Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing here in a brand new settlement. Avnei Derech founded by a former Hebron resident Haggai Zev. Living here in the Judean desert, connecting different points all the way down to Yam HaMelech.
This Shabbat is called Shabbat Hazon. You need to have a strong vision to move here and to settle here on these very beautiful hills and to bring Jewish presence throughout all the land of Israel.
This Shabbat is Shabbat Hazon, the Shabbat of vision. A Shabbat where most of the time it’s interpreted in a negative way. Yeshaya HaNavi admonishes the Jews and tell them the vision of the Churban and the terrible destruction that would befall the Jewish nation.
Rav Shlomo Carlebach in the name of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev would teach a different vision, that one gets to see a vision of the Third Temple, a vision of the geula, a vision of the light after all the darkness.
In order to get through the hardships of the nine days, in order to get through the pain and the suffering of the broken tablets, in order for any Jew to go through what we’ve gone through as a nation, if you don’t have a little vision of how your going to look when it’s healthy and how your life is going to improve and how the quality of the connection to Hashem is going to improve then you have no strength to go through the surgery or the operation.
These days are days of a great Yomtov. It’s all hidden. It’s not yet revealed. But be’ezrat Hashem, this Tisha B’Av and this Shabbat, God will give us that great revelation and give us the strength to go through the nine days and, God willing, “Kora Alai Moed” as Jeremiah writes, “decree this day has a great holiday” and we’ll be able to find in the pain and suffering of the nine days, the vision of the ultimate redemption and the great light of geula.
Shabbat shalom.
