The Consolation in Contemplating Reality – Shabbat Nachamu

Introduction: How to Continue After the Exile of the Shechina

Erev Shabbat Va’etchanan, Shabbat Nachamu. In recent shiurim we have dealt with the subject of the Three Weeks according to the matters of the days, and now I stand in doubt that I don’t know how to resolve ever: How does one continue onward after we have spoken about the exile of the Shechina, about the true state, about reality as it is. Three full weeks dealing with this, and Tisha B’Av is the climax of the matter. And it always seems to me, truly, that it is exceedingly difficult to continue onward from here, and about this very thing one must learn and understand.

And we have already spoken about this, and said that it is impossible to truly speak about the exile of the Shechina as long as one does not understand the joy that lies within it. For joy means nothing other than to be alive, simply to be living. A dead person does not mourn at all, for the mourners are the living, whereas the dead do not experience pain and are not in mourning, for they are not alive. The mourners are the living, and therefore one must already within the mourning itself introduce abundant joy, abundant vitality, abundant light — for if not, there is no life here at all.

And all this is what opens our eyes to see the state of the Shechina in truth. As the Shechina said to Maran the Beit Yosef, as we spoke in previous shiurim, in that revelation where she said to him “If you only knew” — if you only knew how great the pain I have. In other words: if a person could look with open eyes at reality, without all those coverings of words of encouragement, without all those words of foolishness and vanity — he could not bear it, he would find no meaning, there would be no meaning in life. Thus it is written in the revelation of the Shechina to Maran the Beit Yosef — I don’t remember the exact language — and they received this as something important and very central, as a central revelation of what it means to touch and grasp the pain of the world, the pain of the Shechina.

The Order of the Sages: Living Within the Destruction

And thus is indeed the truth. If we were worthy, as Rabbi Yochanan said, if we truly understood, we could not eat meat or drink wine, not marry or engage in procreation, and not engage in settling the world all year. But what then? If so, there would be no world at all, and there would be no one for the Holy One, Blessed be He, to redeem. Therefore the Sages established an order, as is their way in everything to establish an aspect of the middle path: all year we marry, but at the time of the wedding we remember and say “If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget” (Psalms 137), and we omit one beautiful thing from the wedding, one ornament, and the like. A person builds a house, and leaves in it a remembrance of the destruction.

In other words: all this stems from the fact that it is truly impossible to live within the destruction, and one must understand this well. And this is what I seek to express — and surely it has already been said in many ways — but this is the first point, the first derasha of Shabbat Nachamu: the matter is truly exceedingly difficult.

Hester Panim of Hester

We live complete lives within a certain concealment, which can be called hester panim of hester. For if a person truly grasped the reality of the world — from the aspect of evil in it, from the aspect of deficiency in it, not from the aspect of good that will be revealed but from the aspect of deficiency — from the aspect of what is called the exile of the Shechina, from the aspect of what one should contemplate in Tikkun Chatzot every night; for the matter does not cease on Tisha B’Av, and when we begin the seven of consolation we do not stop saying Tikkun Chatzot, in whatever way it means, as we learned — if a person truly looked at this, he could not live, and would be in complete depression. And this is not mere rhetoric: one who studies the kinot can become completely depressed from them.

The Loneliness of the Shechina in Megillat Eicha

If so, but what then, what is the solution? I contemplated this in my study of Megillat Eicha, and I say thus: The prophet Yirmiyahu laments over the Shechina, laments over the city of Zion and Jerusalem. And the main word — and though this is not a shiur on Eicha — almost the entire matter lies in the first word, in the first verse: “How does she sit alone” (Eicha 1:1). The Shechina sits alone — and we learn that she is alone from her husband and alone from her children, she has no companions, she has no union, she is alone, she is lonely. And in what is her loneliness? One of the things said there is that all her friends have betrayed her — “All her friends have betrayed her” (Eicha 1:2).

And when we reach the second chapter, the prophet begins to speak about how it is impossible even to establish something comparable to her: “What shall I testify for you, what shall I liken to you” (Eicha 2:13). These verses are what the Zohar became very passionate about in the introductions to the Zohar, for the entire Zohar is in a certain sense an answer to Megillat Eicha, and one must remember this. “What shall I testify for you, what shall I liken to you, O daughter of Jerusalem, what shall I compare to you and comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion, for your breach is as great as the sea, who can heal you” (Eicha 2:13). This is the verse upon which the Zohar is built, on that “who can heal you,” how to find the “can heal you.”

