The "tochacha" in Parshas Bechukosai contains a long description of the severe punishments the Jewish people will receive for disobeying Hashem's commandments. This parsha ends by telling us that the Jewish people ultimately will repent and return to Hashem -- "v'hisvadu es avonam v'es avon avosam" (26:40). G-d responds: "Af ani eileich emam b'keri v'hei'veisi osam b'eretz oyveihem" -- I too shall act walk unreliably with them and bring them into the land of their enemies... What an alarming response! The Jewish people have finally repented from wrongdoing, yet G-d promises to visit still more punishment. How are we to make sense of this?
R' Sar Shalom of Belz explains that this pasuk is indeed a comfort. Transgression may require punishment and even suffering as part of the process of repentance, but during that rehabilitative process G-d promises that we are not abandoned and alone. "Eileich emam...”- I will walk with you, V'hei'veisi osam...", I will bring you… G-d walks beside us even as we suffer; when we must be banished to foreign lands, He personally brings us there and assures our survival and eventual return.
Even when we must deal with sorrow and crisis, G-d is with us every step of the way.
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