8 Comments
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Rayna Alsberg's avatar

This is why I read your messages, Rabbi. Thank you for standing up for truth, justice, and compassion. 🩵💙💜

Ricki Henschel's avatar

Thank you for bearing witness and reminding us that it is our duty to bear witness and speak out.

Sharon Boyes-Schiller's avatar

Thank you for very important commentary. Why will this Sabbath of Comfort be different, is it only the liturgical readings?

Yiftach Levy's avatar

Not to step on Rabbi Sandra's toes or get in her lane, but it's Shabbat and might be a minute before you get another response. This is the Shabbat immediately following Tisha b'Av, the ninth of Av, which is a day of national mourning for the Jewish people, signifying the date on which both Holy Temples were destroyed along with a host of other calamities that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history on this date. Tisha b'Av comes at the culmination of three weeks of preparation for the mourning rituals, including (deppending on one's level of observance) fasting, not wearing new clothing, and a variety of other customs.

This Shabbat's prophetic reading, Isaiah 40 (https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.40?lang=bi), is a way to guide us onto the path of recovery and return to the world, as it were, following the difficult weeks preceding.

Sharon Boyes-Schiller's avatar

Thank you so much for the reply!!

Sharon Boyes-Schiller's avatar

I always thought Shabbat Shalom was to wish a peaceful Sabbath. Sorry about the misunderstanding. I’m Buddhist.

Ros Schwartz's avatar

Yes, “Shalom” means peace. “Shabbat shalom” is a greeting that can be said for any Shabbat, including this one.

“Nachamu” means comfort, or consolation, and is used to describe this specific Shabbat, as a description rather than a greeting: “Shabbat Nachamu”.

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6540943/jewish/What-Is-Shabbat-Nachamu.htm