Shabbat Nachamu

for these, i cry,

and for these,

i will not be comforted.

there are some losses

for which

there can be comfort.

and there are some losses

for which

there is only pain,

and loss,

and grief that radiates

untouched.

Shabbat Nachamu, August 23, 1941

There are calamities for which it is possible to accept consolation. A person may have had an illness from which he recovered. Although he had been in great danger and in tremendous pain, when with God’s help he was healed, he was immediately consoled for all the pain he endured. Similarly, if money was lost, then when God restores the lost fortune, consolation follows quickly. But when lives are lost, it is impossible to accept solace. It is true that when the pain is due to the loss of family and loved ones, or to the loss of other Jewish people because they were precious and are sorely missed, it is possible to take comfort in other surviving relatives and different friends. But any decent person mourns the loss of others not simply because he misses them; it is not only his yearning for them that causes pain and distress. The real cause of his grief is the death of the other-- the loss of life.