It is difficult if not impossible to note the confluence between the religious calendar and the contemporary events occurring in the political realm of the Jewish people. This Shabbat, which immediately precedes tisha b’av, is referred to as Shabbat Hazon the Shabbat of prophecy referring to the first words of our haftarah in which Isaiah scolds the Jewish people for betraying the convenant and foretells their suffering as a consequence.
Traditionally the linkage between this week’s parsha and tisha b’av is made both linguistically and thematically.
Linguistically we note the passage in verse 12 :
"How (eichah) can I bear alone the trouble of you and the burden and the bickering" ,referring to the adjudicating of Israel’s disputes, even with the aid of his appointed judge. This pasuk is traditionally read in the trop (cantillation ) of the book of eichah.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin writes:
There were hordes of Israelites, as numerous as the stars of heaven. And just as each star revolves around its own orbit, every Jew sees himself as his own leader and his own ultimate authority. (even the judges he appointed) could not overcome the petty disagreements, strifes which made unification behind a single visionary leader a virtually impossible task"
Rabbi Riskin cites sforno who explains why this episode of appointing judges is recalled prior to entering the land of Israel years later:
"…to remind (the Israelites) of their sin even though he announce to them their entry into Israel they did not stop their personal arguments and their petty disagreements"
It is only a small step for commentators to draw the link between the internal strife among the Israelites cited in the parsha and the divisions in the people during the period preceding the destruction of the temple. We are all familiar with the passage from the Talmud in masechet yoma "the second temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred" referring to the divisions in Israel.
And it is not surprising that a perusal of commentaries from Israel on the internet found some that drew lessons from the parsha to today’s political events. And it was not surprising that both political camps – for and against the gaza withdrawal drew different lessons.
Rabbi Yehuda Henkin sees the parsha as teaching the need for unity. He writes:
"We must tragically remember that even while the Temple was being razed to the ground, the Judaeans were busy arguing with and fighting against each other, and in the midst of the Bar Kochba rebekkuib against Rome the students of Rabbi Akiba(the principal army of the Judaeans) were internally squabbling and denigrating each other. (described in the Talmud in yevamot 62b)
Is our situation today any different ?"
Yet others draw a different lesson from the parsha. Rabbi David Samson of Jerusalem, in a drash posted on the OU website, points out that the parsha recounts the entry of the Jewish people that was postponed after the people sinned by following the reports of the spies and not God’s promise of the land of Israel . He writes"
"To our great dismay, the same lack of conviction regarding our rights to Israel exists to this very day, both in the land of Israel and the Diaspora alike….Let us hope and pray we will rise up to a true unwavering conviction that eretz Yisrael is ours.."
The Shabbat immediately following tisha b’av is referred to as Shabbat nachamu, the Shabbat of consolation
The haftarah begins
Nachamu, nachamu amey
Be comforted, comfort my people, says God.
The haftarah is the first of of seven haftarot of consolation.
Hopefully both sides of the great divisions in contemporary Israel and among Jews around the world find some lessons in this part of the calendar. Even those opposed to the settlers should show sensitivity towards the settlers who try to find comfort as their lives are upended. And those who often times crossed the line in expressing their opposition to government decisions must seek to find a way to express their sentiments in a manner that does not exacerbate the divisions amonst am yisrael. This will take more than seven weeks but hopefully this task will begin as early as next Shabbat.
Shabbat shalom