The Mourner Who Is Alone

And the meaning of the matter: Generally, just as a person sitting shiva, a person in mourning — he is alone. Every mourner is alone. “A mourner has no mouth,” he cannot speak, cannot express what he feels. Many people have described this: they were in mourning, some tragedy occurred, and they go outside, and the world continues as usual, the entire world continues onward. What does this mean? That very loneliness causes a person to feel bad, to feel as if he is the only one, as if he is lost, as if he is the only one to whom death happens, to whom tragedy occurred, and the entire world continues onward. And a person says to him: Don’t worry, you are not so important in your own eyes — you too will die, and on their way out from your shiva people will think only about the traffic on the way home, and will not think about you at all. And this is a decree upon every person, and now I die in my heart.

The Consolation: You Are Not Alone

And this is the loneliness. And for this there is consolation: when we come to comfort a mourner, one of the main things is — there is no need for saying Torah thoughts and raising the question and the answer why such and such. The main thing is, that in coming to comfort we show the mourner that he is not alone. This is the order of the world, the order of Judaism, as we say “among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem” — you are not the first mourner and you are not the last mourner, there is an order, and we are with you. We place the matter within a context, and in this there is a certain consolation, as they say “the trouble of many is half a consolation.”

And about this the prophet says, and thus Rashi explained in Eicha, “What shall I testify for you, what shall I liken to you” — what shall I compare to you and comfort you, for I have nothing to establish comparable to your trouble. If I had another, if I could say: Look, such and such city also experienced a similar matter — for then it would be possible to live with it, for it is part of reality, part of the world. And when a person understands that something is part of the world, he is calmed, but here the matter does not exist. “What shall I liken to you” — if so, “for your breach is as great as the sea,” I have no consolation, no words of comfort I can give you, for your breach is greater than all other cities, greater than all other troubles, and in this too you are alone. You have no one even with whom to lament, besides that they do not want to lament over you; and if they do lament, they laugh and their mockery is on their lips. Laughter over all my people — all the other people laugh, saying: Ha, I knew it, “sitting alone.” They laugh, but they do not sympathize, and they cannot truly participate in the pain, and they cannot participate, for they do not have that type of problem.

The Role of a Prophet: Testifying, Likening, Comparing, Healing

And when the prophet says this, seemingly a wonderful matter arises in the next verse. For he is a prophet, and Yirmiyahu was a prophet, and Yirmiyahu wrote Megillat Eicha, as the Midrash says and as the Sages say. And the role of a prophet, of a true prophet, is this: a true prophet is a person who can lift reality, lift the pain of the Shechina, lift the state of the Shechina to the gate, to joy. Whatever the reality may be — he is capable of lifting it.

And indeed, when it says “What shall I testify for you, what shall I liken to you,” a question immediately arises: What does “What shall I testify for you” mean? Flesh and blood, a person speaking with human intellect, must live with certain coverings, with certain garments, for he cannot stand directly facing the truth. Only the Holy One, Blessed be He, “the eyes of Hashem your God,” He can look directly at reality; whereas a person must see himself within certain garments, within certain concepts, he places everything within an action, so that he can lift it.

And behold, one of the ways to comfort a person is to establish something comparable to his trouble, and in this the prophet said “What shall I compare to you and comfort you” — I have nothing. And the question arises: But he is a prophet. What then is the role of a prophet if not to express things that no one else can express? What is the role of a prophet if not to say things that are truly in the category of “who can compare to him”? “Who can compare to you” — this is exactly the language we say in Nishmat, and I believe it is a piyyut that comes after Nishmat: “Who can liken to you, who can compare to you, who can arrange for you.” Whereas he says “What shall I liken to you, what shall I compare to you” — and is not “who can liken to him” his entire role. What is a Jew? A prophet is a person connected to the Shechina, connected to those types of things that are “who can liken to them and who can compare to them.” And if so, what is his claim — “What shall I testify for you, what shall I liken to you, what shall I compare to you, who can heal you”? These are the four verbs in the verse.

The Four Verbs in the Verse

To testify, to liken, to compare, to heal — all these go together, and this is the role of the prophet. His role is to find how to testify: “I have testified against you today” (Devarim 30:19) — this was the role of the first prophet, Moshe Rabbeinu, and also Yeshayahu the prophet. They testify to Israel the reality, “I have testified against you today the heavens and the earth” (Devarim 30:19) — I am showing the reality. I compare, I speak about those things that have no comparison, that truly have no comparison — and yet it is possible to express them. For this is the role of words of Torah, of the alef-bet of Torah — to give words to this.

And what is to liken? “And by the hand of the prophets I will liken” (Hoshea 12:11). “Great is the power of the prophets who liken the form to its Creator” (Bereishit Rabbah 27). The greatness of the prophets is that they are capable of likening things that cannot be likened. And how? Because for this he is a prophet, this is his role. And this is “who can heal you” — and about this it says “For I am Hashem your healer” (Shemot 15:26). This was one of the first things the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel when they left Egypt: “For I am Hashem your healer” — I can heal reality, I can heal. “And he healed the altar of Hashem that was broken down” (Melachim I 18:30) — I can heal reality from looking at it with clarity. He testifies, and he compares, and he likens, and he comforts, and he heals. This is the matter. And he says “I cannot” — and this is truly a question, for this is his role.

