I would like to focus on a topic related to the Shiva DeNechemta (שבע דנחמתא) – the seven weeks of consolation in which words of nechama from the navi Yeshayahu are read as the Haftarah. The Tur, in presenting signs or hints as to the sequence of Parshiot that are read before and after various holidays (Orach Chaim 428), speaks about what Parsha is read after Tisha B’Av: צוּמוּ וּצְלוּ – fast and then pray. We first fast on the day of Tisha B’Av, and then we read the Parsha that opens with Moshe Rabbeinu’s Tefillah.
In addition to the sequence of Parshiot, an additional idea can be extracted from this hint. We are being encouraged here by the Tur after having just fasted with full expectations that Mashiach would arrive. There are so many conflagrations around us that point to the moment being now. We expected this one to hit that one, that other group to take out the next one, and so forth until the great announcement would be broadcast in Yerushalayim: “הותַּר לְפִּרְ סוּם – Cleared for Publication: Mashiach Has Arrived!” After a difficult year of war and pain, we were sure the time to ascend to Yerushalayim to meet our Redeemer had arrived. But alas, it hadn’t. The day passed, we fasted, we cried, and we went back to our routines the next afternoon, chalking up another Tisha B’Av observed – the 1955th in total – without redemption.
צוּמוּ וּצְלוּ – we are being encouraged after the letdown and feelings of despair the week triggered. In the Haftarah read on Tisha B’Av morning, the navi Yirmiyahu says: עָבַר קָצִיר כָּלָה קָיִץ וַאֲנַחְנוּ לוֹא נוֹשׁ ָעְנוּ – The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. The date passed but we are still without redemption.
The seven Haftarot we’ll read between now and Rosh Hashanah represent a sequence in which the level of consolation offered increases week by week. It begins with Hakadosh Baruch Hu sending the Nevi’im with a message of consolation: לֹהֵ יכֶ ם-נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּ י יֹאמַ ר אֱ. Knesset Yisrael refuses to be consoled, however: וֹן עֲזָבַנִי ה' וַ ה' שׁ ְ כ ֵ ח ָ נ ִ י.
The prophets return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu to inform Him the people would not be consoled: ָה סֹעֲרָ ה לֹא נֻחָמָה, at which point Hakadosh Baruch Hu consoles them Himself, directly: אָ נֹכִ י אָ נֹכִ י הוּא מְ נַחֶ מְ כֶ ם. Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin (Pri Tzaddik, Vatechanan 13) comments on this sequence, and says this is why we read Parshat Va’etchanan immediately following Tisha B’Av. After so many years, where is our consolation, he asks. If Rabbi Akiva, the Tana’im, Amora’im, Rishonim and Acaharonim were unable to rebuild the Beit Hamikdash, how could we possibly manage? Are we really expected to achieve what Rashi and the Rambam could not?
He then answers powerfully: וּמִ זֶּה יִהְ יֶה נָכוֹן לִ בֵּ נוּ בָּ טוּחַ בָּ הּ ' , וֹתֵ ינוּ אֵינָם חוֹזְרִ ים רֵ יקָ ם שׁ ֶ ג . בְּ רַ חֲ מִ ים תּ ָ שׁ וּ ב לִ ים תּ ָ מִ יד וְ לִ ירוּ שׁ ָ לַ יִ ם עִ ירְ ך שׁ ֶ אָ נוּ מִ תְ פּ ַ ל , הֲגַם שׁ ֶאֵין אָנוּ זוֹכִים עוֹד בְּפֹעַל אַל יִפֹּל לֵב הָאָדָם עָלָיו. מִ פְּנֵי שׁ ֶבֶּאֱמֶת כָּל הַתְּ פִל וּת נַפְ שׁ וֹת יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ ל פּ וֹעֲ לִ ים בְּ רוּחָ נִ י , תְּ שׁ וּקָתוֹ כָּך כָּל פְּרָ ט נֶפֶשׁ לְפִי עֵרֶ ך הוּא זוֹכֶה לְתַ כְ לִית הַ מְ כֻוָּן לְהִ תְ נַחֵ ם בְּ לִבּ וֹ , כּ ְ מוֹ שׁ ֶ אָ מְ רוּ זַ "ל כּ ָ ל הַ מּ ִ תְ אַ בּ ֵ ל עַל יְרוּשׁ ָלַיִם זוֹכֶה וְרוֹאֶה בְּשִׂ מְ חָתָהּ.
