Summary of the day

Shabbat Chazon is the Shabbat before Tisha BeAv, named for the haftara “the vision of Isaiah” (Isaiah 1:1-27). It is the third and last of the “three of rebuke”. There is no fast, and it is a holy Shabbat, yet the heart is already in the Ninth of Av. If the Ninth of Av falls on Shabbat, the fast is postponed to Sunday.

Mitzvot and customs of the day

• The haftara, in the special melody of Lamentations in many Ashkenazic communities.
• A full Shabbat: eating and enjoyment, though without meat and wine in the custom of some communities (see the Nine Days).
• The third meal quietly; if the Ninth of Av falls on Sunday, this is the final pre-fast meal.
• Learning about the Temple and how we hope to restore it.

Origin in history

Isaiah prophesied some 150 years before the First Destruction, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. In the first vision he describes a people that kept sacrifices and Shabbatot, but without justice: “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom” (1:10). God does not want the offerings when the hands “are full of blood”. The people were still strong, but the prophet sees their end. And yet the prophecy ends with consolation.

The message for today

The Sages named this Shabbat “Shabbat Chazon”, and according to Hasidic tradition, on this Shabbat every Jew is shown the Third Temple, so that he longs for it. Such a vision teaches that here, within the mourning, longing is born: one cannot long for what one has not seen. Isaiah’s call is not to bring more worship, but “learn to do good, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend the orphan” (1:17). Every road to the Temple passes through social responsibility.