings from the prophets during each of these weeks are prophecies of the coming of the destruction of the Temple and speak of Israel's sins that caused it.

During these three weeks no weddings are performed, we do not cut our hair, nor purchase new clothes. It is a time of mourning, somewhat like the Christian Lenten season.

Tisha B'Av is Israel's darkest hour and is a major fast day. On this day the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and (centuries later) the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. Yet, it is called Israel's brightest hour as well. For, according to Jewish tradition, it is also on this day that the Messiah will be born, who will bring restoration to Israel and be a healing to the nations. It is for this reason that the liturgical readings of the Besorah (NT) in many Messianic synagogues focus on the death and resurrection of Yeshua. He said that if we tore down the Temple (meaning His body) He would rebuild it in 3 days (meaning the resurrection).

It is a somber season and yet one filled with hope. The rabbis saw this as also a time when God heals the relationship with His "wife" Israel. Immediately after Tisha B'Av begins the Seven Weeks of Consolation leading up to Rosh Hashanah. The readings from the prophets during this period speak of God's love for Israel and His promise to return us to the Land, restore the Temple.

Rosh Hashanah points to this Great Day of Liberation. "On that day," proclaims the prophet, "the great shofar will be sounded. And they will come, those lost in the land of Assyria and those forsaken in the land of Egypt, and bow before God on the Holy mountain, Jerusalem." (Isaiah 27:13) It is on this Day, that Messiah Yeshua shall return bringing healing to Israel and the nations.