And from this, our hearts will be rightly assured in her, that our prayers do not return empty. For we are always praying, 'And to Jerusalem, Your city, in mercy You shall return.' Even though we do not yet see it in action, let not a person’s heart fall because of it. For in truth, all the prayers of the souls of Israel have a spiritual effect, and each individual soul, according to the measure of its longing, thus attains the intended goal and finds comfort in its heart, as our sages of blessed memory said, 'Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will merit and see its joy.'"
If you fasted, davened, and cried on Tisha B’Av, do not think it was for naught. Each Tefillah adds another brick to the Beit Hamikdash, and this will continue until the requisite height is reached. Similarly, Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 Tefillot in our Parsha and Chazal say had he added one more Tefillah, he’d have been allowed in. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu stopped him: אַל־תּוֹסֶף דַּבֵּר אֵלַי עוֹד בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה – Enough! Never speak to Me of this matter again! But Moshe Rabbeinu until that point never gave up, adding one more Tefillah and then another Tefillah and then another. Rabbi Tzadok adds, the language Chazal use regarding seeing the rebuilding of Yerushalayim and the Beit Hamikdash is not in future tense but rather in present tense: זוֹכֶה וְרוֹאֶה. It doesn’t say will merit and will see, but rather merits and sees. The same is truen in all our Tefillot. We do not recite the bracha תִּ בְנֶה יְרוּשׁ ָ לַיִם but rather בּוֹנֵה יְרוּשׁ ָ לָיִם, just as we say הַ מַּ חֲ זִ יר שׁ ְ כִ ינָתוֹ לְצִ יוֹן and not יַחֲזִיר שׁ ְ כִ ינָתוֹ לְצִיּוֹן. What does this mean when we haven’t actually seen any actual building or physical progress? He says it means each of our Tefillot bring us closer to the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash, and each step closer we take is a critical act of the building process. Each step brings us closer and closer to the finish line. Thus, we recite the brachot in present tense because we merit seeing the rebuilding of Yerushalayim. According to our passion and conviction, that is how much progress we make right now.
I do not recall where I saw this mention, but it is brought in the name of the Chatam Sofer that he asks why we don’t fast on the day of Tisha B’Av when it falls on Shabbat. Why do we push off the fast to the next day and eat like kings on the ninth of Av? Why do we forego stale bread with eggs and ashes and allow the feast of Shlomo HaMelech during the Seudah Hamafseket – the meal immediately preceding the fast? Why can’t we mourn the loss of the Beit Hamikdash on Shabbat, he asks, and his answer is incredible. He answers along the lines of Rabbi Tzadok, in that every act of mourning is in essence an act of building the Beit Hamikdash, and the act of building is absolutely prohibited on Shabbat! This highlights the centrality and importance of our mourning and Tefillot in the process and serves as consolation after our eyes have yet to witness any physical rebuilding.
We’ll now dive into the first Haftarah of the seven and B’ezrat Hashem continue with this theme next week as we move along the path of consolation. It open with: נַחֲ מוּ נַחֲ מוּ עַ מִּ י יֹאמַ ר אֱ -לֹהֵ יכֶ ם׃ דַּ בְּרוּ עַל־לֵב יְרוּשׁ ָלִַם וְקִ רְ אוּ אֵלֶיהָ כִּי מָלְאָה צְבָאָהּ כִּי נִרְ צָה עֲוֺנָהּ כִּי לָקְ חָה מִ יה' כִּ פְ לַיִ ם בְּ כָ ל־חַ טּ ֹאתֶ יהָ ׃ Comfort, oh comfort My people, says your G-d. Speak comfortably to Yerushalayim, and cry to her, that her war service is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she has received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
The first question asked by many commentators is why the double the language. This applies in our Haftarah as well as in subsequent Haftarot where double language is invoked. Chazal say a punishment that is doubled warrants a double consolation: כִּי לָקְ חָה מִי ד ה' כִּ פְ לַיִם. Understanding what double really means is another topic, however.
