Destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh, we also mention it every day in our prayers. Furthermore, at every joyful occasion we make a “zecher l’churban” and numerous things that create an excess of joy are forbidden as a means of mourning the churban (see Bava Basra 60B and Shulchan Aruch Orech Chaim 560).
Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchov zy”a (Sefer Shmua Tova) explains with a parable of king who became angry at his son for his indiscretions and evicted him from the palace, sending him to live in a remote village until he rectified his ways. After many months of living amongst simple peasants, the prince started to become just like them. He ate the same coarse foods they ate and slept on the same type of straw mattress. He forgot that he had once been a pampered prince who ate fine food and lived royally.
When the king heard how son was living, he was heartbroken. He tried to come up with a way to remind his son of who he really was so that he would desire to improve himself and return to his old life. His idea was to send off one of his servants to the village where the prince was living. He had the servant ride on a beautiful horse, dressed in the fanciest clothes, accompanied by an entourage of ministers with much pomp and ceremony, proclaiming as he rode, “This is how someone the king wishes to honor is treated!”
After seeing this for a few days, the prince realized that if he would make his father proud, he too would receive this honorable treatment. This led him to recall the old days, when he was treated royally, and to yearn to return to his father. He regretted his rebellious actions and soon made his way to the palace, where he cried and begged his father to take him back, promising to obey him in the future. The king happily accepted his son back into his home with much love.
The way of the world is that when a person experiences a tragedy or loss, the pain subsides over time and is eventually forgotten. Hashem was worried, so to speak, that this would happen to Klal Yisroel in golus. Since the exile has stretched on for so long, there was a danger that the Jewish nation would get used to being downtrodden and persecuted, and would forget our glorious past.
Therefore, it was decreed that we should constantly remember the churban and do things to keep it in mind at all times. By doing so, we are reminded that we are not defined by our current situation and we always await the ultimate redemption.
Comforted by the Future Redemption:
Sefer Siach Sarfei Kodesh relates that Rav Henoch of Alexander zy”a once made a Siyum Masechta during the “Nine Days” (between Rosh Chodesh Av and Tisha B’Av). During the seudah, he said, “In the old days, during this time of year, the balhabatim would be depressed and anguished over the fact that our Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed and we can no longer go there to offer korbanos. Today, however, the chasidim enjoy festive meals because of their strong emunah that the redemption is near. They believe that just like there once was a Bais Hamikdosh, there soon will be a Bais Hamikdosh.”
He added, “After Ashmedai (the king of the demons) threw Shlomo Hamelech out of his palace (see Gittin 68B), Shlomo came to a village and told the people there who he was. When the residents heard who was there, they all surrounded him and they slaughtered an ox and brought all kinds of delicacies in his honor.
“After the ate, the village leader told his family that Shlomo Hamelech was in town and how he had been banished from his throne. He told them, ‘Look at how the tides can turn. Look how much this man is suffering.’
“When Shlomo heard what he said, he recalled how much honor and glory he used to have, and he was full of anguish. He was so upset that he couldn’t eat any of the delicacies the villagers continued to bring to him.
“Shlomo then continued on his wanderings and came to another city, where he met a pious, poor man. When the man heard that this was Shlomo Hamelech, he was very happy to see him. He comforted him by saying, ‘You once were Shlomo the King and you will again be Shlomo the King. You may have temporarily lost your power but you will get it back one day.’
“These words made Shlomo very happy. The poor man invited him to a small repast in his home, and they ate together. This upright man revived Shlomo’s spirit with a few words more than the wealthy residents of the other village did with all their fine food. Regarding this Shlomo said (Mishlei 17:1): ‘Coarse bread with pleasantness is good.’”
The Rebbe concluded, “That is how we should think during the Bain Hametzarim. We should console ourselves by remembering that just like there once was a Bais Hamikdosh, there will again be one.”