The False Prophets: Vanity and Foolishness

About this Yirmiyahu says the next verse, and laments and says: I will answer you — behold your prophets, your prophets, and his intention here is to the false prophets that we learn about in the book of Yirmiyahu. And from here we see that it is his book, for he struggled and fought with the false prophets, like Chananya ben Azur and his colleagues, who testified and said that the vessels of Hashem are returning from Babylonia, and made complete signs, signs and wonders, and gave encouragement to the world not to be alarmed, that everything will return to its repair, that everything will be good. And Yirmiyahu the prophet says: Do you grasp? Your prophets betray their role of being prophets.

“Your prophets have seen for you vanity and foolishness, and they have not revealed your iniquity to bring back your captivity, and they have seen for you burdens of vanity and banishments” (Eicha 2:14). Your prophets, those whose role is to testify and liken and compare and comfort and heal, said instead “vanity.” “Vanity” means falsehood, nothing, garbage, not truth. “And foolishness” means things without taste, like “a palace foolish without a king,” things without taste, like something without salt that is called foolish.

To Reveal Your Iniquity

And they did not reveal your iniquity, as they said in the Gemara “Heaven shall reveal his iniquity and earth shall rise up against him” (Iyov 20:27). The first role of a prophet, the first role of comprehension, is to reveal the iniquity, to be clear with it. As they said “the early ones whose iniquity was revealed, their end was revealed” (Yoma 9). And though in Yoma it is said, I think there is in it a hint about the Second Temple, for the Sages said that the breach we have — which they call baseless hatred — is in the category of “the later ones whose iniquity was not revealed and their end was not revealed.” We do not know at all what our problem is. And that we do not know does not mean that we truly do not know — one can study the Gemara and see that it is written “because of baseless hatred” and the like — but that we do not grasp it, we do not have the grip, we do not have the strength, we do not have a prophet. And this is the role, this is the meaning of a prophet.

And this is the meaning of the matter that when we say we have no prophet: we have no one capable of looking at reality with eyes and saying what it is. We have all kinds of people who say that if they reveal the iniquities, “to bring back your captivity,” it is possible to return in teshuva, it is possible to repair the captivity, the wildness, the audacity, the improper conduct; and if not — the prophet pushes away, and it is “burdens of vanity and banishments,” false words and words that push away from the path. Instead of bringing back the ways, “to bring back your captivity,” the words of prophecy push the person away from the path.

What Is “Foolish”? Yirmiyahu’s Deep Critique

I contemplated thus: What is “burdens of vanity”? All the languages I understand. “Banishments” — I understand what it is. “Vanity” — falsehood, or like “a false ephah,” not good. But what is “foolish”? What is its matter here? I understand that it is a rhetorical expression — things without taste. But what does things without taste mean? What is the matter of lack of taste here?

And I contemplated that there is here a deep critique of Yirmiyahu the prophet on the false prophets, and he teaches us what is the way to be a true prophet — for then it will be fulfilled “and you shall be as My mouth” (Yirmiyahu 15:19), and then there will be “who can heal you,” as the Zohar says about “who” — that one who stands on the secret called “who,” which is Bina. This is “who can heal you,” as it says “As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you, and in Jerusalem you shall be comforted” (Yeshayahu 66:13).

Prophets and Bina

And what does this mean? Yirmiyahu the prophet, and prophets in general, their matter is in Bina; a prophet is one who speaks with the “who.” And the meaning is thus: We see all those false prophets, prophets of “only the vision of their heart” (Yirmiyahu 23). One should not blame people — reality is what causes this — but these are those people who for everything have a good word, for every tragedy, for every problem, they have some cliché, they have something: Well, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will help, everything will be good.

Encouragement as Escape from Participating in Pain

I spoke recently with someone, for many times when a person comes to his friend with a trouble he has, the friend gives him encouragement. This is the way of the world: they give encouragement, they say “don’t worry, it will be good.” And when one delves into the matter one sees that the reason he gives it many times is not because he wants to strengthen his friend and help him. For it is not at all clear that the way to help another is to strengthen him and tell him everything will be good; it may be that the way is the opposite — to awaken him and show him what he needs, “to reveal your iniquity,” to show him what the problem is — and “your iniquity” does not necessarily mean his sin — and what can be done, what needs to be done. Not always is there what to do, for he has an illness or another matter, but one needs to know what can be done; and not always is this the correct way.