There is a set of sefarim on Nevi’im titled Mishpetzot Zahav which contains a volume dedicated to the Shiva DeNechemta, and in it he compares the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot to the seven weeks between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah. Both are seven weeks of preparation – one for Matan Torah, and the other Yom HaDin. The Haftarot we read are part of a seven-week process in coming closer to, and making amends with, Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Therefore, as we enter Rosh Hashanah, we recite the piyyut אָ ח וֹ ת קְ טַ נּ ָ ה which concludes תָּ חֵ ל שׁ ָ נָה וּבִ רְ כוֹתֶ יהָ תִּ כְ לֶה שׁ ָ נָה וְ קִ לְ לוֹתֶ יהָ , – May the year and its curses end, may the year and its blessings begin.
I recently read a story about Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who was presented with a gift at the start of the year – a calendar with zemanim and all. People like to give such a gift, figuring the recipient will remember them each time they look at the calendar throughout the year. In any event, Rav Auerbach started flipping through the calendar he received, checking to see what days of the week each of the holidays fell on that year, and upon reaching Rosh Hashanah of the following year, he promptly handed the calendar back to the gift giver and said, “Thank you, but I don’t want this calendar.” Asked why, he pointed to the 29th of Elul, the final day of the year, where printed in bold was: תִּ כְ לֶה שׁ ָ נָה וְ קִ לְ לוֹתֶ יהָ.
“A calendar that, before the year has even begun, states its curses should end – I don’t want such a calendar.” It is fair to recite this at the conclusion of a year such as ours where there is no shortage of curses, but to pre-determine that a year will be filled with curses? No.
Back to Mishpetzot Zahav, he says, in order for a year to end on the note of curses culminating, there is a process involved and the seven weeks of consolation are a part of it. Showing up on Erev Rosh Hashanah and asking for a speedy reversal of fortune and a blessed year is not the manner in which to achieve it. The process begins right after Tisha B’Av with our yearning for the Beit Hamikdash and a rebuilt Yerushalayim. I heard from Rabbi Meir Abuchatzeira ztz”l that Teshuva is easy in Elul as the number of days before Rosh Hashanah quickly wanes; performing Teshuva in Av, while on vacation – that is the trick! Av is the right time to begin Teshuva, not Elul.
Mishpetzot Zahav concludes, this is why the final Haftarah of the Shiva DeNechemta is לֹהַ י-תָּגֵל נַפְשִׁי בֵּאשׂוֹשׂ אָשִׂ ישׂ בַּה'. This Haftarah is no longer one of consolation. If consolation requires double the punishment and there were three Haftarot of rebuke (or warning) prior to Tisha B’Av (ג' דפרענותא), it suggests we need six Haftarot of consolation and not seven. The final Haftarah, which comes after the sixth and final message of consolation, represents the finished state – that of a joyful closeness with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Additionally, the opening Pasuk of that Haftarah has two components. The first involves rejoicing with Hakadosh Baruch Hu and uses His name of Rachamim (שׂוֹשׂ אָשִׂ ישׂ בַּה'), while the second involves similar delight but using His name of Din (לֹהַ י-תָּגֵל נַפְשִׁי בֵּא).
How can one be happy with Midat HaDin and judgement? The answer is simple. When you reach the recognition that Din is not truly Din, and what happens to you is for your own ultimate good even if it appears as punishment and suffering at the time, that is when you can rejoice with Midat HaDin. We too often only learn that in hindsight, after seeing what would have happened had some event or deal actually taken place rather than suddenly fall apart. At the time of derailment, we cursed the punishment, but it was ultimately for the good. By the seventh week of this time period, there is no longer a need for us to be comforted and consoled – at the level we’ve reached, we can comfort and console ourselves!
