| A Message from Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman
Dear OU Women's Initiative Community, Flying back from Israel offers rare time to think — to take in the experiences of the week and consider what to carry forward. This year, Tisha B'Av in Yerushalayim was deeply intense, and now, almost immediately, we arrive at a Shabbos that holds both comfort and joy. Shabbos Nachamu — the Shabbos of double comfort — and Tu B'Av — the day of unity and renewal — share the very same day. Shabbos Nachamu begins the Shivah d'Nechemta — the seven weeks of haftarot of consolation that follow Tisha B'Av. It opens with Yeshayahu's stirring words, "נחמו נחמו עמי, comfort, comfort My people," offering not only the promise of redemption but the reminder that even in pain, Hashem's presence and compassion remain. In the time of the Beit HaMikdash, Tu B'Av was a day of national joy. The Gemara teaches that it marked moments of reconciliation — the restoration of ties with the tribe of Binyamin, and the day when young women wore borrowed white garments so all stood equal, fostering harmony within Am Yisrael. This rare overlap reminds us that comfort and unity belong together. True nechama is not only the easing of pain; it is knowing we are bound to one another. And unity is not only a joyful celebration; it is the commitment to stand together, even when we are vulnerable. On this Shabbos, the stillness of consolation meets the pulse of celebration, wrapping Am Yisrael in a single, wholehearted embrace. May we be blessed with both — the soft healing of comfort and the radiant warmth of unity — and may these blessings overflow to all of Am Yisrael. Wishing you a peaceful and meaningful Shabbos. All the best, | | | | |
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