Many times there are other things. Many times it is required that you do something, and many times that encouragement they say is nothing but the discomfort of the encourager. That is: when a person comes to me with trouble, he has as it were a claim on me. First, there is a problem in the world, and what is to be done with it? Must I do something? Must I help you? Someone wronged you — do you think I should now go and call that person, arouse against him, do something to him? Ha, you know what? The person gives him — tells him faith, tells him encouragement. Tells him the same thing they tell everyone, the same refrain: Ha, the Holy One, Blessed be He, helps with everything, “whatever the Merciful One does is for the good” (Berachot 60), know that “I am not a person in the world at all,” and all kinds of such refrains.

And he does not do this because he wants to help another, but does it because he does not want to be guilty, does not want to be in that uncomfortable situation where there is a problem that perhaps something needs to be done with it, and therefore he pushes him away with this. And in general, I am not only speaking about it obligating him to do something — the very thing is not comfortable for him. People do not like to feel bad, and this is right and natural; and even in his friend’s trouble he does not want to feel bad. Therefore he says encouragement so that he will not have to participate in his friend’s pain. So the encouragement is a way how not to participate in another’s pain. I am not saying there is no need to know when to encourage and when it is needed, but there is such a distinction here.

The Tasteless Cliché

Yirmiyahu the prophet was certainly one of the Jews who had that distinction, and claimed that besides being vanity, it is also foolish — it has no taste. And when one studies all those writings of encouragement, all those clichés of encouragement, the same thing again and again. The same story the maggid tells every week, that never leaves his mouth. There is no taste in it — not only is it false, but there is no taste in it. One who cries — this is a basic critique on one who says things that are again and again the same thing, a cliché. “Cliché” — perhaps there is no Hebrew word for this, perhaps they will yet teach the word — means something tasteless, like bread without salt that has no taste.

And when is there taste? There are those who think that if so one needs to be an artist, a master of homiletics, and he needs each time to turn the intention, to say each time some wisdom, some supreme wisdom, and then there is taste. True, there is in this a bit more taste than one who always says the same cliché again and again and even he himself does not believe in it. But even this can become tasteless, for they grasp the trick — they grasp how he says each time the opposite. Don’t think — what am I getting at? — don’t think that Shabbat Chazon is the lowest Shabbat of the year, no, it is the highest Shabbat of the year. Don’t think that Shabbat Nachamu is a good Shabbat — you know what, I’ll say the opposite, I’ll give a discourse that Shabbat Nachamu will be sad. Why? Because last week we were supposed to be happy, and this week we’ll be sad. Perhaps exactly the opposite? I don’t know. And also the regular way is holy. So both are interesting.

Truth as the Source of Interest

What is an interesting thing? What is something that is not foolish? It is the opposite of foolish — salted, words of taste. And one must contemplate this, and I seek to contemplate this very much, for this is something that concerns me as well. Everyone seeks to hear the Rebbe, to hear the darshan, to hear the maggid shiur who says things of taste, who says chiddushim. Anyone who is a bit wise, a bit mature, does not seek to repeat the same thing — though perhaps this too is needed — but seeks to hear some chiddush.

Now a question arises: How does one find chiddushim? How does one find true things that have taste? From where does one take words of taste? Many times it seems to a person that words of taste need to be the opposite — if the regular Rav says thus, the Rav will say the opposite; or not exactly thus, but he will bring three opinions and make from them some Torah. And what will be when one needs nevertheless to say encouragement like the cliché says? For then he is lost, for then he does it but feels nothing, and there is no taste in it either — certainly there is no taste, doubly there is no taste, and even he himself does not believe in it.

Or in general, as they say, because he needs chiddushim he says crooked things, for the straight things are no longer a chiddush, the straight things everyone already knows. And therefore, in order to innovate, in order to feel some taste, one needs to make a crooked interpretation. But even in this there is no logic — it cannot be that we will need to make a crooked interpretation. And we return to the claim: Suppose the false prophet said something of taste and made a beautiful metaphor, it would be good. But the problem is that it is false, is it not? And what connection is there in it being “vanity and foolishness” — the lack of taste is one problem and the lack of truth another problem?

The Gemara: No Two Prophets Prophesy in the Same Style

And behold the Gemara says: How did Yirmiyahu the prophet truly know? For Tzidkiyahu and Chananya ben Azur and one hundred and fifty prophets there were, and all of them said a prophecy opposite to Yirmiyahu’s prophecy. The Gemara says in Sanhedrin — a wonderful Gemara that needs to be explained, a terrible Gemara — how did Yirmiyahu know that he was speaking truth and they were speaking falsehood? Perhaps they were speaking truth?