I’d like to add one point with regards to the opening two Pesukim of our Haftarah. The name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu which is used in the consolation (1st Pasuk) is the name of Din – לֹהֵ יכֶ ם-אֱ, whereas the name used in reference to the punishment (2nd Pasuk) is that of Rachamim – ה and ו-ה-י. Why is that? Should it not be the reverse? I saw an answer in the Midrash (Eicha Zuta; Yalkut Shimoni 1020) which is based on an entirely different understanding of נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי. Everything is reversed, the opposite of what we see and traditionally think. נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי is not Hakadosh Baruch Hu offering us consolation, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu asking us to console Him! The Pasuk should be read as: [Give] comfort, [give] comfort, my people. When a parent loses a child, lo aleinu, is it not the parent who is consoled? When a person loses their home to a fire, is it not the homeowner who is comforted? When a landowner loses their vineyard, is it not the landowner who is consoled? When a farmer loses their sheep to an attacking lion, is it not the farmer who is comforted? Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s children were taken, His home was burned, His vineyard was destroyed, and His flock were torn apart. He is therefore asking us for consolation, and this is why immediately after Tisha B’Av the name of our month changes to מְ נַ חֵ ם אָ ב – comforting the Father.
There is an element of encouragement here, which I believe I heard in the name of the Ruzhiner. If we’re still crying AND lamenting over the Beit Hamikdash, it’s a clear sign it is still alive. We haven’t moved on, and it is not forgotten whatsoever. Similar to Yaacov Avinu who refused to accept that his son, Yosef, was dead. He refused to be consoled all those years. Whether the Beit Hamikdash is situated below or above – a topic we’ll get to shortly – it does not matter. What matters is that the Beit Hamikdash is alive!
We’ll now switch gears to the Parsha before returning to the Haftarah, and through our various learnings we’ll establish the pillars for next week’s shiur.
On the opening word of our Parsha, וָאֶ תְ חַ נַּן, Chazal say there are ten languages of Tefillah (Yalkut Shimoni lists thirteen): שׁ ַוְועָה, צְעָקָה, נְאָקָה, רִ ינָּה, פְּגִיעָה, בִּיצּוּל, קְ רִ יאָה, נִיפּוּל, פִּילּוּל, תַ חֲ נוּנִ ים. The Midrash (Devarim Rabbah 2:1) then brings examples of each in a Pasuk the reflects prayer. The Midrash then says, if the term וָאֶ תְ חַ נַּן is used for Moshe Rabbeinu here, know that this term reflects the request for a מַ תְּ נַ ת חִ ינּ ָ ם – a free gift, rather than asking for something you deserve, and from here we learn that creations are owed nothing by their Creator. Many, if not all, of these Tefillah terms will be encountered on the night of Yom Kippur, in the piyyut of יַעֲלֶה תַּחֲנוּנֵנוּ. It is not too early to break out the Machzor and related sefarim, and to use our summer downtime to prepare ourselves for the Yamim Noraim. As an example, here is the first line:
יַעֲ לֶה תַחֲנוּנֵנוּ מֵעֶֽרֶ ב. וְיָבֹא שׁ ַ וְ עָ תֵֽ נו מִ בּ ֹֽ קֶ ר. וְ יֵרָ אֶ ה רִ נ ּ ו עַד עָֽ רֶ ב: May our supplication ascend from the evening, and may our cry come from the morning, and may our song appear till evening.
