{"id":67143,"date":"2019-12-17T17:19:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T15:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=67143"},"modified":"2023-07-14T15:33:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T12:33:24","slug":"spiritual-comfort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/spiritual-comfort\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Comfort"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The book of Lamentations describes the shocking state of Jerusalem in the wake of the Temple\u2019s destruction. Her majestic glory has been debased, and her children taken into captivity. With empty roads and abandoned streets, she dwells alone. Feeling the pain of loss and shame, she does what all of us might do: \u201cBitterly she weeps in the night, Her cheeks wet with tears. There is none to comfort her\u201d (1:2). Jerusalem mourns in the same way that we mourn the loss of a loved one. She cries out, desperately hoping that others might comfort her. Whereas Jews typically mourn for seven days, Jerusalem\u2019s mourning, however, lasts for seventy years until Isaiah offers the following message of consolation: \u201cComfort, oh comfort My people, Says your God\u201d (40:1-2).<\/span><\/p>\n

To better understand the kind of comfort God is extending to Jerusalem and the Jewish people in Isaiah, let\u2019s examine the first description of comfort in the Bible. After the sin of Adam and Eve, humanity was forced to work the earth in order to provide food. It is difficult backbreaking labor. Eventually, Lamech has a son, whom he names Noach, as if to say (5:29) \u2018This one will bring us comfort (<\/span>yenachamenu<\/span><\/em>)<\/span><\/i> from our work and from the toil of our hands.\u2019 Rashi explains that Noah\u2019s unique gift was to invent farming implements that would ease the harshness of agricultural work. In other words, Noah brings comfort to his parents because his efforts alleviate the physical pain and suffering of the onerous work that consumes their days and nights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah, however, appears to be describing something different, what we might call spiritual comfort. First and foremost, God offers His presence to the Jewish people. After decades of silence, God finally speaks to them once again, and this simple act reminds them that they are not alone and that the covenant endures. Second, God does not deny the pain and suffering that the Jewish people and Jerusalem have experienced. In fact, God acknowledges (40:2) that \u2018she has received double for her sins.\u2019 Third, and most important, God helps the Jewish people find their faith once more and gives them hope. God recognizes that the world, as it is right now, is one of brokenness. While the Jewish people may have sinned and therefore brought their punishment upon themselves, this does not negate the inequities that exist throughout creation. As a result, God proclaims (40:4), \u2018Let every valley be raised, Every hill and mount made low. Let the rugged ground become level And the ridges become a plain.\u2019 Instead of a world of mountains and valleys, hierarchy and oppression, God promises that the world will be transformed into one of equality and justice. This is, perhaps, the most significant dimension of the spiritual comfort God offers to Jerusalem. Through offering a genuine vision of a better world, God enables the Jewish people to know true comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Spiritual Comfort","main_caption":"To understand the kind of comfort God is extending to Jerusalem and the Jewish people in Isaiah, let\u2019s examine the first description of comfort in the Bible\u2026.","main_caption_size":"2","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67143"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67143"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116662,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67143\/revisions\/116662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}