The Gemara says thus: He saw one hundred and fifty prophets saying the same prophecy, exactly in the same language. Yirmiyahu said: I have a tradition — and one must study from where the tradition came, and I don’t remember the exact language of the Gemara — “one subject rises for several prophets” (Sanhedrin 89). “Subject” means one topic. One topic many prophets can say, and many times they will say it in the same formulation, and even in the same word and the same metaphor we sometimes see — this is the Gemara’s intention — except that each one places it within his course, within his style, within his view of what there is. “And no two prophets prophesy in the same style” (Sanhedrin 89). Two prophets do not prophesy in the same style. As if there is here a tradition: when the Holy One, Blessed be He, sends prophecy to a person, He does not send it in the same language to two people.

And if two people, two prophets, say exactly the same verse — this is already a sign that he is a false prophet. And if a person studies the prophets, sometimes he finds the same verse? One can say that this is when one transmits his friend’s words — it is permitted to repeat his friend’s prophecy, permitted to say after him, for it may be that it is the same truth, and if it is a good thing there is no need to innovate innovations. But its meaning is that he places it within his world, within his interpretation.

And this Yirmiyahu knew. He saw that if everyone says in one style, this is a false prophet. And what does this mean? Thus I learn in this: We see here clearly that that topic I am saying — has no taste. Has no taste. For when everyone says the same Torah, there is no taste in it. “No two prophets prophesy in the same style.”

Truth Is What Is Interesting

But what then, you will say, what does it mean — everyone needs to be original, everyone needs to say some new metaphor? And what if I have no other metaphor, but I say the same mazal tov that everyone says? No — the problem is that now I do not know, and not only do I not know, but it is not truth. That is: the very fact that you say something tasteless is a sign that it is not truth.

Or in other words: if a person seeks the truth, let him know thus — not only does he seek the truth, but if a person seeks something that has taste, let him know that there is no need to seek taste, but one only needs to seek the truth. At that moment when he seeks reality, when he is straight, when he seeks what the facts truly are — automatically it will be interesting. Why? For the interest does not come from people, and does not come also from the fact that once I thought thus and today I think differently — this thing is interesting perhaps for small children. The interest comes from the fact that what I say, what the true Amora, true Rav, says — is the truth. It fits with everything.

As they say “truth fits itself on all its sides.” He says something true, and finds for it thousands of proofs. Why? For truth is something that is reality, and it fits. He goes out to the street and sees it. He learns in this book, learns a Chassidic book, learns a Lithuanian book, learns any book — insofar as the books came to express the truth, he sees it everywhere. And when he says falsehood, he finds many questions, for falsehood is an inverted thing; but the Rebbe says wisdom. And when one learns something true — and truly I mean anything that is clearer, that brings the person closer to God, that is brings the person closer to what reality is — for then it is exceedingly interesting.

Why People Are Boring

In other words: one who wants to be interesting, to innovate an interesting chiddush — most people are not capable of this not because they are boring and not because they imitate others, but most people are not capable because they cover reality with vanity and foolishness. “They have seen for you vanity and foolishness,” they cover — this is Shabbat Chazon. He covers the way with a bundle of metaphors that are “two prophets prophesy in the same style,” everyone says the same thing. It is simply clear that he is not looking at reality directly. And at that moment when you look at reality directly — certainly it may be that you will say almost the same verse as your friend, but in one letter it will be different, for you see it a bit differently. And do not be ashamed, say exactly thus — it will be interesting. But from fear of another, fear to say by yourself, fear to look at the world, fear to look at God as He is — certainly you will be vanity and foolishness, for vanity and foolishness go together.

So vanity and foolishness are not two separate things. What is a cliché — is because he is not looking at truth. And the source of interest is not falsehood, but the source of interest is truth. Reality is rich enough, the Holy One, Blessed be He, does every day “new every morning, great is Your faithfulness” (Eicha 3:23), does every day new things, chiddushim upon chiddushim. There is no lack at all of chiddush every day for one who looks at what there is of the new in it. And that we have no chiddush, that we say every week the same thing — is because we are afraid to look at reality. Because we do not ultimately look at reality, we look at what was said yesterday. The prophet looks at what the other prophet said, at the other table — certainly then he says falsehood, then there is a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of every prophet, for everyone says the same falsehood, for he is not looking himself at reality but at what was already said. And even if there is in it a point of truth, it is still falsehood, for if he looked at truth he would see a bit differently.

Entering the Ruin

And this is a simple introduction to what I began to speak. Now we return to what we spoke. It comes out thus: The Shechina said to the Beit Yosef, and she says to everyone truly, to everyone who hears the bat kol that moans like a dove — sometimes one must enter a ruin. It is forbidden to enter a ruin, this is the hint in the Gemara. It is forbidden to enter a ruin. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi met Eliyahu the prophet, and told him that he entered a ruin to pray, as it is written in tractate Berachot; and Eliyahu told him that it is forbidden to enter a ruin, for several reasons a Jew should not enter a ruin. This is not the way, a person’s place is not in a ruin.