The Yalkut Shimoni adds: עֲ תִ י רָ ה, עֲ מִ ידָ ה and חִ לּוּי. There is one idea I’d like to bring forth on these additions, and it relates to the term עֲ תִ י רָ ה, which appears once in the Torah, with regards to Yitzchak Avinu: וַיֶעְ תַּר יִצְ חָ ק לַה' לְ נֹכַ ח אִשְׁ תּוֹ – Yitzchak pleaded with Hashem on behalf of his wife. The term does appear later on in Shemot, but not with regards to the Tefillah of a Jew. Twice Pharoah asks Moshe to pray on his behalf and the term appears there: וַיֵצֵא מֹשֶׁה מֵעִם פַּרְ עֹה וַיֶעְ תַּר אֶ ל ה', and וַיֵצֵא מֵעִם פַּרְ עֹה וַיֶעְ תַּר אֶ ל ה'. In our own Tefillah, we rarely find this term utilized. One place it does appear is prior to Birkat Kohanim on festivals: וְ תֵ עָ רֵ ב לְ פָ נֶ י ך כּ ְ ע ו ֹ ל ָ ה ו ּ כְ קָ רְ בּ ָ ן עֲ תִ י רָ תֵ נ ו. Bnei Ashkenaz also find the term on the first night of Selichot, on Motzei Shabbat: בְּ עָמְ דָ ם בַּלֵילוֹת עֲ תִ י רָ תָ ם רְ צֵ ה – Be pleased and accept their pleadings as they stand at night. It also appears in the Tefillah we’ll see tomorrow night, on Erev Shabbat, after reciting Shir Hashirim: וְ תֵ עָ תֵ ר לָנוּ לְ ךנַ עֲ תִ ירָ. The Gemara (Succah 14a) uses the term in describing the turning over of grain with a pitchfork: בְּ עֶ תֶ ר הוֹאִיל וּרְ אוּיוֹת לְהוֹפְכָן.
Rabbeinu Bachya explains it as שׁ ֶ שׁ ּ ָ פ ַ ך תּ ְ פ ִ ל ו ֹ ת ב ּ ְ ע ו ֹ שׁ ֶ ר – a Tefillah we pour out, out of abundance, just as a wealthy man pours out money without any concerns. Similarly, l’havdil bein kodesh l’chol, when someone is not satisfied with the current state of a matter and would like it turned around, they refer to the courts and submit a petition – an עֲ תִ י רָ ה.
The term of עתר is not found by Avraham nor Yaacov, and not by Moshe Rabbeinu either. We only find the term employed by Yitzchak Avinu. Moshe Rabbeinu employed the term וָאֶ תְ חַ נַּן, as though he deserved nothing and was requesting a free gift – like a needy person knocking on the door in search of a mercy, and just like we will approach Hakadosh Baruch Hu very shortly: כְּ דַ לִ ים וּ כְ רָ שׁ ִ י ם דָּ פַ קְ נ וּ דְּ לָ תֶ י ך. Moshe Rabbeinu knew of this attribute of Hakadosh Baruch Hu because he was earlier told: נֹּתִי אֶת־אֲשׁ ֶר אָחֹן וְרִ חַמְתִּי אֶת־אֲשׁ ֶר אֲרַ חֵם וְ חַ – and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Surprised at the response and readiness for mercy, he asked Hakadosh Baruch Hu why He was willing to give free gifts. The answer he received was now being played out according to the Midrash, “On your life, there will come a time where you will need this attribute as well.” On the doorstep of Eretz Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu turned to Hakadosh Baruch Hu and said, “I know I am not deserving, but did You not say that You mercifully give to the undeserving? Please give me a free gift and let me into the land.”
The Midrash, along with the Ba’al HaTurim, point to the gematria of וָאֶ תְ חַ נַּן – 515, teaching us that Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 Tefillot, because 515 is also the numerical value of תְּ פִ לָ ה. Another terms whose value is the 515 is שׁ ִ י רָ ה – song. I saw several nice explanations for this second connection, including that one must daven in song, just as many do for parts or even all of Pesukei Dezimra. Another commentator on the Ba'al HaTurim refers to the words of Chazal, which state that one who sings shira after receiving a miracle has all their sins forgiven. This applies to Moshe Rabbeinu as well, who had just witnessed a miracle in the wars against Sichon and Og. After emerging victorious, he desired to sing a shira. How did he do so? Through these 515 Tefillot. And since he had sung shira, he believed that his sins were forgiven, including the sin of striking the rock, and that he could now enter Eretz Yisrael. Another explanation is found in sefer Beirach Moshe, where he explains that Moshe Rabbeinu was the first to establish shira, when he sang א ָ ז י ָ שׁ ִ י ר after crossing Yam Suf, and this shira led to Hakadosh Baruch Hu sitting on His Kiseh HaKavod for the first time: נָכוֹן כִּסְאֲך מֵאָז – His throne was established with אָ ז (of א ָ ז י ָ שׁ ִ י ר). Relating back to the miracles performed in defeating Sichon and Og. Beirach Moshe says that Moshe Rabbeinu wished to sing shira but could only do so after the entire job was complete, and that involved witnessing the upcoming miraculous victory over the remaining thirty-one kings inhabiting Eretz Yisrael. Moshe requested permission to enter Eretz Yisrael so that he be able to witness the victories and subsequently sing shira.
