On this coming Shabbat, Shabbat Chazon (=Vision, the first word of the Haftarah), each one of us envisions, in one form or another, the Temple of the future. One may see it as a physical structure, another as that which is most precious to him, whether a physical object (for a relatively immature soul), a beloved individual, or a spiritual state of being (for a more mature soul). The ultimate vision of the Temple of the future is the experience of the Presence of God in our lives (the Temple is the place where we stand "before God"), the experience of His Divine Providence over even the most minute detail of our lives (and all of existence), and His infinite Love for all.
The "Three Weeks" is a time of mourning over the destruction of the Temple. But it is also a time of transformation, transforming darkness into light, bitterness into sweetness, sadness into happiness, destruction into construction, and exile into redemption.