And what does it mean to enter a ruin? The matter is already hinted in many books. There is a place called destruction — the destruction of the Temple, “one ruin of the ruins of Jerusalem.” A person cannot live in a ruin. A ruin is not a place. A ruin is a place where “satyrs and demons,” there walk demons and spirits, and from sadness nothing is built. Even from sadness of destruction nothing is built. From the ruin nothing is built. And from where does the builder of the ruins of Jerusalem build? From making a wedding, from “all joy” — joy and joy and groom and bride. In joy it is possible to build something, whereas from the ruin it is not possible to build. It is forbidden to enter destruction.

Except that it happened that the Jew has nowhere to pray — and this is the secret. It happened that the Jew has nowhere to pray, and sometimes he is forced to enter even the ruin. This is the meaning of the three weeks: that he has not, and is forced sometimes to enter even the ruin. Except that they already established an order. So he enters the ruin, and the ruin is very real, and there he heard a bat kol moaning like a dove, a bat kol that is a voice from heaven. And where is the “voice from heaven”? Why don’t they hear it in the settlement? Because the settlement is a well-covered place, full of vanity and foolishness, a community of vanity and foolishness. There is a beit midrash there, and on it a big sign, and there come the prophets of “they have seen for you vanity and foolishness.” And from lack of choice they live there. And if he enters the ruin, he hears there how great the troubles are, how terrible the matter is. Well, and if the matter is terrible, the question arises: If so, how does he continue onward? What will he do now?

Consolation Is Not a Bluff — It Is More Truth

And here there is an

Consolation Is Not a Bluff — It Is More Truth

And here there is an additional chiddush that must be understood well and heard well: that there is not even one word of falsehood in the entire matter of consolations, there is not even one word of encouragement in this. If a person thinks that the seven of consolation are something where indeed we are in exile, but we are going to act as if we are not — “Give strong drink to the perishing” (Mishlei 31:6), we get drunk and pretend as if we are not — this is not consolation at all, this is a bluff. And what kind of consolation is this? Consolation means to live in falsehood? If the truth is that the Shechina is in exile, and despite all this we find all kinds of Torah thoughts that contradict truth, that contradict basic reality — one who studies the newspaper knows this; and one who does not study the newspaper will think everything is fine. It cannot be, such a thing cannot be at all.

But what then? But the meaning is thus: It is not correct that what we say is only half the story. It is not correct that if a person looks at the truth in its truth he will not be convinced, and will say “My brothers, you comfort me with vanity” — I am not seduced by all those Torah thoughts, I seek to look at reality, and I see that the situation is sunk deep in the ground. It is not correct that he will remain there. Indeed true, there is in this very much truth, and one must give time to this part, one must look at it and not fear it. But if he truly remains there — this is the very thing. Not like Rabbi Akiva who laughed, who made a calculation — I don’t know how to learn this — that if a person truly remains there, if he truly looks there, he will see that there are more things, there are more things.

Realism Is Not Pessimism

What does this mean, and how can one say this in the simplest way? One must be realistic. We say one must be realistic. And there is a tendency, an interesting tendency, a funny tendency in the world, that makes a mistaken identification of realism with pessimism. Very interesting. As someone said: a pessimist is one who sees the glass half empty, and an optimist is one who sees the glass half full. And what is reality? One who says the glass is half empty and half full. Except that many times one who considers himself a realist says the part. Why? Because it is true that many of the lost sinners seek even half a glass when it does not exist: the glass is a third full, and he says it is half full. Why do you say it is a third full? What, isn’t it enough? And it may be even more than this, and it may be even that it is so full to above its top.

And a realist is one who says: It is possible to fill it. You are very focused on what you see — very good. But realism does not mean to see only exactly what there is now. For tomorrow it may be different. It can be — does not mean it will be, but it can be. There is very much, and when one delves into the matter one sees, and it is possible — we have already spoken about this point in other ways in previous shiurim and this is not its place. It is possible to look at reality. There is almost — except as long as a person is alive; and if a person is dead, one must know what happens there in the upper world, and I don’t know, there will be other goods and other evils. But as long as a person is alive, the troubled optimist always finds some good point. He does not intend to lie ever; and if he says falsehood, certainly this is a spirit of falsehood and one must be careful.

