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July 30, 2004/Av 5 5764, Vol. 56, No. 45
Honor the past, shape the future
Torah study
RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN
Vaetchanan Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
We read the Torah portion Vaetchanan on the Sabbath following Tisha B'Av, the fast commemorating the loss of our Temples and our national sovereignty in Jerusalem. The Torah reading for Tisha B'Av also comes from Vaetchanan. Several aspects of Tisha B'Av illuminate the text.
The Sabbath before Tisha B'Av is Shabbat Hazon, the Sabbath of vision. Its name comes from the first word of the week's haftara, Hazon Yeshayahu, the vision of Isaiah (Isaiah 1:1), which describes an Israelite nation that substitutes empty ritual for righteousness, self-indulgences for support for indigents. Yet the word hazon means an uplifting, prophetic vision of a better future. Why call the Sabbath before Tisha B'Av a name that suggests exalted sights?
On Tisha B'Av, we read in Vaetchanan about a prophecy of exile and return (Deuteronomy 4:25-40), concluding with the message to the Israelites that if they repent, "you may long remain in the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you for all time." It's difficult to understand why we read of return and repentance on such a day.
Verses 4:25-40 present a kaleidoscope of Jewish history, beginning with the return from Babylonian exile; the period of reconstruction and transgression in Israel reclaimed; destruction, dispersion and assimilation throughout the world; and repentance and return to Israel.
The magnificent account opens with the words, "When you have begotten children and children's children and are long established in the land" (4:25). How would population growth make a difference in terms of the Jewish historical experience? The answer may be found in Rav Shalom Gold's interpretation of a Mishnah in Avot. When Rav Yohanan ben Zakkai asked each of his disciples to state what he believed to be the most exemplary personality trait, Rav Shimon said, "One who sees that which is born" (Mishnah Avot, 2, 13). We anticipate the results of our actions before we do them, and on that basis decide what we will do. Gold suggests another twist: We did not emerge from a vacuum and must pay our debts to the past by accepting responsibility for our future.
Judaism believes that the Almighty guarantees redemption. The Sabbath after Tisha B'Av is called the Sabbath of Comfort. The first words of its prophetic reading are "Comfort, oh comfort my people" (Isaiah 40:1). Each of the next six Sabbaths has a prophetic reading relating to national comfort and redemption leading up to Rosh Hashana, which begins the 10 Days of Repentance. God guarantees redemption, but when and how depends upon our political, moral and ethical deeds. We were chosen to bring the message of ethical monotheism to the world. We were granted unique forbears who were prophets and teachers. God forged us as a nation out of the furnace of Egypt, amid wonders and miracles. Now our destiny is in our hands, dependent upon our repentance and return to our homeland.
Tisha B'Av is not merely a day of desolation and despair. The prophet Zechariah tells us that one day it will become a festival of great rejoicing. When that happens depends on us. The one agonizing question we must face on Tisha B'Av is ayeka: "Where are you?" We will be able to accept Isaiah's comfort only if we can respond that we are on the road to repentance.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the spiritual leader of Efrat, Israel.
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