'Nachamu Nachamu' - A Twofold Consolation - Parshas Vaeschanan, Shabbos Nachamu

00:01 One of the great chassidim of the Alter Rebbe’s time, and especially of the Mitteler Rebbe’s time, was an elder chossid named Reb Moshe Yitzchak of Yassi. Yassi was a city near Apta, in the region where the Rebbe of Apta was the leader. This great chossid, Reb Moshe Yitzchak, lived there, and many stories are told about him. He was a chossid of the Alter Rebbe, and especially of the Mitteler Rebbe, and he spread Chassidus there. The region was not a Chabad region—quite the opposite. [unclear] But he was not influenced by his surroundings. There in Yassi, he worked to strengthen Chassidus, studied Chabad Chassidus, and spread the teachings of the Alter Rebbe. There are many stories about this chossid. One of them goes like this: When the news reached the other chassidim that the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned, Reb Moshe Yitzchak heard it too. All the chassidim of that time began fasting, practicing self-denial, praying and pleading for the harsh decree to be annulled, in such a difficult situation and at such a difficult time. [unclear] That was how the chassidim acted then. But the chossid Reb Moshe Yitzchak,

01:42 [unclear] the great chossid Reb Moshe Yitzchak, during the time the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned, would stand each day cutting up potatoes, which chassidim call bulbes, and baking them. They asked him, “Moshe Yitzchak, what are you doing? Everyone is sitting and saying Tehillim; others are fasting. Each person is occupied with his fasts and self-denial to annul the harsh decree. Why are you standing there baking potatoes?” Reb Moshe Yitzchak answered, “We know for certain that out of all this concealment, out of this whole decree, out of all this darkness, a Yom Tov will emerge. Surely a new Yom Tov will be added for chassidim. Soon the Rebbe will be freed, there will be rejoicing, and chassidim will farbreng, say l’chaim and dance. They’ll need something to snack on, won’t they? They’ll need something to eat at the farbrengen. So it has to be prepared. That’s what I’m busy with: baking the bulbes, baking the potatoes, getting them ready so there’ll be something to eat when they farbreng and dance at the time of the Geulah.” This is a remarkable story. That is how a chossid looks at these matters. After all, we are speaking during the days in which we now find ourselves, the times connected with “These days will be transformed into joy and gladness and festive occasions.” As we move on from the Nine Days,

03:19 from the Three Weeks, from the period of Bein Hametzarim, we move into the days of the fifteenth of Menachem Av. And we know from Chassidus that the leap we make from the days of the Three Weeks brings us straight to the fifteenth of Menachem Av. The Gemara says, “There were no festivals for the Jewish people like the fifteenth of Menachem Av.” This is a leap from one extreme to the other: from the very depths of lowliness, from the lowest depths, [unclear] to which the Jewish people fell on Tisha B’Av, [unclear] the levels—from all this, we rise in the most elevated way to the greatest joy, to the point that “there were no festivals for the Jewish people like the fifteenth of Menachem Av.” So much so that Chassidus explains, in the maamarim, as written in the teachings of the Arizal, that on the fifteenth of Menachem Av the light of Moshiach shines. It is a foretaste of the revelation in the future, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu will take the sun out of its sheath, [unclear]. On the fifteenth of Menachem Av, the sun’s strength diminishes. This is the weakening of [unclear], which weakens its power. On the other hand, the moon stands at its fullest on the fifteenth of the month. This fullness of the moon corresponds to the Jewish people, who are likened to the moon, count by the moon, and are destined to be renewed like it. And this is the great joy: we see that the ascent is commensurate with the descent. Why, specifically, is the fifteenth of Menachem Av the greatest Yom Tov? Because, as we know, the month is...

