The Context

The month traditionally referred to as “Menachem Av,” wherein we commemorate the tragic destruction of two Temples, literally translates as “comforting the Father.” That is, it does not refer to G-d’s comforting of the Jewish people, as we might expect, but rather, to our ability to comfort G-d for the destruction and the ensuing exile.

A similar idea is expressed by the Maggid of Mezeritch regarding prayer. Prayer is traditionally understood as the person asking G-d to fulfill his needs. But the Maggid taught that in prayer a person must beseech G-d to fulfill the Divine lack, the incompleteness of G-d’s revelation within creation.