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TISHA B’AV READING

Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb

The Importance of

“Seeing” the Churban

minous clouds of destruction and instances when the words of the haftarah cared about, was how He could relieve their
dispersion hang heavily over the define the entire Shabbat. What deeper mes- pain. In other words, it was only after the
Three Weeks. On the one hand, sage is conveyed by these words? true depth of Bnei Yisrael’s suffering was seen
OShabbat Chazon is just one day, no The Midrash (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 3:2) that the process of redemption began.
different than the others during this period
leading up to Tisha B’Av. On the other hand, notes that 10 different expressions are used The Rebbe suggests that it is because of this
an insight of Rav Kalonymous Kalmish Sha- throughout Tanach to describe the process dialectic we refer to “Shabbat Chazon.”
piro, the Piaseczner Rebbe, suggests there of prophecy. The Midrash lists terms such The word chazon gives appropriate expres-
might be more to it than that. as dibbur, amira and tzivui, but it is chazon sion to the horror of the impending destruc-
which is characterized as ן ָּ ל ֻּ כ ִמ ה ֶ ׁש ָק, the most
The Rebbe, as is well known, delivered inspi- difficult and painful form of prophecy. tion and, at the same time, it also indicates
rational derashot during the last years of the that G-d truly “saw” the pain of the Jewish
Warsaw Ghetto, a collection of which were Rav Shapiro explains this assertion based people. As a result, He was already planning
published as Aish Kodesh. As it happens, the on the experience familiar to us all – but the future redemption. Thus, the haftarah
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final piece in that remarkable work, the very highlighted poignantly by what was occur- concludes on a high note, ה ֶד ָּפ ּ ת ט ָּפ ׁש ִמ ְּב ןֹוּי ִצ,
last derasha Rav Shapiro delivered, just a few ring to him and others in the ghetto – that “Zion will be redeemed through justice and
short days before the deportations from the there is a vast difference between hearing righteousness” (Yeshayahu 1:27).
ghetto began, took place on Shabbat Chazon, about something and actually seeing it. It’s
July 18, 1942. one thing to hear about a tragedy, but it’s Rabbi Shapiro’s powerful words – inspired
quite another to witness it. by a prophecy from the original Churban and
delivered during the churban of the Holo-
Typically, the prophet was told about a caust – articulate a profound principle of
future or potential calamity – he heard Jewish belief.
the bad news. However, there were rare
instances when G-d actually showed the The arc of Jewish history bends inevitably
prophet something terrible that was going towards redemption. No matter how diffi-
to happen to the Jewish people. ּוהָי ְע ַׁשְי ןֹוז ֲח cult or painful it may be at times, the over-
– the prophet had a vision, he actually saw all direction remains the same – chazon is
the calamities that would befall the nation, followed by nachamu and galut eventually
and that was ן ָּ ל ֻּ כ ִמ ה ֶ ׁש ָק, a uniquely painful leads to geula.
experience.
A few years after the Piaseczner Rebbe and
Nevertheless, continues the Rebbe, it’s millions of others were murdered, we mer-
typically from the most intense pain that ited the establishment of a Jewish State!
a glimmer of hope emerges. He notes that
when G-d first spoke to Moshe and told him In the merit of our continued mourning over
the time of the redemption had arrived, He the original galut may we soon merit the
The Piaseczner Rebbe. complete and final geula.
mentions both that י ּ מ ַע יִנ ֳע ת ֶא י ִתי ִא ָר הֹא ָר and
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וי ָבֹא ְכ ַמ ת ֶא י ּ ת ְע ַדָי י ִּכ, “He has seen the affliction
Imagine discussing the Churban while living of His people,” and “He knows of their pain”
through one: what would you say?
(Shemot 3:7).
The Rebbe begins with a simple question. Obviously if G-d sees what’s happening then
Why is the universal custom to call this He knows about it as well; why the need for
Shabbat “Shabbat Chazon”? While the both phrases?
name comes from the opening words of Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb is a Ram at Yeshivat
the haftarah, ץֹומ ָא ן ֶב ּוה ָי ְע ׁש ְי ןֹוז ֲח (the vision The Aish Kodesh explains that even though Har Etzion and the Rav of Kehilat HaEla in
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of Yeshayahu), this is insufficient to truly there was a higher, positive purpose to the Ramat Bet Shemesh.
answer the question; after all, we read a servitude in Egypt, once G-d truly saw, as
haftarah every Shabbat and Yom Tov and it were – י ִתי ִא ָר הֹא ָר – the pain of the Jewish A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
yet Shabbat Chazon is one of the very few people, then י ּ ת ְע ַד ָי י ִּכ, all G-d knew, all He mizrachi.org/speakers
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