On What to Focus

And sometimes one must — and I say, this is not only a matter of what is truth, but many times also a matter of on what to focus. It is very important to remember: the question of truth and falsehood is not always the only question. There is a question of intention — we spoke about this on the night of Tisha B’Av — a question of on what to focus. And it is true that there are mitzvot, there is an order, where the focus itself is what is required. One who says he seeks the truth — we spoke about this last week in shiur and this is not its place — one who says he seeks the truth, this is never enough, for one also needs to know on what to focus. Besides what we spoke that one needs to know in what to trust, one also needs to know on what to focus.

Suppose this is the truth, and the truth is that the entire world is truth. That all that exists, “all that Hashem made,” all this is truth. And on what exactly do I focus? This requires a new responsibility, new knowledge, new intellect that says: this is truth, and this too is truth. And now a person contemplates this, and now a person contemplates this. And how does one know on what to contemplate? Here truly enters the matter of what they call pessimism, optimism, and all those types of character traits. This is already a matter of character traits, not a matter of intellect, not a matter of knowledge, but a matter of character traits.

In Truth There Is More Good Than Evil

And what I am explaining here is that there is here truth. That is: if a person says — I don’t want to know any stories, I don’t want to believe in any Torah thoughts, I only want to look at reality — even he will see that many times it can even be. And I believe this was the contemplation of Yeshayahu the prophet in what he wrote. It is customary among us to say seven consolations, and only three punishments and seven consolations; and there are many more, and one can always learn that because a person is so broken he needs so very much encouragement, perhaps and perhaps he will do something. But this too is true, and this returns to very deep contemplations that exist in the question of why there is good and evil in the world, why there is evil — which is also true, that if a person delves he will see that there is always more, or almost always there is more truth, more good than evil.

The Parable of Technology

And if a person delves — I must say this — I will ask to say the parable, and I believe it is true what I am saying now, and if someone tells me a distinction… It is customary to lament. We said that everything can be said in the way of lamentation. It is customary to lament about — there is technology, there is internet, confuses people’s minds, takes away calm, takes away settled mind, introduces to people all kinds of forbidden thoughts, all kinds of forbidden actions, brings close all kinds of, makes all kinds of mixture of good and evil. Suppose everything is true. Even suppose everything is true — I am not speaking now. One can say, if he is positive, that he is pro-technology, and will find merit for it, and will be a Jew who says he is satisfied and says everything is only vessels; and they have already spoken about this extensively in other places. Another will say: You are not realistic. Look at reality, and you will see — look how many people’s minds are confused, how many people are bewildered, how many people transgress because of it.

Good, you know what? I admit about all reality. I already sat with you on Tisha B’Av, and lamented over all the transgressions in the world, over all the sins in the world, over all the evil in the world, over all the destructions in the world, endlessly without end. We look at this like “the arm of my right hand” of the Beit Yosef, we look at all reality. I am capable of seeing the destruction before it was. He saw the entire thing with clarity, without any doubts, without any evasion, without any vanity and foolishness.

Now I say to you: Now come with me, and admit about the truth. If you want me to admit about the truth, to look at the truth — now come with me and tell me how many good things there are in this, how much good. And the truth is: just as we have difficulty, just as there is vanity and foolishness, just as it is hard for a person to bear the evil, just as it is hard for a person to bear how confused the situation is in many of the things that can be — so it is hard perhaps, and perhaps even harder, I don’t know, at least as hard as it, for a person to bear how good things are.

For a person only needs to get up in the morning and see what world he lives in: he can touch a button, and it lights by itself, and there is light. There was here an entire matter, “You shall not kindle fire in all your dwellings on the Shabbat day” (Shemot 35:3), making a bit of fire was an entire matter — thirty-nine labors, laws of Shabbat. One who knows reality, history, knows this is not a simple thing to light at night. It is a difficult thing, costs dearly; and for half a pruta the electricity costs an entire night.

And he continues in the morning, and seeks to know something, and presses a button, and it brings him immediately exactly the Gemara, exactly the source, exactly all the science, everything he seeks to know in the world in one moment. I don’t believe — just as that person claims about me that I am imagining, that I don’t understand how there is evil in the internet and think it is a good thing — I don’t believe that one who admits about the truth, who seeks to be a prophet and look at reality, has at all the tools, at all the expressions of joy, the expressions of consolation that can be said about such a thing.

The Parable of Air Conditioning

There are air conditioners. It cannot be — thousands of years people suffered, and I am not entering into what was during thousands of years, but a person can suffer today, people suffer in whom there is no point in this, they suffer from the heat. An entire summer is truly trouble, as we learned. The summer is a time of troubles, “and bitter destruction” (Devarim 32:24) — I did not teach this here publicly, they taught it in other places. It is truly trouble, and they repair all that kelipah. They knew that this is the main thing, I wrote about this — I have not yet sent it ever, perhaps for next year — that the kelipah of the Three Weeks, the difficulty, is very connected to heat. “Bitter destruction” its matter is in heat. One can speak about this another time. There is in this a spiritual kelipah and a physical kelipah, and all the matters are truly connected to heat. This is the meaning of “bitter destruction” in the verse, and about this we learn that in the Three Weeks it exists, and about this the destruction was not destroyed at that time, because it was very hot. That is: the heat is truly a problem.

