By: Rabbi Rory Myerson
Shabbos Chazon
Shabbos Chazon, a name coined from the Haftorah, begins with the Navi's Chazon (lit. prophecy) forewarning the eventual destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. This Shabbos, Shabbos Chazon, is always right before Tisha Ba’av and is placed here to remind us to repent. But Shabbos is not a time for repentance. In fact, mourning of any kind is forbidden on Shabbos. So, what is the proper mindset going into this Shabbos Chazon?
There are two paths a person can take towards repentance. First, is the classic “Refrain from bad and do good!” – סור מרע ועשה טוב. By first removing the negativity in ones life, there is now room to fill it with it good. In other words, in order to fill life with good things, first destroy the bad parts. There is another approach. The Ramchal, in Mesilas Yesharim, describes another approach some Tzaddikim took. A path of “By only doing good, the bad will go away” – עשה טוב על ידי סור מרע. Ramchal explains that since the ultimate purpose is להתענג על ה׳ – “to bask in the Glory of Hashem,” a necessary byproduct is that no room is left for negativity.
This notion that filling yourself up with good is itself the cure for the bad, is found in modern behavior science. There are two types of motivational approaches to achieving goals: Avoidance Goals versus Approach Goals. In approach-framed goals, instead of the narrative being “I won’t do X” the narrative is “I will do Y instead.” In the second approach, which mirrors the Ramchal's world, self-mastery is achieved by telling oneself, “I will fill myself with as much Torah and Mitzvos in order to eliminate the footprint of all negativities.”
Shabbos Kadosh is precisely the lived expression of the second path of repentance. Shabbos is time of extra abundance and connection to Hashem – a special power accessible to all. On 118a in Shabbos, the Talmud teaches us, “Anyone who keeps Shabbos according to its law, is forgiven, even to the extent of those who serve idolatry.”
Shabbos is a tremendous opportunity to be close to Hashem. Even those who have fallen to the lowest of depths, serving idolatry, will always be Hashem's children. This is made known to through the Navi Yeshayahu, who in the heat of rebuking כלל ישראל says,
בנים גדלתי ורוממתי והם פשעו בי
– “My Children whom I brought up, have rebelled against Me.” There is no depth to which we can fall that causes us to cease being the children of Hashem. This eternal connection is stated explicitly in the Torah itself, in the very words that command Bnei Yisrael to keep Shabbos:
וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם בְּרִית עוֹלָם. בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִוא לְעֹלָם כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה ה׳ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ.
This means that Shabbos is the sign (אות) and the eternal (לעולם) focal point of connection (ברית) between the Jewish people and Hashem. As we enter into this Shabbos, we should all bear in mind that each of us is a child of Hashem, connected to Him eternally. And with the gift of Shabbos we can fill our lives with so much good that there will be no room for bad.
Shabbos from this perspective is the perfect opening to enter the week of Tisha Ba’av. There is a striking Remez that captures this idea in the letters themselves: the Chidah says that the letters of Shabbas (ש־ב־ת) are the same letters of Teshuva (ת־ש־ב) just rearranged.
This resolves the opening question. Although Shabbos is not a time to mourn it is a time of intimate proximity to Hashem. Abundant good is a form of resolving the bad. On Shabbas we can achieve a level of repentance accomplished not by affliction or shame, but from love and closeness to Hashem. Bearing in mind that each of us has unlimited value as children of Hashem, may we all be zoche to take this Shabbos as the springboard to bring the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash soon in our days.
Taken from the Kollel Avreichim Hollywood
