THE DOUBLE COMFORT OF NACHAMU NACHAMU
Vaeschanan
The Novi Yishaya says “For You are our Father, for Avraham does not know us and Yisrael does not recognise us….”
The Gemara explains that in the future, Hashem will say to Avraham “Your children have sinned against Me.” Avraham will reply “let them be wiped out for the sake of Your Holy Name.” Hashem will then say to Yaakov (Yisroel) “Your children have sinned against Me.” And Yaakov will reply “let them be wiped out for the sake of Your Holy Name.”
Unsatisfied by both of their responses, Hashem will approach Yitzchok and say “Your children have sinned against Me.” And Yitzchok will respond “Master of the World, are they my children and not Your children?” Yitzchok will defend the Jewish people and take upon himself their punishment. At that moment, the Jewish people will say to Yitzchok, “for you are our father.”
The Kabbalists teach that the three patriarchs represent the three primary Sefiros. Avraham embodied the attribute of Chessed - loving kindness. Yaakov was the persona of the attribute of Rachamim (or Tiferes) - mercy. Yitzchak represents the Middah of Din (or Gevurah), judgement and severity.
So why in the future will we turn to Yitzchok and say that you are our father and not Avraham or Yaakov? And why of all the patriarchs will Yitzchok be the one to defend the Jewish people out of his great love?
Chessed and Rachamim are qualities of open, revealed goodness. In contrast, Gevurah manifests as something negative. However, Chassidus explains that hidden within Gevurah is an even greater goodness than in Chessed. It is so lofty that it cannot be revealed and must be hidden within a veil of severity. This is why at present we do not perceive and cannot comprehend the goodness within Gevurah.
This can be illustrated with the experience of a child being disciplined by their parent. The child interprets the discipline as negative, unjust and harsh. They will profess that their parents must hate them.
But as they mature and develop a deeper capacity of understanding, they will understand that their parent’s discipline was really a powerful expression of love from their parents, who want the best for them and to guide them in the right way. The love necessary to discipline must come from a deeper place than the love expressed in the revealed Chessed of giving gifts, spoiling and playing.
The same is true with our experience in Golus. With our limited human comprehension, we are incapable of understanding how their can be any positivity in exile and suffering. And this is how it should be, because if we could make peace with it, we would never cry out for Moshiach.
When Moshiach comes, like the maturing child with a completely new capacity of understanding, we will see things differently. When we look back at Golus, the Novi says that we will say to Hashem “I give thanks to You Hashem for You were angry with me.”
In a letter dated Av 1951, sent to the then chief Rabbi of Ireland, Rabbi Jacobowitz, the Rebbe explained the double comfort of Nachamu Nachamu.
This comfort is not just double quantitatively. It is qualitatively double, a comfort of the highest order. The Rebbe explains this by drawing on two Talmudic stories that show how that which appears negative can in fact be positive.
In one of his travels, Rabbi Akiva experienced a series of mishaps; he was denied entry into the city and was forced to stay overnight in the field, his only candle blew out leaving him in the dark and his rooster and donkey were killed by wild beasts. At each turn he would say “that which Hashem does is done for the good.” The following morning, he saw how all of these mishaps were to his benefit, saving his life from a band of robbers who passed by him in the field and ransacked the city.
The second story relates how Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu was sent by the Jewish community to intercede with the emperor in Rome. He took a chest of gold and jewels as a tribute. As he slept overnight in an inn, the innkeepers raided his room, stole the jewels and filled the box with earth. When he presented the box of earth to the emperor and saw its worthless contents, he said his usual refrain “Gam Zu LeTovah” - this too is good. A miracle occurred; when the earth was thrown, it would turn into spears and blades. Thrilled with this gift that he could use in battle, the emperor sent Nachum home laden with riches.
Whilst similar, there is huge difference between the ending of these stories and the two Rabbis declarations of faith.
In the case of Rabbi Akiva, the mishaps themselves were still negative events, only that they led to a positive outcome. This is expressed in Rabbi Akiva’s words that what Hashem does is ultimately “done for the good”
In the case of Nachum Ish Gamzu, the negative incident where the jewels were substituted with earth, was revealed to be the ultimate goodness itself. This is the meaning of his motto “Gam Zu LeTovah”, that this too – even the negative itself – is for good.
Seeing how our travails and suffering in Golus comes for a reason or purpose – the perspective of Rabbi Akiva - is only a basic level of comfort. The double-fold comfort is when we will ultimately be granted the ability to see and understand how what we experienced as travails was not just ultimately for our best interest, but were themselves an outpouring of Hashem’s great goodness.
The only true consolation for the bitterness and suffering that we have lived through in Golus, will be when Moshiach comes and we will have this gift of understanding.
The words Nachamu Nachamu (נחמו נחמו) have the combined Gematria of 208, the same as the name Yitzchok (יצחק)
When Hashem will allow us to see and understand the hidden good within the attribute of Din that surpasses even the apparent goodness of Chessed (Avraham) and Rachamim (Yaakov), we will see in Yitzchok the ultimate expression of a father’s infinite love. Then we will truly have Nachamu Nachamu, the greatest comfort of all.