And thank God they touched almost on that problem: they press a small button, and generally when the air conditioner works, they press one button and already there is no heat. This is truly — I don’t think one needs to make a complete thanksgiving meal about this. They make meals on Shabbat Nachamu and on the fifteenth of Av — I believe one should establish a holiday for technology, for air conditioning. You know what — one thing at a time, one holiday a year in honor of the fact that there is air conditioning. And imagine if it were part of a holiday — I am not speaking in Torah, I am not speaking in physicality — you know what difference there is between settled mind to learn in a place that has air conditioning and a place that does not? It is a real difference, one can try and see. Even the greatest tzaddik who shook off everything he knows from this world — makes air conditioning, and learns better, and prays better, and everything is better. One should make a special holiday in honor of this. On the fifteenth of Av they will make a special holiday to dance in honor of the fact that there is air conditioning, and there are telephones, and there is electricity, and there is internet. All these are wonderful things — I am not speaking, I am not dismissing any problem, suppose for all of Tisha B’Av.

Three Punishments and Seven Consolations: The Calculation

Now let us calculate a bit, and when we begin to calculate we see that in reality, if there are three punishments — there are seven consolations. It must be so, for that reality is greater than evil means only that evil is not reality, and that everything exists. Automatically, in almost every difficult situation that is, in almost every individual situation — except a person who says “better my death than my life,” for then he will not say this — but as long as he does not say this, there is more good than evil, there is more, and the good is so good, so deep, and we have no tools to measure it, and we have no tools.

Joy of Mitzvah and the Arizal

The Arizal said that he attained all his levels through joy of mitzvah. And do you know what joy of mitzvah means? Joy of mitzvah means that the Arizal never said it is a weak generation. This is the meaning. For when a person says “Ha, we do such mitzvot,” he will have no mitzvot at all. And as they say, they say to him from heaven: Do you so belittle your mitzvot? You belittle. But if you say: Oh, we are capable today of doing more mitzvot than anyone was capable of doing, and we do the best, and are capable of learning Torah — there is no question in the world that we are capable today to learn the Torah, and to understand God, and to understand reality, and to understand the Torah of the Holy One, Blessed be He, with all the tools there are, with all the people there are. One can pick up a telephone and call whomever one wants, of whatever type one wants, and ask via artificial intelligence or directly, there is no difference. One can learn the Torah more than any early one, any late one, any tzaddik, anyone who was capable — automatically there are better interpretations.

And should a person feel bad that he says a better interpretation than Rashi on a verse? Rashi would be happy. He seemingly told his grandson that he is happy, and we are capable of being a thousand times better than the Rashbam was capable of dreaming. And it cannot be — and certainly there is still exile, and certainly there are still thousands of decrees and troubles and illnesses and stories, and they have already spoken about this, and we deny nothing.

Yeshayahu the Prophet Was Not a Visionary

Yeshayahu the prophet was not a visionary. He did not say: Oh, Yirmiyahu the prophet was black-viewed, saw evil, and I will look good. No and no and no. He said thus — thus at least goes the order, I can learn with depth and inside and we shall see — he said thus: I see the entire thing, I see the entire destruction, sharp exactly like him, deep exactly like him. I am capable myself of writing destructions like Yirmiyahu wrote. But I am also capable now to say: Our entire matter is not to deny reality. But look a bit at reality, and you will see how beautiful and how fortunate and how good it is.

And this is almost: just as we look at the troubles of the destruction, at the pain of the Shechina, and see “She has fallen, she shall rise no more” (Amos 5:2) — we do not see how to rise — so when we look at that something good. For it is a rule, as the Baal Shem Tov says: One who grasps part of the truth grasps part of the unity, and one who grasps unity grasps all of it. For goodness is unity, goodness means all Godliness. From this stems the entire thing. There is no such thing as half God, there is no such thing as half faith. There is half heresy here — “heresy” means half; “apikorsut” means half; “on condition to receive reward,” the French say, “reward” means half. When he is in smallness — this is only a place where he is; but in greatness everything is everything. And precisely because it is greatness, it does not have so many words. It is harder to express it, for everything is one, everything is one thing. We spoke about this in another shiur and this is not its place. But if it is possible to express this, if a person has such a beautiful gift and is capable of expressing this — certainly there is much more, very much more. One can truly be happy, and we will have a joyous Shabbat, and we will know and hear a bit of what we are speaking and labor on this.