Comfort

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Divine Comfort and Redemption

TANAKH

The divine assurance of comfort and the end of suffering for the people of Jerusalem is a powerful message of hope. The book of Isaiah contains prophecies that shift from rebuke and warning to messages of comfort and future redemption.

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;
For she has received at GOD’s hand
Double for all her sins.

Isaiah 40:1-2

Comfort in the Book of Job

COMMENTARY

According to some sources, Moses wrote the Book of Job to comfort the Israelites during their suffering in Egypt. The 19th-century biblical commentator Malbim explores Moses' intellectual and philosophical efforts.

According to the Talmudic Sages, Moses was the author of the Book of Job (TB Baba Batra 14b). The Midrash explains that he wrote the book in order to comfort the Children of Israel during their suffering in Egypt. Moses was the first to research and elucidate this problem. Employing the techniques of analysis and philosophical contemplation, he examined and investigated this subject before the Word of God was revealed to him. He recorded the results of his intellectual efforts and meditations in this book, in the form of a debate…

Malbim on Job, Introduction 3

When Comfort Is impossible

COMMENTARY

There is a particular anguish experience by those still hold hope that their missing loved ones might be alive. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his commentary on the Torah portion 'Vayeshev,' uses the model of Jacob explore the difficulty with gaining closure encountered when there is a lack of proof that someone has died.

A midrash gives a remarkable explanation. “One can be comforted for one who is dead, but not for one who is still living,” it says. In other words, Jacob refused to be comforted because he had not yet given up hope that Joseph was still alive. That, tragically, is the fate of those who have lost members of their family (the parents of soldiers missing in action, for example), but have as yet no proof that they are dead. They cannot go through the normal stages of mourning because they cannot abandon the possibility that the missing person is still capable of being rescued…

Covenant and Conversation; Genesis; The Book of the Beginnings, Vayeshev, Refusing Comfort, Keeping Hope 6

Divine Comfort in the Wilderness

TANAKH

The story of Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness provides an example of direct divine intervention to provide assurance and hope. Through the miraculous provision of water and assurance of a great future for Ishmael, God offers divine comfort in times of distress.

God heard the cry of the boy, and a messenger of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink. God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became skilled with a bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Genesis 21:17-21

Joseph's Compassion

KABBALAH

Joseph's ability to forgive and comfort his brothers, despite their betrayal, exemplifies profound brotherhood and mercy. The Zohar, a foundational work of Jewish mysticism, offers a mystical interpretation of Joseph's compassionate actions.

Observe that although when Joseph fell into their hands they did not act towards him as brothers, yet when they fell into his hands he did act towards them as a brother, as it is written: “And he comforted them, and he spoke kindly unto them” (Gen. 1, 21).

Zohar, Vayeshev 11:108

Rebekah's Comfort

MIDRASH

Rebekah provided Isaac with a parallel level of comfort and emotional support that he had received from his mother, Sarah. Louis Ginzberg’s early 20th-century work, Legends of the Jews, retells the story of Isaac’s mourning and Rebekah’s role in comforting him.

For three years Isaac had mourned for his mother, and he could find no consolation in the academy of Shem and Eber, his abiding-place during that period. But Rebekah comforted him after his mother's death, for she was the counterpart of Sarah in person and in spirit.

Legends of the Jews 1:5:292

Seeking Comfort for a Loved One

TANAKH

The Book of Ruth, one of the five megillot in the Hebrew Bible, tells the story of Ruth's loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi and her journey towards finding a secure home. Naomi's proactive efforts to secure a happy and comfortable future for Ruth her deep love for her daughter-in-law.

Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “Daughter, I must seek a home for you, where you may be happy.

Ruth 3:1

The Comfort of Friends

TANAKH

Job’s friends exemplify the importance of communal support and proactive efforts in comforting those who are suffering. The Book of Job narrates how Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar traveled from their homes to console Job after hearing about his calamities.

When Job’s three friends heard about all these calamities that had befallen him, each came from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him.

Job 2:11

The Meal of Comfort

GUIDES

The Jewish laws surrounding the meal of comfort for mourners provide a structured way to offer support during a time of grief. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s commentary on the Babylonian Talmud in tractate Moed Katan elucidates the halakhot related to comforting mourners during and after their mourning period.

The halakhot of the meal of comfort for the mourners were also explained in this chapter, as well as how one comforts the mourners, both during their mourning period and afterward.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Moed Katan, Summary of Perek III 5

Guidelines for Consoling Mourners

TALMUD

Offering comfort to someone in mourning requires sensitivity and understanding of the appropriate guidelines and timeframes. The Talmud in Moed Katan provides specific instructions on how to console mourners, distinguishing between the first twelve months and the period thereafter.

And the Gemara raises a contradiction from another baraita that states: One who finds another in mourning during his twelve months of bereavement may still speak words of consolation to him, but he should not extend greetings toward him. If he finds him after twelve months, he may extend greetings toward him, and he should not speak words of consolation to him. He may, however, speak to him indirectly, i.e., he may say to him: May you be consoled, without mentioning the name of the deceased.

Moed Katan 21b:14

The Communal Obligation of Comforting Mourners

HALAKHAH

Comforting mourners is not just a personal act but a communal obligation, requiring a minimum of ten people to form a comforting line at the cemetery. In his monumental 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides outlines the Jewish mourning practices, emphasizing the community's role in providing solace.

How are mourners comforted? After the deceased is buried, the mourners gather together and stand at the side of the cemetery. All of those who attended the funeral stand around them, line after line. A line may not be less than ten and the mourners are not included in the reckoning.

Mishneh Torah, Mourning 13:1

Maternal Comfort in Divine Compassion

COMMENTARY

The maternal aspect of divine comfort is a powerful theme, highlighting the compassion and nurturing instincts of God. Ibn Ezra, a medieval Jewish commentator, provides a profound interpretation of Isaiah 66:13, emphasizing the maternal compassion inherent in God's comfort.

As one whom his mother comforteth. Every woman has compassion upon her child.

Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 66:13:1

Relatedראו גם

Mourning

Tisha B'Av

Lamentations

Mourning for Jerusalem

Laws of Comforting the Mourners

Sheetsדפי מקורות

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