Parshas Va’eschanan – Shabbos Nachamu: Consolation in The Kruger

As I sat around a campfire in the wilderness of Kruger National Park in South Africa entranced by the sounds of the hyenas yelping, the lions roaring, and the baboons barking, a tap on my shoulder shattered the ecstasy of the moment. Louise, the manager of the lodge wished to have a word with me. She began by telling me that she is a devout Christian, and although she knows that the Jews only regard her god as a prophet and not as the son of G-d (she clearly did not take Judaism 101!), she loves Jews and especially observant Jews. The reason is because they are the Chosen People, and they will bring forth the Final Redemption. She then turned on her laptop, and opened up an excel spreadsheet in which she had taken every single verse of Psalms and wrote down the attributes of G-d contained within that verse.

She had one final revelation. She informed me that every single day she prays for me. How so? She recites Psalm 122 verse 6 which reads, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” She told me that Jerusalem does not mean to pray for the geographical city sitting on a tectonic plate fault known as the Great Rift Valley, rather it means praying for the desired inhabitants of Jerusalem, and that is observant Jews. By this point I was pretty much speechless. I had to travel all the way to a Safari in South Africa to hear from a non-Jew living in the bush that I really belonged back in Jerusalem studying Torah!

The Shabbos following the Ninth of Av is the Shabbos of joy. It is called Shabbat Nachamu, for the prophetic portion that is read is taken from Chapter 40 of Isaiah which begins with the words Nachamu, nachamu ami - "Console, console my people, says your G-d." How can it be that we just commemorated all of the collective Jewish tragedies and we are already consoled? What exactly is the consolation contained in this week’s haftorah?

Louise in Kruger National Park helped us with the answer. The haftorah continues “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her time of suffering is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received of G-d’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of G-d, make straight in the desert a highway for our G-d!”

What does it mean to speak to the heart of Jerusalem? It means to speak to those Jews who are connected to Jerusalem as Louise pointed out. And it means to speak with passion, conviction, and inspiration to galvanize them to be a part of the Redemption. There is a double usage of the term “console” to inform us that we should be hopeful that the redemption is coming either in its prescribed time, or earlier. We will be redeemed; the question just is, when.

As committed Jews worldwide sat on the floor this past Wednesday night and Thursday morning in mourning for Jerusalem, they had in mind a much larger dimension of the mourning than is commonly acknowledged. They were mourning the fate of all those Jews who are meant to be Jerusalem’s inhabitants in the utopian era. For the typical Jew who sat in mourning this week, there is no personal consolation this Shabbos. Assimilation is rampant, and Jewish education is floundering. However there is a growing group of people who will see the silver lining in the cloud. Those are people who are determined to pull off every possible soul from the cattle cars headed towards Spiritual cremation. They will be the modern day Raul Wallenberg and will make a difference… one person at a time. They will literal speak to the heart of Jerusalem. They will take the verses that we hold to be sacrosanct as a practical instructions manual and not merely as a poetic monologue.

The world is full of admiration for our spiritual heritage; let us ensure that every single Jew will get a slice of the cake. Let us invite over our neighbor for Friday night dinner. Let’s offer to study for ten minutes a week with a business associate. Let’s be creative. Let us create the solution for history, and not fall victim to it. Let those tears shed on Tisha B’Av not disappear down the sewer of history. We can change the course of history. Let’s begin today.