How do we cultivate positive vision when we know something awful is coming?
2,000 years ago the rabbis of the Talmud grappled with this question as they coped with the historical trauma of the destruction of the ancient temples in 586 BCE and 70 CE. To get a sense of the enormity of this events, read this short article: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-temple-its-destruction/.
Both of these catastrophes occurred on the ninth day of the month of Av, which the rabbis made into a day of mourning. Tradition teaches that the First Temple was destroyed because the people indulged in idolatry, forbidden relationships and murder, and half a millennium later the Second Temple fell because, although learned in Torah and dedicated to mitzvot, the people tolerated sinat chinam, baseless hatred in the community. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We struggle with similar issues today. Tisha B'av is observed with a sundown-to-sundown fast and rituals of mourning such as sitting on low chairs or on the ground, refraining from wearing leather shoes (a luxury), and weeping.
We have happy, creative preparation for a simcha, a joyous occasion, but how do we prepare for Tisha B'av, our saddest holy day? In their wisdom, the rabbis of the Talmud gave us a special Shabbat right before Tisha B'av, Shabbat Chazon, the "Sabbath of Vision." The name is taken from the opening line of the Haftarah reading, the very beginning of the Book of Isaiah: "A vision of Yesheyahu (Isaiah)..."
The prophecies of Isaiah son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For HaShem has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up- And they have rebelled against Me! The prophet goes on to detail the egregious ways in which the people have fallen from righteous living.
And here we are, two millennia later, finding ourselves looking into the face of a national health disaster, economic devastation, mistreatment of vulnerable immigrants, widespread protests over racial injustice and ominous secret police disrupting peaceful demonstrations in US cities, with the climate crisis all around us despite a brief reprieve from travel-related pollution. There is plenty to be upset about.
But the Haftarah of Shabbat Chazon closes with a hopeful image:
The strict chastisement turns into a vision of redemption. As we brace for the difficulties ahead of us in the coming days, weeks and months, how do we cultivate a redemptive vision, a picture of the future that doesn't attempt to take us back to the status quo of an earlier time, but leads us forward into the equitable, healthy, sustainable world we all long to see and bequeath to future generations?
Many fine minds are working on this. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley offers "Science-based insights for a meaningful life" - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/. Locally, we have a wealth of worthy organizations dedicated to a better life for us all, to name a few: Cooperation Humboldt https://cooperationhumboldt.com/, True North Organizing Network http://www.truenorthorganizing.org/, Northcoast People's Alliance https://northcoastpeoplesalliance.org/. In the fall HSU's Altruistic Behavior Institute will publish a new book by our beloved Sam Oliner titled, What Kind of Future Will Our Children Inherit? Institute Director and TBE member Ronnie Swartz will give us a preview of the book soon.
Chasidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev taught that on Shabbat Chazon we can glimpse a vision of the Third Temple! What might that Third Temple look like? Who is welcome? Who is in charge? What takes place in that visionary gathering place? Since we cannot displace the Dome of the Rock (Heaven forbid!) to build a brick and mortar Third Temple, how will it be constructed and where? Or is it already being built in our consciousness and our hearts?
This coming Shabbat, July 24-25, I invite you to join me to share our positive visions, pooling our wisdom and hopes in Shabbat Chazon discussions Friday evening at 7pm and Saturday morning at 11:00. Rabbi Bob will lead the Torah service via Zoom from the bima at the Temple, and Caroline Isaacs, Jeri Rubin and I will leyn (chant Torah) from our homes. Please join us!
Join Zoom Meeting Fri, 7/24:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85859549894?pwd=L1poN252dzhKcXU5UUEzemdHWGYxQT09
Meeting ID: 858 5954 9894
Passcode: 762531
Join Zoom Meeting Sat, 7/25
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83888538902?pwd=RGJNKzNseFZ1cU42OUZrL2VaU2NkUT09
Meeting ID: 838 8853 8902
Passcode: 983851
And what about our future vision for Israel and Palestine? Guest speaker Arieh Scharnberg will join our Israel Study & Discussion Group next Tuesday, July 28 from 6-8pm to discuss the very thought provoking articles by columnist Peter Bienart, a longtime supporter of the two-state solution who has recently taken a new approach in a short article in the New York Times and a longer article in Jewish Currents:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/opinion/israel-annexation-two-state-solution.html
https://jewishcurrents.org/yavne-a-jewish-case-for-equality-in-israel-palestine/
To join the discussion via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87455849832?pwd=ejltWVRkem50bng4NFZpTTU2R1JzZz09
I'll close with some inspiring vision from young rabbinical students in the T'ruah Summer Fellowship in Human Rights Leadership sharing their responses to the Torah portion we'll discuss and read this coming Shabbat:
May we all find the strength and spirit to cultivate and sustain a positive vision for the future -- for ourselves, our families and friends, our community, our country and our world.
B'shalom, Rabbi Naomi