Accountability and Comfort (Va’Etchanan / Shabbat Nachamu)
in honor of my precious wife, Neshama Carlebach, as she begins her rabbinic education
As we turn to the Torah, we reflect on the powerful transitions we witness in our tradition. Last Shabbat was Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision, where the prophet Isaiah foresees the destruction of Jerusalem (Is. 1:1–27). We read that haftarah as we approach Tisha B’Av, the day commemorating the destruction of the Temple. This past Tuesday marked Tisha B’Av itself — a day of profound mourning and reflection.
But tonight, we enter Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. After the devastation, after the tears, comes a promise of consolation. This time Isaiah speaks to our hearts, to the very heart of Jerusalem: “Nachamu, Nachamu Ami — Be comforted, be comforted, My people. (Is. 40:1)”
Yet comfort in these times feels complicated. Our hearts are heavy, not only with the weight of history but with the realities of our present. We pray fervently for the safety of our People, and we watch, sometimes with pride, sometimes with shame, as we navigate the complexities of building a homeland. Recently, we witnessed a horrifying act of violence as Jewish extremists attacked a Palestinian town. It’s a dark stain on our community, but what separates us from those who perpetuate hatred is our insistence on accountability. We demand justice because we are a people committed to Torah, to the idea that our actions have consequences.
This week, in Parshat Va’etchanan, Moses reminds the people of this very truth. As they prepare to enter the Promised Land, he warns them that how they conduct themselves matters, that t he world is watching.
“[Your adherence to God’s commands] will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, ‘Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ … But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. … For your own sake, therefore, be most careful. (Deut. 4: 6, 9, 15)”
Moses, who is denied entry into the land, implores the people to honor the gift they are about to receive. To be a Jew means that the eyes of history are always upon us. While we cannot prevent Antisemitism through our right behavior, we can ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of our tradition.
And accountability itself is a form of comfort. Judaism never presumes we are perfect; it understands that we will make mistakes. What matters is how we respond to those mistakes — how we engage in teshuvah, in return and repentance. These seven weeks between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah are a time for reflection and for lifting the world higher. That too is comfort: knowing that we have the power to do better, to be better, to heal our world, one step at a time.
There are many forms of comfort we seek. We take comfort in our ability to rebuild and perfect our home, in knowing that the work of healing is ongoing. We take comfort in the belief that our family, our people, will return home. Most of all, we take comfort in the knowledge that we can create the world we need, that we can make choices today that will echo into the future.
As we welcome Shabbat Nachamu, let us open our hearts to the possibilities of comfort — comfort we must create with our own hands and our own choices. There are big decisions ahead of us: decisions about leadership, about the future of our beloved Israel, about how we show up for our students, our communities, and ourselves. May all of our choices be a comfort to Moses, our ancient teacher, and to the precious generations yet to come.
Let us raise our voices in song, in prayer, and in hope. May the negotiations bear fruit. May our family come home. May this Shabbat truly be a Shabbat of comfort for our people, so that we can begin the long work of healing. And may we, one day, know peace.
#BringThemHomeNow
Shabbat Shalom.