The Gemara explains that in the future, Hashem will say to Avraham “Your children have sinned against Me.” Avraham will reply “let them be wiped out for the sake of Your Holy Name.” Hashem will then say to Yaakov (Yisroel) “Your children have sinned against Me.” And Yaakov will reply “let them be wiped out for the sake of Your Holy Name.”
Unsatisfied by both of their responses, Hashem will approach Yitzchok and say “Your children have sinned against Me.” And Yitzchok will respond “Master of the World, are they my children and not Your children?” Yitzchok will defend the Jewish people and take upon himself their punishment. At that moment, the Jewish people will say to Yitzchok, “for you are our father.”
The Kabbalists teach that the three patriarchs represent the three primary Sefiros. Avraham embodied the attribute of Chessed - loving kindness. Yaakov was the persona of the attribute of Rachamim (or Tiferes) - mercy. Yitzchak represents the Middah of Din (or Gevurah), judgement and severity.
So why in the future will we turn to Yitzchok and say that you are our father and not Avraham or Yaakov? And why of all the patriarchs will Yitzchok be the one to defend the Jewish people out of his great love?
Chessed and Rachamim are qualities of open, revealed goodness. In contrast, Gevurah manifests as something negative. However, Chassidus explains that hidden within Gevurah is an even greater goodness than in Chessed. It is so lofty that it cannot be revealed and must be hidden within a veil of severity. This is why at present we do not perceive and cannot comprehend the goodness within Gevurah.
This can be illustrated with the experience of a child being disciplined by their parent. The child interprets the discipline as negative, unjust and harsh. They will profess that their parents must hate them.
But as they mature and develop a deeper capacity of understanding, they will understand that their parent’s discipline was really a powerful expression of love from their parents, who want the best for them and to guide them in the right way. The love necessary to discipline must come from a deeper place than the love expressed in the revealed Chessed of giving gifts, spoiling and playing.
The same is true with our experience in Golus. With our limited human comprehension, we are incapable of understanding how their can be any positivity in exile and suffering. And this is how it should be, because if we could make peace with it, we would never cry out for Moshiach.
When Moshiach comes, like the maturing child with a completely new capacity of understanding, we will see things differently. When we look back at Golus, the Novi says that we will say to Hashem “I give thanks to You Hashem for You were angry with me.”
In a letter dated Av 1951, sent to the then chief Rabbi of Ireland, Rabbi Jacobowitz, the Rebbe explained the double comfort of Nachamu Nachamu.
This comfort is not just double quantitatively. It is qualitatively double, a comfort of the highest order. The Rebbe explains this by drawing on two Talmudic stories that show how that which appears negative can in fact be positive.
In one of his travels, Rabbi Akiva experienced a series of mishaps; he was denied entry into the city and was forced to stay overnight in the field, his only candle blew out leaving him in the dark and his rooster and donkey were killed by wild beasts. At each turn he would say “that which Hashem does is done for the good.” The following morning, he saw how all of these mishaps were to his benefit, saving his life from a band of robbers who passed by him in the field and ransacked the city.
The second story relates how Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu was sent by the Jewish community to intercede with the emperor in Rome. He took a chest of gold and jewels as a tribute. As he slept overnight in an inn, the innkeepers raided his room, stole the jewels and filled the box with earth. When he presented the box of earth to the emperor and saw its worthless contents, he said his usual refrain “Gam Zu LeTovah” - this too is good. A miracle occurred; when the earth was thrown, it would turn into spears and blades. Thrilled with this gift that he could use in battle, the emperor sent Nachum home laden with riches.
Whilst similar, there is huge difference between the ending of these stories and the two Rabbis declarations of faith.
In the case of Rabbi Akiva, the mishaps themselves were still negative events, only that they led to a positive outcome. This is expressed in Rabbi Akiva’s words that what Hashem does is ultimately “done for the good”
In the case of Nachum Ish Gamzu, the negative incident where the jewels were substituted with earth, was revealed to be the ultimate goodness itself. This is the meaning of his motto “Gam Zu LeTovah”, that this too – even the negative itself – is for good.
Seeing how our travails and suffering in Golus comes for a reason or purpose – the perspective of Rabbi Akiva - is only a basic level of comfort. The double-fold comfort is when we will ultimately be granted the ability to see and understand how what we experienced as travails was not just ultimately for our best interest, but were themselves an outpouring of Hashem’s great goodness.
The only true consolation for the bitterness and suffering that we have lived through in Golus, will be when Moshiach comes and we will have this gift of understanding.
The words Nachamu Nachamu (נחמו נחמו) have the combined Gematria of 208, the same as the name Yitzchok (יצחק)
When Hashem will allow us to see and understand the hidden good within the attribute of Din that surpasses even the apparent goodness of Chessed (Avraham) and Rachamim (Yaakov), we will see in Yitzchok the ultimate expression of a father’s infinite love. Then we will truly have Nachamu Nachamu, the greatest comfort of all.