Consolation In the Midst of Trauma

The news hit us immediately following Havdalah last Shabbat. Credible rumors were circulating that the bodies of six hostages were found in a tunnel in Gaza. We knew pretty quickly that this would not be a happy ending. It was shortly after 11 PM that the rumors were confirmed, and we were informed that Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, HY”D, did not survive in captivity. The horror only increased upon learning that, contrary to the American media reports that they “died” in captivity, they were alive just a few days before, and Hamas brutally murdered them after making them film propagandic videos and in anticipation of Tzahal finding them.

It has been exactly eleven months since this war has started. Unfortunately, this is far from the first time over the last eleven months that we have learned of hostages not making it home alive. There is no such thing as a good way for one to die in captivity. Yet, it seems that the events of last week have hit us harder than anything since the day of October 7 itself. Maybe it is because Hersh Goldberg-Polin in particular is an American citizen. I did not know him, but I know a lot of people that did. Maybe it is because we saw his parents Rachel and Jon everywhere – in the Anderson Cooper interview in October, in which he sat with the Goldberg-Polin in their Jerusalem home; in their podcast interviews; at their speeches around the world, including the Washington rally in November; at their appearance at the Democratic National Convention just two weeks ago. Their activism played a major role in the English-speaking public being aware of the plight of the hostages. They gave us chizuk when we needed to be giving them chizuk. Maybe it is because, whatever one’s opinion is about the deal negotiations, we hoped that just maybe they would all be brought home soon. And maybe it is especially because they were, after all, surviving until Hamas terrorists made an active choice to murder them lest they be given an opportunity to go home.

While we have seen many miracles over the last eleven months, including some effective rescue missions, the burial of these hostages is a foul reminder that this past year has been a year of pain and anguish – for the families and for Klal Yisrael. A major aspect of the brutality of Hamas is not just their murderous terrorism but also their psychological terrorism, of allowing us to hope but ultimately manipulating our emotions for their evil schemes.

This morning, we read a very powerful Haftarah (Isaiah 51:12-52:12). We don’t speak about or analyze the Haftarot all that much, but this is where my mind went this week in processing recent events.

The Haftarah begins: אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי הוּא מְנַחֶמְכֶם – I, only I, am the one who consoles you. Those four words alone could constitute an entire speech. Here is what is particularly noteworthy – you have the repetition of the word אנכי. In fact, we see this at three different points in the Haftarah – התעוררי התעוררי and עורי עורי. Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein, in his sefer Netivei Nevuah: Mabat El Ha-Haftarot (available in English on the Virtual Beit Midrash), suggests that each repeating phrase marks a different section of the haftarah.

Starting from the beginning, אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי הוּא מְנַחֶמְכֶם –
This repetition further reminds us of נחמו נחמו עמי, the iconic phrase encapsulating the seven haftarot of consolation. Rav Lichtenstein points out that the similarities between our current Haftarah and the Shabbos Nachamu Haftarah are instructive, as are their differences.

Why would the Navi repeat words? Presumably, for emphasis. Sometimes emphasis is merely a strong rhetorical device. Yet, in our Haftarah, repetition is not merely a rhetorical device. In fact, one could argue that there are many similarities between this Haftarah and the one we read a few weeks ago, to the point where one can wonder why the repetition is necessary. Rav Lichtenstein astutely explains that grief is very complex and is not linear. Consolation does not appear on demand. Grief involves steps forward and backward. Therefore, the message of consolation to the Jewish people needs to be repeated and emphasized. We need to be reminded constantly that we can get through this moment and that better days are to come.

The repetition found in the haftarah also comes with greater detail in addressing both the fears and the hopes of the Jewish people. There are a few that are particularly poignant right now:
‘Some of our current fears:
In that very first verse, מִי־אַתְּ וַתִּירְאִי מֵאֱנוֹשׁ יָמוּת וּמִבֶּן־אָדָם חָצִיר יִנָּתֵן׃ – “who are you that you should be afraid of mortal humans and of men who will be made as grass?” Part of the tragedy of the last eleven months is the very fear of Hamas themselves – these people who Israel has and will continue to wipe out. These people are (or were) dead men walking, yet they bring us to our knees.
וַתִּשְׁכַּח ה’ עֹשֶׂךָ נוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם וְיֹסֵד אָרֶץ
You have forgotten Hashem, your Maker, Who spread out the heavens and set the foundations of the earth
וַתְּפַחֵד תָּמִיד כָּל הַיּוֹם מִפְּנֵי חֲמַת הַמֵּצִיק
And you are terrified continually, all day long, because of the oppressor’s fury
כַּאֲשֶׁר כּוֹנֵן לְהַשְׁחִית וְאַיֵּה חֲמַת הַמֵּצִיק:
when he prepares to destroy – But where is the oppressors’s fury?