04:57 the fifteenth. The fifteenth of Nissan, in particular, is Pesach, and the fifteenth of Tishrei is Sukkos. Yet it is said that “there were no festivals for the Jewish people like the fifteenth of Menachem Av,” because on this Yom Tov, the fifteenth of Menachem Av, the greatness of the moon’s ascent—the ascent of the Jewish people—is revealed, following the great descent of Tisha B’Av. To understand this, we need another perspective, another understanding: the inner perspective. As the Gemara relates at the end of Tractate Makkos, when Rabbi Akiva and the others saw what was happening amid the destruction and exile, they went to Rome and saw how the Romans, the very people who had destroyed the Beis Hamikdash, lived in such comfort and wealth. They began to weep and tear their clothes, and so on, as the Gemara relates. Yet Rabbi Akiva laughed. Similarly, when they went to the Temple Mount and saw a fox emerging from the Holy of Holies, they began to weep. Only Rabbi Akiva laughed. They asked him why he was laughing, why he was happy when he saw such immense destruction and darkness—how could one be happy? Because Rabbi Akiva understood what it means to transform darkness into light. Rabbi Akiva understood how to see, within the darkness itself, the inner Geulah hidden in it. That is why he said, “If this is how it is for those who transgress His will, how much more so for those who do His will.”

06:28 Precisely from seeing the great wealth of the nations, of the wicked, we know how much more will be given in the future to those who do His will—the Jews. Similarly, in the fox emerging from the Holy of Holies, Rabbi Akiva saw that Uriah’s prophecies had been fulfilled; the prophecy that said, “Zion shall be plowed like a field,” had come to pass. What did it mean for Zion to be plowed through the destruction? It was a destruction that reached down to the foundation, to “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundation.” From this we know how great the Geulah will be: a wondrous and complete Geulah, utterly perfect, which people will be able to see in the streets of Jerusalem, with all the blessings and all the salvations of the future Geulah. Rabbi Akiva could already see it in the present situation. This brought him joy: within the concealment, within the darkness, he saw the inner reality, the Geulah, and therefore he laughed. It even affected the other Tannaim, who said, in the words of the Gemara, “Akiva, you have comforted us; Akiva, you have comforted us.” We see this same passage from one extreme to the other in Jewish custom: from the hardest and bitterest day, Tisha B’Av, we move straight to the greatest joy. This is “Comfort, comfort My people,” Shabbos Nachamu and the fifteenth of Menachem Av. And even before that, on Tisha B’Av itself,

07:53 as is the Jewish custom, immediately after midday on Tisha B’Av, after chatzos, we already sit up on the benches by the tables, leaving the low benches behind; we rise and begin preparing for joy. This is brought in Shaar Hakavanos, among the teachings that Rabbi Chaim Vital, known as Maharachu, heard from the Arizal. What is the significance of Tisha B’Av after midday? It is a time of joy, both because that is when the Moshiach of the Jewish people was born—the soul of Moshiach came into the world; Moshiach Tzidkeinu was born on Tisha B’Av. Therefore, through this custom, we already conduct ourselves with an uplifted spirit and seek comfort, thinking of “This one will comfort us.” This is Moshiach, whose name is Menachem, the righteous redeemer. And as he explains there in Shaar Hakavanos, even at the very first moment of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, when people stood and saw it burning on Tisha B’Av after midday, before sunset—for that was when the destruction was greatest, when they could actually see the plowing: it looks as though a field is being destroyed as it is plowed. Nevertheless, we say that through the plowing—and this is “Abundant produce comes through the strength of an ox”—through

10:45 the plowing, true growth must come. The true growth of the Geulah, of [unclear], the true joy of the complete Geulah, grows precisely from this plowing, from the darkness of exile. Therefore, among Jews there is no anger or bitterness born of sadness, G-d forbid. Rather, even when a Jew is still in the midst of Tisha B’Av itself, he takes an attitude of joy, with an uplifted and joyful spirit, knowing that the Geulah is growing out of all this darkness. That is why Rabbi Akiva laughed, and why he was already in a position where it could be said of him, “Akiva, you have comforted us; Akiva, you have comforted us.” And this brings me to “you have comforted us, you have comforted us,” for today is Shabbos Nachamu, and we read, “Comfort, comfort My people.” The question is well known: What is the meaning of the repetition, “Comfort, comfort”? They also said to Rabbi Akiva, “Akiva, you have comforted us; Akiva, you have comforted us.” On this, there is a Midrash that says: They were struck doubly and comforted doubly. All these matters involve a doubling. The Jewish people also sinned doubly, and the Midrash goes through all the details: Israel’s sin was doubled—“Jerusalem has sinned a sin,” mentioning sin twice, meaning a double sin. Therefore they were struck doubly, with a double destruction: the destruction of the First Beis Hamikdash and the Second. That is why they were struck doubly. And there was also double weeping: “She weeps bitterly in the night.”

