Saturday 10th August 2024 6th Av 5784
PARASHAT DEVARIM - SHABBAT CHAZON -
A SABBATH OF VISION
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22; Isaiah 1:1-27; Acts 9:1-22-Matt 24:1-22
This Shabbat, the 10th August, is the 6th Av in the Hebrew calendar. It is one of the special Shabbats that punctuate the Jewish year and is known as Shabbat Chazon – the Shabbat of Vision. It derives its name from the haftarah portion for this Shabbat.
Shabbat Chazon always falls on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of this Hebrew month , Av, which commences after sunset on Tuesday 13th August. It is called Tisha B’Av (tisha is the number 9 in Hebrew) and it is a day of fasting and mourning. It is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar and it is thus believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy. According to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:
The evil report of the 10 spies. The midrash quotes God as saying about this event, "You cried before me pointlessly, I will fix for you [this day as a day of] crying for the generations"[5], alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
The First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile.[6]
The First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the Talmud[7], the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.
The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land that continued until 1948
The Romans subsequently crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destroyed the city of Betar, killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on August 4, 135 CE.[9]
Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander Turnus Rufus ploughed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, in 135 CE.[10]
What if you could travel back in time, not merely to observe, but to rectify the past and reshape the future? The annual observance of Shabbat Chazon, “the Sabbath of Vision,” on the weekend before the 9th of Av, offers us a symbolic journey of this kind. More than just a memorial of something that happened long ago, it serves as a powerful catalyst for personal and collective growth and transformation. This Sabbath encourages introspection, repentance, and a vision for a future imbued with righteousness, justice, and peace.
The special name of the Sabbath, “the Sabbath of Vision,” is taken from the first word of the day’s haftarah, or reading from the Prophets, Isaiah 1:1-27. This particular reading is the last in a triad of ‘haftarot of affliction’, recited during the solemn period known as the Three Weeks. This period, extending from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av, is designated for mourning the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of the holy Temple, a tragedy that has scarred Jewish history. The prophet Isaiah begins this vision of rebuke with the Hebrew word chazon, which means ‘vision’ or ‘prophecy’:
Isaiah recounts a divine vision in which he berates the citizens of Judah and Jerusalem for their disobedience against God, criticizing them for failing to amend their ways despite numerous rebukes and punishments. Vivid and harsh language is used, likening the Jewish people to those of Sodom and Gomorrah. God further expresses disdain for their sacrifices and worship which were accompanied by immoral behavior, and laments the moral degradation of a city once radiant with justice.
However, the reading is not entirely cast in the shadows of reproof. Isaiah, shifting to a softer tone, urges his people to sincerely repent and perform acts of charity and kindness towards the vulnerable among them – the needy, the orphans, and the widows. He assures them of bountiful rewards for their obedience and concludes with a hopeful promise of a future redemption: God will restore Israel’s leaders and judges, and
Rabbi Mendel Hirsch insightfully notes that the prophet’s laments were not centered on the upcoming destruction of the Temple, but on the deep-rooted causes behind this approaching devastation. Therefore, when we mourn the loss of the Temple on Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), we should not focus on the loss of the Temple in the past, but rather on our own behaviors that are preventing its reconstruction in the present.
The sages teach us that in every generation during which the Temple has not been rebuilt, it is as if it has been destroyed anew. As long as the Temple lies in ruins, we are guilty of something that is preventing it from being rebuilt. Therefore, we must not merely mourn the tremendous loss borne by our ancestors—the devastation of our land, the desecration of our holy city, and the ruin of our sacred Temple.
Instead, our sorrow should prompt introspection about our current behaviors, attitudes, and practices. We must question the extent to which we have eradicated the destructive habits that led to the exile of our ancestors, not once, but twice.
Are we treating others fairly, being kind to everyone, even those who are different than we are, and taking care of those in need? An honest evaluation of our spiritual commitments is also imperative. Are our prayers, like the animal sacrifices described by Isaiah, merely lip service, bereft of sincere conviction, and serving as substitutes for genuine devotion?
Or, as Rabbi Hirsch poignantly asks, is our contemporary reality sufficiently infused with spirituality and enriched by the Bible so that it could support the reestablishment of God’s Temple? If the answer to these questions is no, we have a lot of soul-searching to do.
3 Guard your heart diligently, for from it flow the springs of life.24 Put away perversity from your mouth, and keep devious lips far from you.25 Let your eyes look directly ahead, and fix your gaze straight in front of you.26 Clear a level path for your feet, so all your ways will be firm. (Proverbs 4:23-26)
In a similar vein, Sivan Rahav-Meir, Israeli media personality and lecturer, urges us to recognize the Sabbath of Vision as an opportunity for expanding our own vision. It compels us to imagine the ultimate redemption, both collective and individual. It is a time to contemplate what is lacking in our world, to acknowledge the troubles we face and the pain we endure, and to hope for better days. Given the events of October 7th, the ongoing war against Hamas and its supporters, and the rampant antisemitism worldwide, it is tragically easy to empathize with grief and yearn for a rectified world.
Meir quotes Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook’s words as a fitting conclusion: “We have begun to speak of great things, among ourselves and in the ears of the entire world, and we have not yet finished. We are still in the middle of our speech.” Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook’s words encapsulate this hope and vision. They remind us that our journey toward redemption is ongoing, and it is our duty to continue striving for a better future.
The Sabbath of Vision reminds us that the 9th of Av is not only a day to lament our losses but also a time to recall our potential and responsibilities, both personal and collective. It prompts us to remember what is expected of us, thereby transforming our mourning into a catalyst for meaningful change and reconnection with our divine heritage.
May we be inspired to improve ourselves and the world, bringing us closer to the ultimate redemption and the dawn of the Messianic age.
Comments