 Life is so unfair. While we believe that ultimately - and ultimately can take an eternity - justice must and will prevail (to believe otherwise would be to deny the essence of Judaism) it is clear that life is full of injustices. Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest person who ever lived. Yet he is denied his one wish, to be able to walk in and breath the air of the land of Israel. Moshe continued pleading his case until G-d "angrily" told him enough already. Your wish will be denied. Parshat Vaetchanan which translates as pleading is always read on the Shabbat after Tisha B'av. This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of comfort where we affirm that though we have suffered greatly over our history ultimately we will return to the land of Israel to set up a society based on "justice justice you shall pursue. (16:20)" The treatment of Moshe surely does not seem to offer any comfort. If his prayers are not answered then what hope can we possibly have?
Nechama (comfort) though, is a long drawn out process that we can not fully comprehend. It is similar to the concept of Emuna. Emuna (poorly translated as faith) does not mean that we believe that our prayers, hopes and aspirations will be answered to our liking but rather we trust that G-d hears what we have to say and responds according to a Divine plan which we often do not understand and with which we may even disagree.
Judaism though sees comfort in tragedy. It offers an (unwanted) opportunity to learn from the mistakes that led up to the tragedy and the possibility for personal and communal growth.
Not surprisingly it is in Parshat Vaetchanan that we find the mitzva to love G-d. It is at the moment when life seems to us unfair, as it surely must have to Moshe, that we must affirm our love of G-d. It is for this reason that a mourner says kaddish, which has no mention of death but rather praises G-d, and yearns for the day when the majesty of G-d will be recognized by all. It is during our moments of despair that it is most important to publicly declare our belief in a perfect G-d.
How does one come to love G-d? In order to love a person you must get to know the person. G-d revealed himself to us at Sinai and His essence is described to us in the Torah. When the Torah tells us to be merciful, kind, caring and at times punishing this is because G-d is merciful, kind, caring, and at times punishing. By observing the mitzvot of the Torah we fulfil Imatio Dei helping to bring the divine to earth. When we study the Torah we can begin to understand G-d on an intellectual level and by observing Torah we put that knowledge to practical use. And, of course, observing what G-d demands of us shows our love toward G-d.
Love presupposes caring. When the Sages teach us that the Temple was destroyed because of Sinnat Chinam (causeless hatred) it does not necessarily mean that Jews actively hated one another (though we are told there was much of that) but rather that they did not take an interest in each other. There was indifference, apathy and of course plenty of minding our own business. Converting Sinnat Chinam to Ahavat Chinam (love for no reason) requires us to be proactive in helping others.
Man was created in the image of G-d. Caring and ultimately loving our fellow human being is the ultimate expression of our love of G-d. We must work hard to implement the mitzva to love one another and thereby we will express our love of G-d. For a disunited Jewish people there can be no greater Nechama. Shabbat Shalom!
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