Parashas Va'eschanan — Shabbos Nachamu
Updated: Jul 31
Shabbos Nachamu | Parashas Va'eschanan
Tisha B'Av is behind us. But the momentum — the awakening, the tefillos, the tears — that shouldn't stop. This is Shabbos Nachamu, and the question Parashas Va'eschanan puts in front of us is a simple one: now what?
A Double Consolation for a Double Pain
The haftarah opens with Nachamu, nachamu ami. Hashem says: comfort. I want to comfort you.
The question immediately asked is: why the double nachamu? Two words. Because Megillas Eichah opened with bacho sivkeh — a double crying. A double pain. One for the first Beis Hamikdash, one for the second. So Hashem promises a double consolation in return.
But you might ask — why does it matter which Beis Hamikdash? The mourning is that we don't have a Temple. Just give us nechamah for everything we've been through: Beitar, Bar Kochba, the Inquisition, the pogroms, the Holocaust. Why the precision of nachamu, nachamu?
Because the prophet Yeshayahu is telling us something important. Hashem doesn't give a general nechamah. He knows exactly what measure of consolation each pain requires — the communal pain and the individual pain, every sad situation we have been through. At the time of the Geulah, Hashem will bring nechamah for each one. He will give us the courage to start everything afresh, and to understand that everything had a reason, everything was meant for our benefit, even when we couldn't see it.
515 Tefillos — and Where Moshe Learned It
The parashah itself opens with va'eschanan. Moshe Rabbeinu, after being told he would not enter Eretz Yisrael, poured out his heart. The whole purpose of his life was to enter the land — not for personal benefit, but because the purpose of man is to serve Hashem there, with all the mitzvos hateluyos ba'aretz. That is what had been promised to the forefathers. That is what Moshe wanted, even as a private person, not a leader.
The gematria of va'eschanan is 515. Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 tefillos. And the midrash tells us he was davening mainly on Tu B'Av — which falls this very week.
Where did he learn to daven 515 times? From Yitzchak and Rivka. We know they had no children for many years, and it says in Parashas Toldos, vaye'tar Yitzchak laHashem l'nochach ishto — both of them went to daven on Har HaMoriah. The gematria of Yitzchak is 208. The gematria of Rivka is 307. Together: 515 — the same as va'eschanan. Yitzchak carried the middah of din, gevurah. Rivka carried the middah of chesed. When they davened together, those 515 tefillos transformed the middas hadin into middas harachamim. And then Rivka got pregnant.
That is what Moshe Rabbeinu learned. That number has the power to change a gezeirah.
The Power of One More Tefillah
Moshe also davened 515. And then Hashem said: enough. I don't want to hear another word. Because the midrash says, had he added just one more tefillah, he would have been able to overcome the decree entirely.
One more tefillah.
We've just come through the entire period of bein hametzarim. We davened and davened and begged Hashem over and over again. And it's natural, after Tisha B'Av passes, to feel that the intensity can ease off now. But this is exactly what Moshe Rabbeinu is teaching us: don't. You have no idea of the power of one tefillah. It can be one tefillah, it can be one tear.
We spoke about the sha'ar hadma'os — the tears that reach heaven. That's why crying on Tisha B'Av matters, because a tear is a true expression of emotion. And as we say on Yom Kippur, simah dim'asi v'nodecha — Hashem has a special cup in heaven where He preserves every single tear. Each tear is precious, just as each tefillah is precious.
If we truly understood how much each tefillah counts, we would never, never give up. We would continue with the same kavanah, the same enthusiasm, because we'd know: one more might be the one that changes everything.
The Large Ayin and the Large Dalet
Parashas Va'eschanan also contains the Aseres Hadibros and, most famously, Parashas Shema — Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad.
Two letters in those words are written large: the ayin and the dalet.
The ayin means eye. When we say krias Shema, we cover our eyes — because what our eyes see is very different from what HaKadosh Baruch Hu is doing. The midrash says: not everything a person sees, not a person's perspective, is right. So when you say Shema and you listen, cover your eyes. Don't try to understand from a human perspective alone. There is Hashem, there is middas harachamim, there is Elokim — middas hadin. And Hashem Echad.
The dalet means door. And we have to understand that sometimes in life there are doors that close on us. We don't always get what we want. We pray and pray, and sometimes we feel: Hashem, You didn't give me what I asked for. Even when we don't understand why a door has closed, we have to remember Hashem Echad. It's Hashem who decides. He knows exactly what we need. We continue with emunah. We continue with bitachon.
Lifnim Mishuras Hadin — Going Beyond the Line
Toward the end of the parashah comes the phrase v'asisa hayashar v'hatov — do that which is right and that which is good. Chazal ask: what does this mean?
