Shabbat Nachamu

The Shabbat following the Ninth of Av is the Shabbat of joy over our anticipated consolation. It is called Shabbat Nachamu, for the prophetic portion that is read is taken from Chapter 40 of Isaiah which begins with the words Nachamu, nachamu ami - "Console, console my people, says your G-d."

Usually, the haftarah reading on Shabbat pertains to a theme in the respective Torah portion which is read. However, when a given Shabbat has a different character - e.g., on a Festival or Rosh Chodesh - the haftarah reading reflects the specific theme of the day instead.

Thus, on the three Sabbaths between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and The Ninth of Av, the haftarot reflect the sense of calamity that characterizes the period. The first two are drawn from Jeremiah, while the third is from Isaiah.

The haftarah of Shabbat Nachamu is the first of the "seven consolations" - the seven haftarot which are read on the seven Sabbaths following The Ninth of Av. These haftarot are taken from Isaiah and record the prophetic messages of consolation which Isaiah offered Israel.

There are 144 verses altogether in the seven haftarot of consolation, and 143 verses contained in the portions of admonition in the Torah recorded in Bechukotai, Ki Tavo, Nitzavim, and Ha'azinu - and we see that the consolation exceeds the admonition.

A Double Consolation
"Console, console my people" - the word nachamu - "console" - is repeated, and thus it is said: Let those above console her and those below console her; let the living console her and let the dead console her; console her in this world and console her in the World to Come; console her for the ten tribes and console her for the tribes of Binyamin and Yehudah. The verse (Lamentations 1:2) uses the Hebrew root meaning "to weep," in two forms, for emphasis (bacho tivkeh) - thus we should weep twice: over the destruction of the first Temple and over the destruction of the second. For all these reasons, the consolation - nachamu, nachamu – is mentioned twice.