Hashem tells the navi, עמי נחמו נחמו, that he should console the nation. But how are we consoled? The answer is אלקיכם יאמר, the awareness and the joy that Hashem is our G-d is our condolence.
We can compare it to a child at an amusement park but afraid to go on the roller coaster, Ferris-wheel, and other tall rides. People ask the child, "Why are you afraid? It is totally safe. Millions of people ride on it." But the child, nevertheless, is afraid. Only one thing will calm the child and remove his fears, and that is if his parents will ride with him.
Hashem is our G-d and is always with us. That is our condolence. That is our guarantee that there is nothing to fear.
There is a pasuk in Shir HaShrim (4:8), which promises that Hashem will always be with us; when we go to galus and when we return for the Third Beis HaMikdash. It states, תבואי מלבנון אתי כלה מלבנון אתי, "With me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon shall you come." Rashi explains that Hashem says, מלבנון אתי, "I will be with you when you are exiled from the Beis HaMikdash. תבואי מלבנון אתי, and I will be with you when you return to the Beis HaMikdash."
3. The Beis Avraham zt'l would often repeat this Midrash, emphasizing that even goyim know that Hashem is with the Jewish nation. We are never alone.
4. It is known that the Baal HaTanya was once imprisoned, and after fifty-three days, with Hashem's kindness, he was released from jail on the 19th of Kislev. Sometime afterward, people tried to convince the government to imprison the Baal HaTanya again. The Baal HaTanya heard about this, and this caused him immense distress. Reb Shmuel Minkas wanted to lighten the Baal HaTanya’s mood, so he suspended himself from a rope outside the beis medresh. It was an unusual sight, and people came to watch. "Why is Reb Shmuel hanging outside the beis medresh?" they wondered. When the Baal HaTanya walked out of his beis medresh, he looked up and asked, "Reb Shmuel! What are you doing there?" He replied, "Craftsmen hang samples of their products outside their shop, so people should know what is being manufactured inside. A cobbler hangs a shoe outside his store; a tailor hangs a suit outside his store, and so on. In this beis medresh, the Rebbe produces chasidim. I am hanging here as an example, so people who pass by will know what is manufactured here." The plan succeeded. The Baal HaTanya laughed and got back to himself. The Baal HaTanya's joy helped to sweeten the dinim, and he was saved from the hands of those who attempted to harm him.
5. Reb Zalman Brizel zt'l had just returned from a fund-raising trip in chutz l'aretz, and the money he raised was wrapped up together, but he couldn't find it. His family frantically searched all over the home for the package of money while Reb Zalman Brizel danced and sang. His family asked him, "Why are you so happy? Did you find the money?" "No," he replied. "I didn't find the money yet, but I decided that I lost my money, should I also lose my mind from despair?"
The Midrash (Devarim Rabba 2) relates the following story: There was a ship with goyim on it, and l'havdil, there was also one Yid aboard the boat. The ship arrived at an island to buy provisions for the remainder of the voyage. The captain asked the Yid to go to the island to buy the produce for them. The Yid replied, "Why are you sending me, specifically? I don't know anyone on this island. I am alone on this island, just like you." They told him, "You are not alone. Wherever you go, Hashem is with you. As it states (this week's parashah, 4:7) אשר גדול גוי מי כי אלקינו 'כה אליו קרובים אלקים לו, 'Which great nation has a god close to them like Hashem our G-d..' Wherever one is, Hashem is with him."
Reb Shmuel Minkas zt'l, a student of the Baal HaTanya zt'l, was a very happy person. Once, a fire burned down Reb Shmuel's home, and Reb Shmuel was dancing. People feared that he had lost his mind due to the financial loss. He explained to them, "If I were a non-Jew, my god would be burned in the fire together with my home. But I'm a Yid, and my G-d still exists. That's why I'm so happy."
Hashem says (Yeshayah 51:12) הוא אנכי אנכי מנחמכם, "I am He Who consoles you" (from the haftarah of parashas Shoftim). Why does it state אנכי twice? It is explained that it alludes to two אנכיs that are written in the Torah. The Torah writes by the Aseres HaDibros אלקיך 'ה אנכי, "I am Hashem, your G-d," and when discussing the troubles of galus, the Torah (Devarim 31:18) states, ההוא ביום פני אסתיר הסתר אנכי, "I will hide My face on that day." These two אנכיs are alluded to in the words, מנחמכם הוא אנכי אנכי. The navi is saying that when one knows that even the אנכי of אסתיר הסתר אנכי is also 'ה אנכי אלקיך, this consoles us. The awareness that it is our beloved G-d standing behind everything that happens in life is our condolence.
