Isaiah’s message to us this Tisha B’Av

Shabbat Chazon and the continuing War in Gaza

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of vision. The name comes from the opening word of the Book of Isaiah which was also the first word of today’s Haftorah which is assigned to be read on the Sabbath which precedes Tisha B’Av.

The Book of Isaiah was written sometime after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in 721 BCE but before the first destruction of Jerusalem 140 years later.

In chapter one verses 2-9, Isaiah appeals to the Jews who have survived the destruction and devastation of Israel to learn from the mistakes of others.

In verses 18-25, the prophet warns the Jewish community of his day, (and through our annual reading of this chapter, of our day, as well,) of the death and destruction, the alienation and isolation which awaits them, (and us) if they do not choose to
honor their obligations and responsibilities to God as conveyed to them in Torah. In between these passages, in verses 10-17, Isaiah outlines for his contemporaries his suggestions as to the spiritual remedies necessary for the restoration of the covenantal partnership agreement between God and the Jewish people.

Rabbi Gunther Plaut in his Haftarah Commentary” comments upon these eight verses saying:

“This ringing denunciation of hypocritical religion has sometimes been read as if Isaiah denounced ritual in general… But this is a complete misreading of the prophet’s message. Isaiah’s message is: If sacrifice or prayer are not accompanied by righteous living and pure intent, they are abhorrent to God… Isaiah’s condemnation is not of ritual per se, but rather, of rituals that are not accompanied by righteous living.”

Rabbi Plaut backs up his comment with a story from Numbers Rabba 25:21:

“A pagan asked Rabbi Akiba: Why do you celebrate your festivals? Did not the Holy One through Isaiah say to you: “I hate your festivals!”

Rabbi Akiba answered: if God had said, I hate My new moons and MY festivals you might have had a point. But God said “your new moons and your festivals-yours, not MINE! ”

It is clear from the context of the Midrash as well as the Isaiah text itself that the critique of Jewish observance by both the prophet of the 8th century BCE and Rabbi Akiva (who lived in the 2nd century CE) did not concern ritual observances of the festivals. Rather, the basis of their critique was the failure of Jews to carry away from their rituals the ethical teachings and moral imperatives of Judaism and to incorporate them in their everyday life.

Post October 7th, the communal vision of Israelis and of we, who consider ourselves Hovevei Tzion, Lovers of Zion, has been seriously challenged. We look at ourselves through a shattered mirror and at others through clouded windows.

Does not our Haftorah on this Sabbath of Vision shout out at us against the lack of empathy for the plight of Palestinians suffering and dying in Gaza? Why do we fail to heed the words of Hillel who taught that the essence of Judaism is affirm that What is hateful to each of us, we must not do to others and that we should Zil G’mor Go forth and learn how to apply this principle to every situation, every day.
Do Isaiah’s pleas not also apply to we Americans? Are we not responsible for the Hungry Homeless and Stateless residents of our community and our nation?
Are not both America and Israel in 2025 ignoring the call of Deuteronomy to affirmatively provide for the needs of the Widow, the Orphan and the Strangers within our society?

On this Shabbat Chazon, this Sabbath of vision, we are not only challenged by the vision of Isaiah but we also, as we begin to study the last book of the Torah, by the challenges of Deuteronomy. Written in the literary form of a series of sermons by Moses to Israel, Deuteronomy is a series of passionate and eloquent homiletic pleas to the People Israel to choose life over death and blessing over curse, by choosing good over evil; and action over apathy.

Tisha B’Av, is a day of infamy in Jewish history. Tonight and Tomorrow, as we lament the disasters that have befallen our people on this date, Jeremiah’s laments are intended to make us recognize that we ourselves are not blameless victims. Isaiah teaches us that the destruction of Israel in the 8th h century BCE was the result of Jews engaging in meaningless worship devoid of ethical and moral content. The Talmud teaches us that the destruction of the second Temple was a result of Sinat Chinam, the senseless hatred of Jews for our fellow Jews. The 20th century is a proof text that when good people stand by and do nothing the moral vacuum they create is immediately filled with evil. Conversely, when good people join to bring to realization the visions of the prophets, the dreams of Deuteronomy can be realized.

Another question to which the words of Isaiah can be an answer is: Will we choose respect for the “others” in our world who differ with us on issues confronting our community, our nation and our world, or will we “good people”, allow the plague of Sinat Chinam as manifest in the bitter divisive politics that we have seen this past year around the world, including here in America and Israel lead us to disaster?
To me the challenging message of Shabbat Chazon and Tisha B ‘Av is: We all share responsibility for the evil in this world. Shabbat Chazon marks the beginning of the countdown to a new year. During the weeks from now to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we each have the opportunity to begin the process of T’shuvah, of change, by which we can repair ourselves, our community and the world.

In my own paraphrase and application of the challenging words of Rabbi Tarfon found in Pirkei Avot 2:15&16:

When I look at the world both in terms of Human Society and Planet Earth, I see that the time is short and there is much work to be done to bring about the redemption of the world by meeting head on, both the ecological and societal challenges we face in this third decade of the 21st century…Though we most likely will not personally live to see its completion we, like Moses in our parsha, are not free to avoid our responsibility to do our share and pass along a better world to the next generations. May it be our will to be God’s partner in this awesome task of repairing the Moral and Spiritual infrastructure of our world.