Troubles As Binding Chains

בפרשת ק"ש שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה"א

In the parsha of Krias Shema we say "Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad" (Devarim 6:4).

The verse of Shema is our daily declaration that Hashem alone is our God in complete unity.

לקבל בכל יום אלקותו ית' לשמוע כי ה' הוא אלקינו ביחוד כמ"ש אנכי ה' אלקיך ובזה צריך להיות איש ישראל שש ושמח כל היום וכמ"ש את ה' אלקיך זה שהוא אלקינו יהי' חביב עלינו מגוף ונפש ומאוד

Each and every day one must accept His Divinity, may He be blessed, to hear that Hashem is our God in absolute unity, as it says, "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" (Shemos 20:2); and through this every Yid must be glad and rejoice all day long, as it says, "And you shall love Hashem your God" (Devarim 6:5) — that the fact that He is our God should be more beloved to us than body and soul, and exceedingly so.

Accepting Hashem's Divinity each day, as commanded at Sinai, should fill a Yid with joy all day, loving Hashem more than his own body and soul.

וכ' את ה' אלקיך לאהוב כל המסבב אל קבלת אלקותו ית"ש דהיינו כל המצות ומדות ישרות כל הגורם התקרבות אלקות כל אלה צריך האדם לאהוב ולהשתוקק עליהם תמיד

It is written, "And you shall love Hashem your God" — to love everything that leads toward the acceptance of His Divinity, may His Name be blessed: namely all the mitzvos and upright character traits, everything that brings about closeness to the Divine; all of these a person must love and yearn for at all times.

The command to love Hashem extends to loving everything that brings one closer to Him — all the mitzvos and good middos.

לכן מסודר פרשה זו בשבת נחמו כדכ' נחמו נ' עמי יאמר אלקיכם פי' שיש די באלקותו ית' לנחם בזה על כל הצרות שעוברין עלינו תמיד

Therefore this parsha is arranged to fall on Shabbos Nachamu, as it is written, "Be comforted, be comforted My people, says your God" (Yeshayahu 40:1) — the meaning being that His Divinity, may He be blessed, is itself sufficient to bring comfort over all the troubles that constantly pass over us.

This parsha falls on Shabbos Nachamu because recognizing Hashem's Divinity is in itself the comfort for all our troubles.

ולכן תיקנו פרשת עשרת הדיברות אנכי ופ' שמע בשבת נחמו

And for this reason they established the parsha of the Aseres HaDibros — "Anochi" — and the parsha of "Shema" to be read on Shabbos Nachamu.

The Aseres HaDibros and Shema were set to be read on Shabbos Nachamu precisely because they express this source of comfort.

כי זה נחמתינו כמ"ש אנכי אנכי כו' מנחמכם

For this is our comfort, as it says, "I, even I, am He who comforts you" (Yeshayahu 51:12).

The true comfort, in Hashem's own words, is that He Himself is the One who comforts us.

כי הנה באמת כל היסורים הבאים על בנ"י הכל כדי להתקרב אליו ית' ולא לעונש בלבד

For behold, in truth all the sufferings that come upon Bnei Yisrael are entirely in order to draw them close to Him, may He be blessed, and not merely as a punishment.

All suffering that comes upon Bnei Yisrael is fundamentally meant to draw them closer to Hashem, not simply to punish.

כמ"ש לו אלהים קרובים

As it is written, "For He is a God close to them" (compare Devarim 4:7).

This is proven from the verse that describes Hashem as being close to His people.

פי' כי גם מדה"ד לבנ"י הוא לקרב ולא לרחק כמ"ש בכל צרתם לו צר פי' לו בשבילו כדי לקרבינו אליו והצרה עצמה לבנ"י היא לישועה כדאיתא במד' שביצור היא א' מלשוני תפלה וכן הגאולה מתוך הצרה כדכ' עזרה בצרות נמצא מאוד

The explanation is that even the attribute of strict judgment toward Bnei Yisrael is meant to draw near and not to push away, as it is written, "In all their distress He was distressed" (Yeshayahu 63:9) — the meaning of "to Him" being "for His sake," in order to bring us close to Him, and the distress itself is for Bnei Yisrael a salvation. As is brought in the Midrash, that "betzir" (distress) is one of the expressions for tefillah, and likewise the geulah comes out of the very distress, as it is written, "a help in times of trouble" (Tehillim 9:10) — thus the distress is found to be a great thing.

Even strict judgment is an act of drawing near; the distress is really 'for His sake,' to bring us close, and the trouble itself becomes our salvation, since it awakens tefillah and the geulah emerges from within it.

ובמד' מרע"ה אמר ומצאוהו רעות רבות וצרות כבלים של מאה ליטרא

And in the Midrash: Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, said, "And many evils and troubles shall befall them" (Devarim 31:21) — these are chains of a hundred litra in weight.

The Midrash compares the great troubles Moshe warned of to heavy chains weighing a hundred litra.

דוד אמר יענך כו' ביום צרה כו'

Dovid HaMelech said, "May Hashem answer you on the day of trouble" (Tehillim 20:2).

Dovid HaMelech also speaks of the 'day of trouble' as a time when Hashem answers.

ירמי' אמר ועת צרה כו' וממנה יושע כבלים של ליטרא א'

Yirmiyahu said, "It is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved" (Yirmiyahu 30:7) — these are chains of one litra in weight.

Yirmiyahu speaks of Yaakov's time of trouble from which he is saved, likened to chains of a single litra.

הרמז כי כל הצרות הם כבלים להיות האדם נאסר בהם אל תורת ה' שלא יוכל לסור מן המצות

The hint is that all the troubles are chains by which a person is bound to the Torah of Hashem, so that he is unable to turn aside from the mitzvos.

The deeper meaning is that troubles are chains binding a person to Hashem's Torah so he cannot stray from the mitzvos.

והצרות פועלים אצל איש ישראל כדאיתא שזה ההפרש בין ישראל לעע"ז דכ' בהם וקלל במלכו ובאלהיו כו'

And the troubles have this effect upon a Yid, as is brought that this is the difference between Yisrael and a worshipper of avodah zarah, regarding whom it is written, "and he will curse his king and his god" (Yeshayahu 8:21).

This binding effect is what distinguishes a Yid from an idolater, who responds to trouble by cursing his king and his god.

ואיש ישראל בכל עת צרה אפי' משהו נעשה אצלו כבלים להתאסר בהם אל התורה והמצוה:

But a Yid, in every time of trouble — even the slightest bit — it becomes for him chains by which he is bound to the Torah and the mitzvah.

For a Yid, even the smallest trouble draws him to cling more tightly to the Torah and mitzvos.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the parsha of Shema, read on Shabbos Nachamu, teaches that accepting Hashem's Divinity each day is itself the source of all comfort, so that a Yid should rejoice in Hashem and love everything that draws him near to the Divine. On this foundation he reframes suffering: all the troubles that come upon Bnei Yisrael are not mere punishment but a means of drawing them closer to Hashem, since even the attribute of strict judgment acts 'for His sake' to bring us near, and the distress itself awakens tefillah and becomes the very source of geulah. Drawing on the Midrash, he reads troubles as chains — whether heavy or light — that bind a person to the Torah so he cannot turn aside from the mitzvos. This is precisely what distinguishes a Yid from a worshipper of avodah zarah, who reacts to trouble by cursing his king and his god. For a Yid, even the slightest trouble fastens him more tightly to Torah and mitzvos, which is the true comfort of Nachamu.