Rabbi’s Shabbat Message

Who Gets the Final Word

A few months ago, we asked our Central family to share their experiences by completing a community survey. Your testimonies (with names removed) formed part of our submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. This week, I had the privilege of representing your voices at the Royal Commission hearing. Link here: 

As we know all too well, there are many – far too many – harrowing stories from our community. Every one of them deserves to be heard, acknowledged and placed on the public record. But I was determined not to let our pain have the final word. Pain may be part of our story, but it is not the end of our story. Hope is. Faith is.

That is extraordinary journey of this week. Today is Tisha B’av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. A day when we fast in mourning the destruction of both Temples and the tragedies that have scarred Jewish history.

But tomorrow, we welcome Shabbos Nachamu – the Shabbat of Comfort. Reminding us that grief is never our final destination.

“Nachamu, nachamu ami” Comfort, comfort My people, says your G-d.
Judaism never leaves us sitting in the ashes. We mourn deeply, but we do not mourn indefinitely. We cry, but we do not become defined by our tears.

Our enemies have repeatedly tried to destroy us. The Babylonians burned the First Temple. The Romans destroyed the Second. Across the centuries came expulsions, pogroms, the Holocaust, and now, in our own generation, the trauma of October 7, Bondi Beach and the rise in antisemitism across the world.

Each time they believed they had written the final chapter of Jewish history. Each time they were wrong. The Jewish story has never ended in destruction. It always continues with hope and faith. We have buried too many, cried too many tears, and yet we continue to build, to believe, and to pray for redemption.

That is why Shabbos Nachamu is so powerful. Comfort is not pretending the pain never happened. Comfort is discovering that pain does not have the final word.
The Prophet Isaiah doesn’t simply say, “Comfort My people.” He says it twice.
“Nachamu, nachamu.” One comfort is for the past, and the other is for the future. One heals yesterday’s wounds; the other gives us the courage to face tomorrow.

Every one of us carries disappointments, losses or unanswered prayers. Some wounds are visible. Others are known only to G-d. Shabbos Nachamu reminds us that even when we cannot yet see the destination, we must keep walking. The same G-d who accompanied us through the darkness also walks beside us toward the light.

May this Shabbos bring comfort to every broken heart, healing to those who are hurting, strength to the IDF, peace to Israel, and pride to Jews everywhere.

This Shabbos marks a very special milestone for Chanie and I – 25 years at Central Synagogue. It has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives to celebrate your simchas and stand with you through heartbreak. To watch your children become parents, and your grandchildren fill the Shule with new life. Together we have built far more than a synagogue. We built a family.

Thank you for allowing Chanie and I to share your lives for the past 25 years. We look forward to many more simchas together.

Wishing you a comforting Shabbos,
Rabbi Levi and Chanie