Parshah

What is true agony?

Parshas Shoftim describes those who are exempt from fighting in the Jewish army. They include: one who has built a house but has not yet enjoyed its comfort; one who has planted a vineyard but has still not harvested its fruits; and one who has engaged a woman but has not yet taken her to be his wife (D’varim 20:5-7).

“Be comforted, be comforted, My people.”

What exactly is so comforting about Shabbos Nachamu? We just completed a painful three-week process, trying to internalize how lost we are without the Beis HaMikdash. On Tish’ah B’Av, we sat on the floor and bemoaned all of the tragedies that have taken place since, and as a result of, the Churban. But has anything changed since then? Unfortunately, despite our very meaningful Tish’ah B’Av experiences, we still find ourselves in exile, bereft of a Mikdash. Why should we feel any sense of consolation – and what does Shabbos have to do with any of this?

What a difference a word makes!

Parshas R’ei opens on an intense note: There will be blessing for following Hashem’s mitzvos, and a curse for defying them. But there is a discrepancy in how these consequences are presented. While the good things will happen “when” we listen to Hashem, the bad things will only occur “if” we disobey (D’varim 11:27-28).

Sometimes we have to cry in order to feel sad.

It has been noted that the laws of national mourning for the Beis HaMikdash are patterned after the personal aveilus that one observes for the loss of a relative (lo aleinu). The restrictions of The Three Weeks are the same that a mourner observes during the 12 months after losing a parent: no haircuts, music, or weddings. Beginning with The Nine Days, we take on the national version of Shloshim: no laundry, cutting nails, or bathing. Lastly, the mourning of Tish’ah B’Av itself has the status of Shiv’ah: no leather shoes, Torah study, or sitting on chairs.

How much is really in our control?

In the midst of his five-week-long farewell speech, Moshe Rabbeinu informs B’nei Yisrael that Hashem does not ask much of them. “Only to fear Him,” Moshe assures the nation (D’varim 10:12).

In education, we need to play the long game.

One of the many topics in the parshah is B’nos Tz’lafchad’s request for independent land in Eretz Yisrael. The story is introduced with a detailed identification of these women, and their lineage is traced all the way back to not only Menashe (the founder of the tribe), but their ancestor, Yosef (BaMidbar 27:1). It is unusual for the Torah to include so much background information, especially since the full genealogy of Yosef – including the daughters of Tz’lafchad themselves – was listed just one chapter earlier (ibid. 26:28-33).