Making a Siyum to Arouse Brotherly Love:
Sefer Siach Sarfei Kodesh also quotes the Chidushei Harim zy”a as explaining that the reason for the custom of making a siyum during the Nine Days is because the Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed because of sinas chinam (Yoma 9B) and sharing in a seudah for the honor of Torah can rectify this sin by increasing brotherly love. This concept is seen from the Gemara (Shabbos 118B), which relates that Abaya said that when a young scholar completed a Masechta, he made a festive holiday for the Rabbanan. Creating such unity through Torah is a means to fix the sin of senseless hatred.
Days of Atonement and Forgiveness:
The Maharsha (Chidushei Agados on Bechoros 8B) writes that just like the 21 days from Rosh Hashanah until Hoshana Rabbah are a time to atone for sin, so too the 21 days between the 17th of Tamuz and Tisha B’Av are a time when sins are forgiven because suffering and pain atones for transgressions (Sanhedrin 37B).
Shabbos Chazon
A Shabbos of Hisorerus:
“Shabbos Chazon” is a time when one can get closer to Hashem, as Rav Henoch of Alexander zy”a said, “Shabbos Chazon is the greatest Shabbos of the entire year!”
We see from the Zohar Hakadosh (Parshas Yisro 88A) that one can receive incredible Divine influences on this Shabbos. The Zohar states that all blessings for the upper and lower realms depend on Shabbos. Everything that occurs during the week stems from the influence of Shabbos. Shabbos Chazon, the Shabbos before Klal Yisroel was sent into golus, is comparable to a son who is sent away by his father and forced to leave for a faraway land. Before he leaves, his father hugs and kisses him and departs from him with love and compassion. This show of love connects the father and son and creates a bond that remains no matter where the son goes.
So too, Klal Yisroel was sent away from Hashem’s land during this week. This occurred because of the influence of Shabbos, as everything that happens during a week is a result of the influences of the previous Shabbos. This departure was certainly amidst feelings of love and compassion that connect us to Hashem, and this connection is renewed every year on Shabbos Chazon.
A Shabbos of “Vision”:
The Biala Rebbe zy”a (Sefer Divrei Bina) writes that the reason this Shabbos is called “Shabbos Chazon” is because the word “Chazon” means “a vision”, as in “Chazon Layla”, a vision one has at night when he is half-asleep.
He explains that when Jews sin, it is because their minds are unclear. They do not do bad things deliberately. Rather, their minds are clouded, as if they are dreaming and unaware of their actions.
This idea is hinted to in the pasuk in the Haftorah (Yeshaya 1:3): “An ox knows its owner and a donkey owner’s trough. Yisroel does not know. My nation does not understand.” This means that an ox knows who his owner is and if it decides to act against him, it is a deliberate act of rebellion. Klal Yisroel, however, “does not know”. When Jews sin, they are in a dreamlike state of unawareness. Immediately after sinning, they awaken and regret it. Therefore, the complaint against them is not that great.
This also is stated in the verse in Tehillim (126:1): “When Hashem returned the captives of Tzion, we were like dreamers.” This pasuk is saying that even when Klal Yisroel is in its dreamlike trance, they manage to overcome and mostly do the will of Hashem.
He further explains with a moshol of a close friend of the king who is so appreciative of everything the king does for him that he even thinks about him in his dreams. This is a sign of a true friend. So too, we are so closely connected to Hashem that we think about Him even when we do not have clarity of mind and are not fully awake.
All Tefillos of the Year Ascend on This Shabbos:
The Saraf of Sterlisk zy”a would say that all the tefillos that are uttered by all of Klal Yisroel throughout the year ascend on Shabbos Chazon and reach their rightful place if we daven properly on this Shabbos.
The Neshama of Benayahu ben Yehoyada:
One time, when the Arizal’s student, Rav Chaim Vital zy”a, came to see him, the Arizal stood up and said that he was being escorted by the soul of Benayahu ben Yehoyada.
The Arizal explained that Rav Chaim had gone to the kevarim of Abaya and Rava. Prior to going he asked him what lofty thoughts he should have in mind there. After he finished davening, he sat at a nearby place reviewed the things the Arizal told him to think about. It happened to be that this place was the burial site of Benayahu ben Yehoyada, who, therefore, clung to him.
