Parashat Va’etchanan: Hear, O Israel

Shalom and blessings, beloved. This Shabbat we read Parashat Va’etchanan — “And I pleaded” — from Deuteronomy 3:23 through 7:11. This is Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Comfort, the first Shabbat after Tisha B’Av, named for the haftarah’s opening cry: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). After a week of mourning, the Lord speaks tenderly to Jerusalem — and to us.

When God Says No
The portion opens with Moses recalling how he pleaded with the Lord to cross over and see the good land — and the Lord said no: “Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again” (Deuteronomy 3:26). Even Moses, the friend of God, received a no. Some of our prayers are answered that way too, and it is one of the hardest mercies to receive. But watch what God does with His no. Centuries later, on a mountain in the land of Israel, Moses stood in the promised land at last — talking with Yeshua at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3). God’s no was not His final word. In Messiah, it never is. Paul heard a no over his thorn and received something better: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Comfort, Comfort My People
Shabbat Nachamu’s haftarah does more than soothe; it announces a coming One: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord’ … And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” (Isaiah 40:3-5). Every Gospel writer tells us this voice was John the Immerser, preparing the way for Yeshua (Matthew 3:3; John 1:23). The comfort of Israel is not a feeling; it is a Person. When old Simeon held the infant Yeshua in the Temple, Luke tells us he had been “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) — the very nechamah of Isaiah 40 — and his arms were finally full.

The Shema: The Center of Everything
And then, the words at the heart of this portion and at the heart of our faith: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). When a scribe asked Yeshua which commandment is first of all, He did not hesitate — He recited the Shema (Mark 12:29-30), and joined to it the love of neighbor. Our Messiah prayed these words, taught these words, and lived these words. To follow Yeshua is to live the Shema: one God, loved with everything — heart, soul, strength — with nothing held back and no rivals tolerated.

Teach Them Diligently to Your Children
The Shema does not end with our own devotion: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Faith is transmitted in the ordinary hours — at the table, in the car, at bedtime — not only in the sanctuary. Parents and grandparents: you are the primary teachers God has appointed. And when your child asks, “What do these commandments mean?” the Torah gives the answer to give: “We were slaves … and the Lord brought us out with a mighty hand” (6:20-21). We teach by telling the story of redemption — and we have an even greater Exodus to tell, through the cross and empty tomb of Yeshua.

A Treasured People, Loved First
The portion closes with the reason for it all: “The Lord did not set his love on you because you were more in number … but because the Lord loves you” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). He loves you because He loves you. That is the deepest comfort of Shabbat Nachamu. Before we loved Him, He loved us (1 John 4:19) — and He demonstrated it: “while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us” (Romans 5:8).

What Is the Spirit Saying This Week?
Va’etchanan asks: Is there a no from God you need to entrust to His greater plan? Have you received the Comfort of Israel Himself, or only heard about Him? Does the Shema describe your actual life — one God, loved with all? And who is learning the story of redemption from your lips this week?

“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” — Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Shabbat Shalom, and Nachamu — be comforted. If this teaching stirred something in you and you would like to go deeper, please reach out — we would love to study it together.

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