I’d like to add another pillar with regards to the our opening Pasuk. What time is referred to in the words בָּ עֵ ת הַ הִ וא? Rashi says it refers to the time after Sichon and Og were conquered, which was in the month of Elul. Before we dive into the answer of the Pnei Yehoshua, I would like to recall a beautiful answer I heard earlier today from a talmid of Rav Yehudah Aryeh Trager ztz”l, who said his rebbe relayed it in the name of the Ostrovtser Rebbe. Between Rosh Hashanah and Hoshana Rabbah there are 21 days, and a total of 504 hours. Adding another 12 hours of Leil Simchat Torah, we reach a total of 516 hours. (Not in his name, I would like to add what the Zohar teaches with regards to Simchat Torah. Namely, that on the morning of Simchat Torah the final notes, or verdicts, are sent off via angel messengers. We traditionally say it takes place the day before, on Hoshana Rabba, and thus the day’s greeting of pitzka tava, but the Zohar says it takes place the next morning. The morning of Simchat Torah is the pinnacle of the entire holiday season, and the peak moment is when we open the Aron Kodesh and exclaim: אַתָּה הׇרְ אֵתָ לָדַעַת כִּי ה' הוּא הָ אֱ לֹהִ ים אֵין עוֹד מִ לְבַדּוֹ. We open and close the Aron Kodesh so many times over the preceding month, and that one moment of it opening for the final time is the culmination of our entire Avodah. What follows is dancing with the Sefer Torah which is taken out from that Aron Kodesh. That, according to the Zohar, is the moment our petakim are handed to the messengers. Looking back at our year, the disaster that took place on the morning of Simchat Torah began at the moment of sunrise, the moment these petakim were sent out. All we needed was one more hour of Tefillah to reach the peak.) The Ostrovtser Rebbe says, Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 Tefillot, and each Tefilla was an hour long – based on Chassidim preparing for an hour before davening, taking an hour to wind down after, and davening for an hour in the middle – resulting in 515 hours of Tefillah, from Rosh Hashanah until the morning of Simchat Torah. Had he had that one extra hour, he’d have reached the peak and would have the doors of Eretz Yisrael opened for him. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu said רַ ב־לָך, putting an end to his Tefillah one step short.
The Pnei Yehoshua provides us with a tremendous yesod. בָּ עֵ ת הַ הִ וא refers to Tu B’Av. Moshe Rabbeinu stood up and began his Tefillah on the Fifteenth of Av after witnessing the Tefillot of 15,000 men answered, and the vow of Hakadosh Baruch Hu seemingly annulled. As we know, Chazal say the final 15,000 of Bnei Yisrael who were destined to die in the desert (as a result of Cheit HaMeraglim) did not ultimately die there; they lived on and entered Eretz Yisrael. Like during the previous thirty-nine years, these men dug graves and lay down in them on the night of Tisha B’Av, fully expecting not to wake up in the morning. But, unlike the previous years, they all stood up come sunrise. Thinking they had messed up their calculation of the date, they once again lay down in graves the next night, only to reach the same outcome in the morning. They went through this process five extra times until waking up and seeing a full moon on Tu B’Av, finally concluding the decree must have been annulled. Moshe Rabbeinu saw this – i.e., that a decree could be annulled – and launched into genuine and sincere Tefillah with the same request.
