Summary of the day

Shabbat Nachamu is the Shabbat after Tisha BeAv, named for the haftara “Comfort, comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1-26). It is the first of seven Shabbatot of consolation (“shiv’a d’nechemta”) that lead to Rosh Hashanah. The parasha usually read is Va’etchanan, with the Ten Commandments and the “Shema Yisrael”.

Mitzvot and customs of the day

• A haftara of consolation, with a happier melody.
• The end of the Nine Days: after midday on the 10th of Av, meat, wine and laundry are permitted again, and in many communities haircuts too, according to local custom.
• A festive Shabbat and singing: the reconnecting of the heart after mourning.
• “Shema Yisrael” and “you shall love” in the parasha: love of God as the answer to destruction.

Origin in history

Isaiah prophesied about exile, but also about redemption: “Comfort, comfort My people… speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of service is complete, that her iniquity is pardoned” (40:1-2). The prophecy takes on special meaning after the First Destruction, in the Babylonian exile, when the people needed hope. The Sages set these haftarot after Tisha BeAv to turn mourning into consolation (already attested in Pesikta d’Rav Kahana).

The message for today

The prophecy does not begin with “Be strong”, but with “Comfort”: consolation comes before repair. To rebuild, we must first embrace. And the doubling “Nachamu, nachamu” teaches that consolation must be both inner and outer. When the people are comforted, the journey toward the Days of Awe begins, a gradual ascent, week after week.