Again, we cognitively know that Hashem is with us. Hashem is the eternal Ruler of the world. The oppressors of the Jewish people, however, will not be around forever. However powerful terrorists think they are with their rage and brazenness – and their very goal is to instill rage into the souls of the Palestinians and worldwide sympathizers – it can all be destroyed, with God’s help.

מִהַר צֹעֶה לְהִפָּתֵחַ וְלֹא יָמוּת לַשַּׁחַת וְלֹא יֶחְסַר לַחְמוֹ:
The wanderer will soon be released, and will not die in the pit; nor will his bread be lacking.

Alas, our grief this week is that the missing, the captured, were not released. They died in the tunnels of the enemy. It was widely noted that Eden Yerushalmi weighed 79 pounds at her death – clearly, bread was lacking.

In this first section of the Haftarah, Hashem offers His consolation because He knows what our enemies are capable of and the trauma we have endured. The fear does not disappear. The tension between reaching a hostage/ceasefire deal and continuing the war represents fears on both ends – the fear of the remaining hostages not being brought home, and the fear of Hamas not being defeated and being able to regenerate. Yet, our present is not necessarily our past. Hostages still remaining in captivity can still return home alive. And regardless of past experiences, לאמר לציון עמי אתה – Hashem reminds us that we are, in the present, still Hashem’s nation. Those who harm us will pay for their atrocious acts.

This brings us to the second section, in which the navi then shifts and tells us התעוררי התעוררי (Isaiah 51:17) – awaken yourself, awaken yourself, קומי ירושלים אשר שתית מיד ה’ את כוס חמתו – O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of Hashem the cup of fury. Indeed, some of our current fears are informed by the past – repeatedly throughout Jewish history, in which we were persecuted, in which we drank from Hashem’s cup of fury. שתים הנה קראתיך מי ינוד לך השד והשבר, והרעב והחרב, מי אנחמך – there are two calamities that have befallen you – who will bewal you? – the plunder and the calamity; the hunger and the sword. With whom can I comfort you?

Indeed, Hamas brutally plundered our people and allowed hunger and the sword on our hostages. Is consolation possible for any of this? The navi therefore comes and tells us that Hashem will defend us – כוס חמתי לא תוסיפי לשתותה עוד – we will no longer drink from the cup of fury.

Through this second section of the Haftarah, which Rav Lichtenstein says implicitly refers to the period of Churban, we acknowledge the anguish that our enemies have brought us. The sheer terror. Yet, the Ribono Shel Olam reminds us that He can and will defeat His and our enemies. The past is real. We have endured terrible things. But that is not the end of the story.

This brings us to the third section, in which we reach the prophecy of עורי עורי לבשי עוזך ציון (Isaiah 52:1) – Awaken, Awaken! Don your strength, O Zion. התנערי מעפר קומי שבי ירושלים – shake the dust from yourself, arise and sit, O Jerusalem. Our grief will eventually breed consolation. In recognizing our past, our future promises redemption. פצחו ורננו יחדו חרבות ירושלים כי נחם ה’ עמו גאל ירושלים – Burst out, sing glad song in unison, O ruins of ירושלים, for Hashem has comforted His people; He will have redeemed ירושלים.

We began our Haftarah in the “present” – recognizing that we have had a traumatic past that informs our current fears. We then shifted to the past, the horrors of Churban itself. In both sections, we were repeatedly reminded that Hashem will vanquish our adversaries. But we end with the promises of redemption. We will be free of terror and oppression, in a redeemed Yerushalayim.

It is still shiva for the families of the six murdered hostages. Those who were saying kaddish for those murdered on October 7 just finished a couple of weeks ago. We may not be ready to move on, yet. And certainly, what is going on right now has tremendous implications on how we currently see the world, how we currently see – or don’t see – prospects for peace. The trauma of antisemitism of the past, that we really thought was in the past, has reawakened.

Consolation at this moment is not natural. Like the Jews of the past, our consolation will not be linear, and we will need multiple sources of consolation at various points. But that is part of the greatness of Hashem – that He holds our hand to get us through seemingly impossible moments. That He will help us rebuild from the brokenness of the moment. Hashem gives us the ability to hope for the future. Hashem gives the ability for people like Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin to take their grief and channel it to make a better world. So on the one hand, we will say Av Harachamim in a few minutes to ask Hashem to avenge the blood of those whom our enemies murdered. On the other hand, while we tragically have removed names from our list of people to daven for during the Mi Shebeirach for the hostages, we will continue to daven for those remaining in captivity. We continue to hope. May Hashem bring them all home, and may Hashem bring us the day of redemption, speedily, ומחה ה’ דמעה מעל כל פנים וחרפת עמו יסיר מעל כל הארץ – And Hashem will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people will He take away from off all the earth (cf. Isaiah 25:8).