| This Shabbat, the first Shabbat of consolation, we read in Isaiah, "Comfort, oh comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and declare to her that her term of service is over, that her iniquity is expiated. . . ."(Isaiah 40:1-2) On Tisha B’Av our Temple is destroyed, our people exiled from the Land and from God. But in the weeks that follow, the prophet Isaiah reassures us that we can turn back to God, and God will then turn back to us. God sends a message to our exiled people – all is not lost. The prophet declares that we must make a road in the desert, raising every valley and leveling out the mountains – the Presence of God is coming. We will not be alone any longer. I for one need this message now. Several times a week I read in the paper about how the ice in Greenland is receding, about intensifying weather patterns bringing stronger and more numerous hurricanes and floods. I hear from friends in Texas, where we used to live, that they have recently had air quality days at level purple!! On the scale of air-quality, this is the worst level- it is unhealthy for people to go outdoors because of the pollution-heat mixture. I find myself making dire prophetic proclamations to my husband – “the world really is coming to an end!” In this week’s Torah portion, God calls heaven and earth to witness against the Israelites for the ways in which they will stray, saying that they will soon perish from the land they are about to possess. The Etz Hayyim commentary interprets this, saying, “Heaven and earth do indeed witness against us when we make improper use of that with which God has blessed us. Poisoning the air and water, despoiling the environment do threaten to cause us to ‘perish from the land.’" But, the Torah goes on to say - “If you search there for the Eternal your God, you will find God, if only you seek God with all your heart and soul – when you are in distress because all these things have befallen you, and in the end, return to the Eternal your God and obey God. For the Eternal your God is a compassionate God. God will not fail you nor will God let you perish . . . .” (Deut. 4:29-31) I take from this not only that God is compassionate, but also that our natural world can be forgiving. Heaven and earth can witness against us, but they can also respond in an encouraging way when we try to clean up our act. We can clean our air and our water and create a healthier environment for our children. We have proven that we can prevent acid rain and the depletion of the ozone layer. In our Haftarah, Isaiah describes God as powerful and eternal in contrast to our own vulnerability and fleetingness. “All flesh is grass,” the prophet proclaims. (Isaiah 40:6) It is true – we are only mortal. But the Torah portion reminds us that we do have agency and power of our own. If we but search for God – if we but put our energies into finding our way back to living in harmony with the earth, as a nation through strong legislation and as individuals by changing how we use the earth’s resources. Then God will not fail us. Comfort, oh comfort My people. It is possible to restore what we have lost. It is possible to reverse the damage we have done. There can be comfort. |