12:15 And so the consolation, too, is twofold: “Comfort, comfort My people.” That is the meaning of “twofold.” And the question is: What does “twofold” mean? What does it mean to sin twofold? What does it mean to weep twofold? And what does it mean to be consoled twofold? I’ll share several explanations found in the works of great Torah scholars. But first, there is one point connected especially to a maamar the Frierdiker Rebbe delivered during the war, in 5704. The Frierdiker Rebbe delivered a maamar in Yiddish, “Nachamu Nachamu Ami,” and we’ll bring its point here briefly. Years later, in the maamar “Nachamu Nachamu” of 5718, some time after the war, [unclear], the Rebbe explained the point made in that maamar at length. In brief, the point is this: The Frierdiker Rebbe explains that “twofold” means that every mitzvah you do accomplishes two things. One thing you accomplish is within yourself: through observing mitzvos, a person refines his body and soul [unclear]. At the same time, you accomplish something else in the world. Every mitzvah you do illuminates the world. The world becomes refined. “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms.” When you do a mitzvah, you yourself become refined, and at the same time something happens in the world: you take a

14:10 physical object from the world and refine it, and through that the world becomes illuminated. The Rebbe discusses many details of this. It is connected to what Chassidus explains: When you serve Hashem, there are two aspects to it—the effect you have on the soul and the effect you have on the body. Or, in other words, on the G-dly soul and on the animal soul. The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that the soul’s descent is a descent into this lower world, “from a lofty roof to a deep pit.” The soul is literally a part of G-d above, and it descended into a lower world, a world with an animal soul. The soul itself needs no correction. It did not come here for its own sake; it is literally a part of G-d above. Why does it need this whole experience? Rather, the soul descended into this lower world to refine and elevate the body and the animal soul, to make the animal soul a refined soul and the body a refined body, and to make itself a vessel for G-dliness. But that does not mean the soul remains as it was. By fulfilling its mission and purpose, the soul also ascends. This descent is for the sake of an ascent. Through what the soul accomplishes down here, it rises to an even higher level than it had before. In other words, although the soul came to refine the world, the body and the animal soul, the soul itself also rises through doing so. This is the twofold effect of every mitzvah: one aspect is its effect on the person and its effect on the world; the other is its effect on the G-dly soul and its effect on the animal soul and the body. In other words, when you serve Hashem, it has a twofold effect. It brings about

16:02 the soul’s ultimate ascent; the soul is elevated still further, to a greater awareness. And it has an effect on the world, on the body and the animal soul, making the world a dwelling place for Him. From this we understand that when there is a transgression, a sin—“Jerusalem has sinned”—the sin is twofold. What does it mean to sin twofold? It is as the verse says in the haftorah of Parshas Masei, one of the three haftaros of rebuke: “For My people have done two evils: They have forsaken Me, the source of living waters, to hew themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” That is, when, G-d forbid, there is a transgression and one moves away from holiness, “My people have done two evils.” These are two things together. The first is “They have forsaken Me”: they missed the chance, the ability and the opportunity to connect with Hashem. That is “They have forsaken Me”—they lost the connection. They missed a moment when they could have connected with Hashem’s Essence, on the one hand. On the other hand, there is the other effect of the sin: “to hew themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” That is, what they diverted from holiness is taken and used to add vitality to the kelipos in this world. Thus every sin has a twofold aspect: the absence of a connection to G-dliness, and the addition of vitality and sustenance to the external forces, to kelipah and the sitra achra. That is why the sin is twofold. When exile came, it affected two main aspects, two primary revelations. What are the two primary revelations that exile affected? The aspect that is above nature, and