The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of al din Torah — they applied the strict law and nothing beyond it. But in life, you have to do lifnim mishuras hadin. You have to go further than the strict line of judgment. That is exactly why Hashem chose Avraham Avinu: ki y'dativ l'ma'an asher y'tzaveh es banav la'asos tzedakah umishpat — I know Avraham will teach his children to do tzedakah before mishpat, charity before justice. They will always take the extra step. They will go lifnim mishuras hadin.
There are times when a dayan looks at a case and says: according to the law, this is the ruling. But for this person, under these circumstances, we go beyond. We show empathy. We look away from the strict judgment and try to be more merciful. That is what was missing at the time of the second Churban.
This whole parashah is about empathy. Moshe Rabbeinu is preparing the next generation. He knows it won't be easy for them.
The Arei Miklat — Because He Remembered What It Felt Like
One of the most striking things Moshe does in this parashah: he designates the six arei miklat, the cities of refuge, even though they would only take effect after the conquest of the land. He could have simply told the next generation, when the time comes, set aside these cities. Why do it now?
Because, the meforshim say, Moshe felt tremendous empathy toward anyone who has to flee, who is a refugee, who is running for his life. And he remembered: I was that person. When I left Egypt, Pharaoh wanted to kill me. I fled to Midyan and they took me in. I know, from my own life, how much it means when someone reaches out to you, when someone feels for you.
Whenever you have the possibility to do a mitzvah, do it now. Don't wait. That's what Moshe is showing us.
Se'u Marom Eineichem — Every Neshamah Is a Star
The haftarah of Shabbos Nachamu ends with words we've quoted many times, and they never get old.
When you feel lost. When you feel you can't go on. When you wonder what will be — se'u marom eineichem. Look upwards. As Hashem told Avraham Avinu, habeit na hashamayma — look up at the sky. That is Hashem's message to every child of Avraham: look upwards.
Because every Jewish neshamah is a star. There are millions and millions of them. Even when we can't see them, they shine brightest when it gets dark. In times of difficulty, we rise to the challenge. Hamotzi b'mispar tzeva'am, l'chulam b'sheim yikra — each star has a name. A name is a purpose. Hashem created each one for a specific reason, and no person is superfluous in this world.
Bishvili nivra ha'olam. Hashem says: I created the world for you. One individual. The world cannot exist without you. Each person has their potential, their talents, their ability to make the world a little better around them. May Hashem give us the koach to do so.
The Rav and the Shoemaker — A Story for Tu B'Av
This week is Tu B'Av, a day of joy. And I want to end with a story.
There was a great rav — this story has various versions, but this one I believe took place in Iraq. The rav ran a gemach, lending money to anyone in his community who was in need. One day the old shoemaker came to him, a very honest, G'd fearing man. The rav lent him the money. After a month, the shoemaker returned it. He came in, the rav was learning, said "Rabbi, I've returned the loan," the rav said "Thank you," took the envelope, and the shoemaker left.
The rav forgot about it. When he finished his learning, he absentmindedly tucked the envelope into the Gemara he'd been studying, to mark the page. And then he put that Gemara away, and didn't open it again for months.
Three months later, he sent his servant to the shoemaker: you haven't returned the loan. The shoemaker was shocked, of course he had. The rav said no. They went to beis din. Three dayanim. The shoemaker had no proof. The rav had no recollection. The shoemaker was humiliated. His reputation in town was destroyed. Nobody came to him for shoe repairs anymore. He had to repay the loan again, and life went on.
A year later, the rav needed that specific Gemara. He opened it. And out fell the envelope, with the money inside.
He felt terrible. He went to the shoemaker himself. He begged for mechilah. He offered to announce publicly in shul that the shoemaker had been right. The shoemaker said: who will believe you now? You're the tzaddik. My reputation is already ruined. I can't forgive you.
The rav was desperate. He thought and thought. Finally he said: do you have a son? The shoemaker said yes. The rav said: I have a daughter. Your son will marry my daughter. Then everyone will understand that I was the one in the wrong.
Now, we won't say here whether that was the most appropriate shidduch for the rav's daughter — that's not the point. The point is this: every shidduch is decided in heaven forty days before a child is born. How would the son of a shoemaker have married the daughter of a rav? Only through this. Hashem arranged the whole incident precisely so it could happen. There was no other way.
Tu B'Av is a day to daven for shidduchim. There are so many singles waiting. Let us pray with all our heart that each one finds their shidduch, bekarov bekarov. May we only share simchas. May we be zocheh l'vias Mashiach very speedily in our days.
We'll never stop praying.
Have a wonderful Shabbos, and all my love from Yerushalayim.
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