Nachamu - Elana Arian
Nachamu, Nachamu, ami yomar Eloheichem (x2)
Comfort us, comfort us in our wilderness.
Comfort us as we struggle to take of one another.
Comfort us, comfort us in our wilderness.
Comfort us as we struggle with this world.
Haftarah leading up to the High Holy Days:
Comfort us, comfort us in our wilderness.
Comfort us as we struggle to take of one another.
Comfort us, comfort us in our wilderness.
Comfort us as we struggle with this world.
Haftarah leading up to the High Holy Days:
Last week's haftarah of rebuke:
(ב) שִׁמְע֤וּ שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְהַאֲזִ֣ינִי אֶ֔רֶץ כִּ֥י יהוה דִּבֵּ֑ר בָּנִים֙ גִּדַּ֣לְתִּי וְרוֹמַ֔מְתִּי וְהֵ֖ם פָּ֥שְׁעוּ בִֽי׃ (ג) יָדַ֥ע שׁוֹר֙ קֹנֵ֔הוּ וַחֲמ֖וֹר אֵב֣וּס בְּעָלָ֑יו יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔ע עַמִּ֖י לֹ֥א הִתְבּוֹנָֽן׃ (ד) ה֣וֹי ׀ גּ֣וֹי חֹטֵ֗א עַ֚ם כֶּ֣בֶד עָוֺ֔ן זֶ֣רַע מְרֵעִ֔ים בָּנִ֖ים מַשְׁחִיתִ֑ים עָזְב֣וּ אֶת־יהוה נִֽאֲצ֛וּ אֶת־קְד֥וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נָזֹ֥רוּ אָחֽוֹר׃
(2)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For GOD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up—And they have rebelled against Me! (3) An ox knows its owner, A donkey its master’s crib: Israel does not know,My people takes no thought.”(4) Ah, sinful nation! People laden with iniquity! Brood of evildoers! Depraved children! They have forsaken GOD, Spurned the Holy One of Israel, Turned their backs.
Beginning of this week's haftarah of consolation:
(א) נַחֲמ֥וּ נַחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י יֹאמַ֖ר אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(1)Comfort, oh comfort My people, Says your God.
(א)נחמו נחמו . חוזר על נבואותיו העתידות לפי שמכאן ועד סוף הספר דברי נחמו' הפסיק פרשה זו בינם לבין הפורענו' נחמו אתם נביאי נחמו את עמי :
Comfort, comfort. He returns to his future prophecies; since from here to the end of the Book are words of consolations, this section separated them from the prophecies of retribution. Console, you, My prophets, console My people.
Rashi reads the doubling of the first word as a way to distinguish a separation between the chapters of the book of Isaiah. We also use this text of the haftarah as a turning point. We read this line as the opening to the haftarah on the Shabbat after Tisha b'Av.
Why do you think we spend more time on comfort than on rebuke?
Why do you think we spend more time on comfort than on rebuke?
Why do you think the word nachamu (comfort) is repeated twice?
Isaiah exhorts: "Comfort, Comfort my people." Who is to do the comforting? Who is to receive it?
Nachamu does not only mean comfort, but has several meanings.
(ו)וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם יהוה כִּֽי־עָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּ֖ב אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃ (ז) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יהוה אֶמְחֶ֨ה אֶת־הָאָדָ֤ם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֙אתִי֙ מֵעַל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה מֵֽאָדָם֙ עַד־בְּהֵמָ֔ה עַד־רֶ֖מֶשׂ וְעַד־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם כִּ֥י נִחַ֖מְתִּי כִּ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽם׃
וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֮ אֶת־הָעָם֒ וְלֹא־נָחָ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים דֶּ֚רֶךְ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֥י קָר֖וֹב ה֑וּא כִּ֣י ׀ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים פֶּֽן־יִנָּחֵ֥ם הָעָ֛ם בִּרְאֹתָ֥ם מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְשָׁ֥בוּ מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃
Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
1. How does the meaning of "Comfort, Comfort My People" change if we understand the verb to mean something like "to reconsider" or "to have a change of heart"?
2. This haftarah portion begins a 7 week period leading up to Rosh Hashanah. What connection do you see between nachamu -- whether you translate that as "comfort" or "have a change of heart" -- and the High Holidays?
The Torah portion read on this Shabbat, Va'etchanan, contains the passage where Moses pleads with God to enter the Land of Israel, and also includes the Shema, a core Jewish prayer. The haftarah reading for Shabbat Nachamu, from Isaiah, begins with the words "Nachamu, nachamu ami" ("Comfort, comfort My people"),
What connections do you see between the Torah and Haftarah portion? What connection between the Shema and the opening line of the Haftarah?
What connections do you see between the Torah and Haftarah portion? What connection between the Shema and the opening line of the Haftarah?
Rabbi Rachel Barenblat [Velveteen Rabbi]:
Nachamu is in the plural; it means "y'all offer comfort."
God is in the friend who offers to hold a newborn so its exhausted mother can take a shower and get some sleep. God is in those who gather for shiva so the mourner can say kaddish in the presence of a minyan. God is in the friend who makes a pasta salad and brings it to the home of a woman whose husband has slipped a disc and can't get out of bed. God is in the parent who rocks a croupy child in a steamy bathroom in the middle of the night. We find God in our acts of love for one another.
When you listen to someone pour out their worries, you are God's ears, listening. When you place a hand on someone's shoulderblade, or offer an embrace, you are God's hands, soothing. When you make meatloaf for Take and Eat, your hands are God's hands, providing sustenance. And when you offer comfort, you are God's presence, comforting.
This is how I understand נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי יֹאמַר אֱלֹהֵיכֶם -- Nachamu, nachamu ami, yomer Eloheichem. "Y'all comfort -- really comfort -- My people, says Your God." It's our job to comfort one another. And when we do, we bring God's presence into the world and into our lives.
God is in the friend who offers to hold a newborn so its exhausted mother can take a shower and get some sleep. God is in those who gather for shiva so the mourner can say kaddish in the presence of a minyan. God is in the friend who makes a pasta salad and brings it to the home of a woman whose husband has slipped a disc and can't get out of bed. God is in the parent who rocks a croupy child in a steamy bathroom in the middle of the night. We find God in our acts of love for one another.
When you listen to someone pour out their worries, you are God's ears, listening. When you place a hand on someone's shoulderblade, or offer an embrace, you are God's hands, soothing. When you make meatloaf for Take and Eat, your hands are God's hands, providing sustenance. And when you offer comfort, you are God's presence, comforting.
This is how I understand נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי יֹאמַר אֱלֹהֵיכֶם -- Nachamu, nachamu ami, yomer Eloheichem. "Y'all comfort -- really comfort -- My people, says Your God." It's our job to comfort one another. And when we do, we bring God's presence into the world and into our lives.