On Tisha B’av afternoon, we recite a prayer that is only recited once during the entire year—Nachem, “Comfort” where we ask G-d to comfort us, “the mourners of Zion and those who grieve for Jerusalem.” At the very least, the next time you hear someone insinuate that Judaism and Zionism are two separate things, ask them to read this paragraph. The siddur, Rabbi Louis Finkelstein once said, is the best way to find out what is in the heart of the people, and Zion was always in the heart of the people.
Beyond that, though, this prayer is absolutely saturated with significance
for our time. And that is because it underscores the miracle in which we are living with the rebirth of Israel.
The great Jewish theologian Emil Fackenheim made the point the following way. When he would speak to groups about Israel, he would say that if they visited Israel, he would guarantee them a miracle. It wouldn’t be in a church or a synagogue, he said, or at any of the many religious sites in Israel. Instead, he said, go into downtown Jerusalem and try to get onto a bus. Feel the rush of the people young and old, the mothers with baby carriages, the fathers carrying children and backpacks full of books. Feel the energy and the vibrancy of the city, and then, for the miracle, remember the first line of the book of Eicha (which we read on Tisha B’av): “How she sits alone, the city that was once full of people.”
This is the miracle that is captured in the words of the Nachem prayer
(Conservative version): “Lord who causes Zion to rejoice at her children’s return, may all who love Jerusalem exult in her, may all who mourn Jerusalem of old rejoice with her now. May they hear in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem sounds of joy and gladness, voices of bride and groom….Praised are You, Lord, who comforts Zion and rebuilds Jerusalem.”
How wonderful it is to live in a time of miracles!