<i>Shabbat</i> Of Vision,Elki Rosenfeld

On the Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av we always read Parshat Devarim and the Haftarah, (Yeshayahu 1,1-27), "Chazon Yeshayahu The vision of Yeshayahu " Based on those words, the Shabbat is called "Shabbat Chazon - Shabbat of Vision."

The chapter proceeds with a harsh prophecy of mussar (rebuke) to Bnei Yisrael, enumerating their sins in detail and urging the nation to repent, to preclude the Galut and destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.

The Parshah, Haftarah and time of year always intermesh. Nothing is random. Parshat Devarim, Yeshayahu and Tisha B'Av all have a common theme. The trick is finding and interpreting it.

Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, (1740-1810) zt"l, one of the earliest Chassidic masters, broadened the words "Shabbat Chazon" to refer not only to the Haftarah beginning with that verse, but also to the Shabbat itself that precedes Tisha B'Av.

The Berditchever is revered for his fervor in Torah and mitzvot, but uniquely renown for his all-consuming love of Bnei Yisrael. He often called G-d to a Din Torah, and would argue with Him, as defender of the people.

I'll give some background because it adds to the Berditchever's personal comprehension of Shabbat Chazon. He says, "Each and every one of us is granted a vision of the third and final Temple." He quotes the Gemara that even though we, ourselves, do not see - our souls see. G-d gives us a vision of the previous Sacred Temple poised to descend to all of us, a vision based on our individual personalities and characteristics.

The Berditchever, true to form, sees Divine Revelation, G-d's love of Bnei Yisrael and future redemption on the Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av, rather than focusing exclusively on past sorrow and destruction. It is only through hope that we will be redeemed from this long and lonely galut, that we will increase our Torah and mitzvot to hasten that long-awaited day.

Rav Levi Yitzchak gives us a new perspective on the word, Chazon, originating from the same root, but related to visualizing the future.

"Eichah," the word itself, is also a recurring Tisha B'Av theme. It is found three times in the Readings of Shabbat Chazon and Tisha B'Av. Our thoughts turn immediately to Megillat Eichah (Book of Lamentations) read on Tisha B'Av, when we grieve the torture and tragedy of that era, ensuring that we never forget what transpired to our people when the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed. We shed tears of woe, bonding with our ancestors, victims of a cruel and merciless oppressor.

In the Haftarah, (Yeshayahu, 1:21) the prophet admonishes Bnei Yisrael sadly, yet poetically, "Eichah Haytah l'zonah Kiryah ne'emanah How did the faithful city [Yerushalayim] become a harlot!"

In Parshat Devarim, the Torah reading on Shabbat Chazon, prior to Bnei Yisrael's entering Eretz Yisroel and directly before his demise, Moshe Rabbeinu repeats all that transpired in the wilderness over the past four decades.

He exclaims, (Devarim, 1:12), "Eichah esa levadi es tarchachem - How can I alone carry your contentiousness ?" Again, the word Eichah appears on the scene.

The Yalkut Shimoni (one of the most popular early Midrashic collections on Torah, compiled by Rabi Shimon Ashkenazi HaDarshan of Frankfurt [circa 1260]) uncovers the three-fold "Eichah" discussed here, as follows:

There was a princess, whom an onlooker had beheld throughout her tumultuous life and describes the princess who went through several extreme changes.

First he saw the princess in her glory days. This is based on the passuk in Devarim, "How can I alone " The positive part is that Bnei Yisrael after suffering in Mitzrayim, had multiplied and became so involved in Torah learning, that Moshe couldn't handle it on his own.

Next the princess sins: "How has the city, faithful to G-d, turned into a harlot!" This is the second stage, when says the Midrash, the princess rebels or sins.

Finally, Megillat Eichah, "How did the once glorious city of Yerushalayim become desolate?" This, of course, is the final stage - the princess is disgraced, alone and no one comes to her aid.

G-d doesn't play games with words in Tanach. It's not enough to say how interesting it is that we read the words in conjunction with Tisha B'Av. There has to be an inherent connection between each of the verses containing the word, "Eichah."

In each instance, Bnei Yisrael had undergone extreme change. G-d asks, "How did this happen ?" But it is a rhetorical question, the same one, but ending with an exclamation point, not a question mark. "How did this happen to you! Look where you are now!"

The word itself tells a story. It contains three questions to which there are no glaring answers.

One: Look at yourselves. Where are you? Take note of the level on which you now find yourselves, so different than the preceding one.

Two: How did you get here? Ponder what you did to find yourselves in this quicksand.

Three: I [Hashem] am looking for you, with My arms outstretched in reconciliation. "Where are you so that I can take you back?" Words one says when searching out a loved one.

Let us return to the Berditchever's "Shabbat of Vision," when G-d gives us the opportunity to see "the light at the end of the tunnel." Rav Levi Yitzchak stresses the positive. Feast your eyes on that which awaits you, the end of galut and the third Beit HaMikdash."

Tisha B'Av is a national day of mourning the tragic events surrounding the Churban. Though it was long ago, we owe our people eternal remembrance and identification with their suffering. Today, only 65 years later, there are Holocaust deniers. We can't allow time to distance us from the atrocities related in Eichah.

On the other hand, while mourning the past, our only salvation is the future. Remaining mired in past tragedies will disable us from escaping the toxic quagmire.

Shabbat Chazon and Tisha B'Av - remember our history - but turn to the future and do what you should to hasten the coming of Moshiach and rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.

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<i>Shabbat</i> Of Vision , Elki Rosenfeld