17:58 the aspect of nature. In other words, exile affects both. What does that mean? For Jews, the higher vitality is drawn from above nature. The vitality of Jews is drawn through the name Havayah, and the name Havayah is above nature—the realm of miracles. That was how it was in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, when miracles were the order of the day and all that happened with Jews was above nature. When the time of exile came, “Hakadosh Boruch Hu ascended higher and higher,” and with the withdrawal of the revelation of the name Havayah, the revelation that is above nature was no longer present. That is one side. On the other side, even the G-dliness clothed within nature—the name Elokim has the same numerical value as “nature,” the Divine vitality clothed within nature—even that is not present within nature, G-d forbid. In other words, the flow of blessing does not reach Jews; even what should come to them by the laws of nature arrives only with difficulty, amid all the hardships and bitter experiences Jews endure in exile. What are those experiences? Persecutions and troubles, G-d forbid, and the lawlessness that allows other nations to come in; our land and our homeland become open for them to conquer. So here, too, there is a twofold aspect: exile affects both. And for this comes the consolation. The verse says, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your G-d.” This is the good news of the Geulah, and it is a twofold consolation. The revelation of the future will be in both aspects—with two principal blessings and two principal flows of blessing. The great revelation to come will give Jews both. These are

19:33 the two aspects: what accords with nature and what is above nature, the name Havayah and the name Elokim. Divine light that is above the world will be drawn down. The revelation of the future will be a revelation of the name Havayah: above nature, without limit, with the miracles and wonders of the Geulah. And that very revelation will be present in the world, clothed within nature, within the reality and nature of the world, and among Jews, within the Jewish people. It will be openly apparent in the nature of the world: all of existence is for the sake of the Jewish people, and even nature will work in their favor. That is “Comfort, comfort” in both respects. This is also why “Comfort, comfort” is connected to the two Batei Mikdash, the First and the Second. The difference between them is that in the First Beis Hamikdash there were great revelations of G-dliness; in terms of the revelation of G-dliness, it had greater revelations than the Second. The Second Beis Hamikdash, by contrast, had the advantage described by the Gemara: “The glory of this latter house will be greater than that of the first.” It was a greater house both in time and in space—in the number of years it stood, and so on. In other words, it penetrated the world more deeply. In the future, “Comfort, comfort,” there will be the advantages of both Batei Mikdash: a higher revelation of G-dliness, higher even than in the First Beis Hamikdash, and it will be in a way

21:02 that penetrates the reality of the world, bringing a Geulah after which there will be no exile, an eternal home, the eternal Beis Hamikdash—eternal life and an eternal home, an eternal Geulah after which there will be no exile. This is the good news being conveyed to us: A Jew must know that it is about to come. Now is the time to put ourselves in a state of “Comfort, comfort,” a twofold consolation. And as we see further on, “twofold” does not mean only twice as much; it also means something beyond comparison. There is a quantitative doubling, twice as much, and there is a qualitative doubling, meaning something altogether different. This is like what the Gemara says about the second Tablets, “double wisdom”: through the second Tablets, Torah was increased beyond comparison with the first Tablets. And it was precisely through the whole descent associated with the first Tablets, through everything we read about in Parshas Va’eschanan, Eikev, [unclear]—the sin of the Golden Calf in the time of the first Tablets, and that whole difficult period [unclear]—that the second Tablets later came in a deeper way, and we received “double wisdom.” There, “double” does not mean merely twice as much; it means something beyond comparison. The same is true of the revelations of Moshiach: Through our work during exile, we bring about the revelation of “Comfort, comfort,” a twofold consolation, a doubling beyond comparison. And may we merit, immediately, right now, to—

22:28 The revelations of the time to come, the revelations of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, and we will be able to say wholeheartedly, immediately, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your G-d, for her iniquity has been pardoned.” All these things appear later in the haftarah—the great revelations it describes in its message of Geulah. May we merit the true and complete Geulah in these very days, [unclear]. Amen, may it be His will.