Reframed story: What it means to be comforted
Shabbos Nachamu is a turning point. After three weeks of mourning and reflection culminating in Tisha B’Av, we are suddenly invited to hear a new message.
The Haftorah begins with the words of the prophet Yeshayahu, “Nachamu Nachamu Ami,” which means, “Be comforted, be comforted, My people.” It is a call from G-d to console His nation. The shift is immediate. Just days ago, we sat on the floor recalling destruction, exile, and tragedy. We mourned the Beis HaMikdash, but also the full sweep of Jewish suffering across history.
Now we are told to feel consoled. But what has changed? The Temple has not been rebuilt. The wounds of history still ache. Even today, the Jewish people face fear, vulnerability, and isolation. What comfort can possibly be offered?
To answer that, we need to understand what the word nechama actually means.
In modern language, it is often translated as comfort, but in Torah its meaning goes deeper. In Sefer Bereishis, when humanity had become corrupted, the Torah tells us that G-d reconsidered having created man. The word used there is VaYiNachem. It describes a shift in thought, a reevaluation of direction. In other words, nechama is not only about emotional comfort. It is about perspective. It means learning to see something familiar in a new way.
This is the core message of Shabbos Nachamu. The call to be comforted is not based on external changes. The invitation is to shift how we see ourselves, our story, and our future. Tisha B’Av teaches us to acknowledge pain. Shabbos Nachamu teaches us not to become trapped by it.
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The Jewish people have experienced unimaginable suffering. From the burning of the Temples and the massacres of the Crusades to the expulsions, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of October 7th, the pain is real and deeply etched in our collective memory. And it is not just memory.
We are living in a moment of deep uncertainty and fear. We see rising antisemitism not only in the streets and on college campuses but even in the halls of Congress. Just last week, a resolution was introduced in the Senate calling for the United States to stop selling arms to the State of Israel. This was not just about foreign aid. It was a proposal to sever and detach the alliance. The vote did not pass, but the fact that it reached the floor at all is unsettling.
We are witnessing a world in which bloodshed, captivity, and confusion have become daily realities. The exile has not yet ended. And yet, at the very same time, we are also seeing clear signs of geulah (redemption). Miraculous victories. Surges of Jewish pride. A nation awakened from spiritual sleep.
Perhaps Hashem has shown our generation hints of redemption not only to comfort us, but to awaken us. To remind us that the current state of brokenness is not how things are supposed to be, and not how they need to remain.
The historian Salo Baron once warned against telling our story through a lachrymose lens, a narrative focused only on tragedy. And he was right. Our pain is real, but it is not our only truth. Alongside destruction, we have built. Alongside exile, we have returned.
Shabbos Nachamu gives us permission to see the full picture. It does not ask us to forget. It asks us to remember differently. Not only to count the losses, but also to name the blessings.
We are not only a people who suffered. We are a people who endured. We are not only mourners. We are builders. We are not only shaped by what has happened to us. We are shaped by what we choose to do now.
May we all be granted the strength to see with fresh eyes. Nachamu Nachamu Ami. Be comforted, because our future is still unfolding.
Rabbi Benny Berlin is spiritual leader of BACH Jewish Center in Long Beach.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
