This Shabbat, we read about how Moshe Rabeinu pleads for the One, the only One for the great privilege to enter the Land of Israel. Though Moshe had experienced the greatest divine revelations, spoke to God as if face to face, received and brought down the Torah from Mount Sinai, Moshe felt the heart of his existence was missing. And that was entering the Land of Israel and being able to build the Holy Temple.
Moshe gets up to pray Va’etchanan el Hashem, 515 prayers, and he pleads before the One the only One to be able to come into the Holy Land. Numerically, the word Va’etchanan is 515, which is the same number of prayers that Moshe prayed.
Moshe Rabeinu was teaching us that even at first in life, things don’t seem to work out, and when it seems that no one is listening to my prayer, don’t think that any prayer goes unanswered. Every prayer is heard and God is just waiting for that final prayer.
According to the Midrash, had Moshe prayed one more prayer then the 516th prayer would have come into the Land of Israel and built the Holy Temple.
This Shabbat we have to continue to pray. We have to continue to supplicate. You have to look at it that as many tears as we shed on Tisha B’Av, God is still waiting for that last prayer. That one last tefillah from the depths of our heart. That one last song, that one more supplication.
This Shabbat is also called Shabbat Nachamu. The Haftarah in Isaiah states, Nachamu Nachamu Ami, console, console my people. The greatest consolement is to know even when God is angry with us, He never stops loving us.
At the moment the Romans took out the Aron and destroyed the Holy Temple, here the cherubs were facing each other with great, great ultimate love. We should be able to feel that great love. We should always know Hashem is waiting for our supplication and prayers and Be’ezrat Hashem, this Shabbat God, should comfort all the brokenness and the families that need hope.
We should know that Hashem is there, ready to console us and God willing, we’ll be able to see the prayer and will bring the ultimate third temple and the Divine presence and peace in the Holy Land of Israel.