Helping a Soul Trapped in a Dog:
The Shotzer Rebbe zy”a related that the students of the Arizal once prepared a large seudas mitzvah. They purchased a large quantity of fish and cooked it for the occasion in a big pot. Since it was a cold winter day, all the doors and windows of the house were closed. Suddenly, they noticed that a black dog had somehow gotten inside and it jumped right into the pot.
The dog was burned and died. Of course, they discarded the fish but they realized something out of the ordinary had occurred and they asked the Arizal to explain.
He told them that there was a priest in town who hated Jews and always sought ways to use it to harm Jewish people. That day, the priest bribed the local fish seller to put poison in the fish that was sold to the Arizal’s students. This caused a commotion in Heaven. One neshama that had been reincarnated in a dog for several years suggested that he would give his life to save the Arizal’s talmidim by jumping into the pot. His suggestion was accepted and, in this merit, the soul was allowed into Gan Eden.
Annulling the Ruler’s Decree:
There was a city located far from the home of the Arizal that was ruled by a wicked and cruel man who caused as much pain to his Jewish residents as he could. One day, the ruler issued a proclamation that the Jews must bring him a massive sum of money within 30 days or he would expel them from their homes. The local Jews had nowhere near that amount of money and had no idea what to do.
The entire town gathered in the local shul to daven and beg Hashem to have mercy on them and annul the decree. They also sent messengers to other Jewish communities and to the tzadikei hador, asking them to daven on their behalf. The messengers traveled far and wide, not stopping to rest, as they tried to get to as many communities as they could, knowing the importance of their mission.
On Friday afternoon, shortly before the onset of Shabbos, the messengers reached the city of Tzefas. Even before finding a place to spend Shabbos, they went to the home of the Arizal – who already was known far and wide as a great tzadik and a man who possessed ruach hakodesh - to tell him why they came and to ask him to storm the Heavens to save their brethren.
When they arrived at his house, they found him dressed in finery, wearing his special Shabbos robe. He looked like a glorious angel of Hashem. His students were gathered around him, ready to go out into the fields to welcome the Shabbos Queen, as was their custom. The severe expressions on the strangers’ faces told them that an urgent matter had brought them there at such an hour, and, therefore, the Arizal turned to them to hear what they had to say. With tears in their eyes, they recounted their story to him.
The Arizal comforted them by saying that Hashem’s salvation can come in the blink of an eye. He said, “You will be my guests for Shabbos. Quickly prepare yourselves and welcome the Shabbos Queen. Do not be worried, as it is forbidden to cry on Shabbos. But know that you will soon experience Hashem’s salvation.”
The messengers did as the Arizal said and they stayed in his home over Shabbos. They saw that he was even more lofty and exalted than they had heard and they experienced a very uplifted Shabbos.
After Havdalah, the Arizal turned to his guests and invited them to come with him. He ordered his students to bring strong ropes and join him as well. The Arizal walked in front and everyone else followed him. It was dark and gloomy all around, and only the stars above lit up the sky a little. None of them saw anything around them and could not see where to go. They just followed wherever their leader went, without asking any questions or making a sound.
They walked like this for a long time, until suddenly the Ari stopped, and the entire group stopped after him.
The Arizal pointed to the ground in front of him, and, when they strained their eyes in the darkness of the night, they saw a very deep hole in the ground. The Arizal immediately commanded the students to untie the ropes and lower them into the hole. They hurried and did as he said, and when only the ends were left in their hands, the Arizal commanded them to raise the ropes back up. The people began to pull, and they immediately realized that the task was very difficult. They could tell that something very heavy was caught in the ropes.
They pulled and dragged with all their might until they managed to raise the rope, and behold, before their eyes was revealed a magnificent four-poster bed, adorned with precious royal ornaments. On the bed lay a man sleeping soundly, his clothes and his entire appearance testifying to his being an important person.
The Arizal approached the bed and shook the sleeping man violently. The man suddenly woke up, and looked with frightened eyes at those around him. The Arizal spoke to him in a firm voice and said, “Are you still stubbornly insisting on expelling the Jews of your city?”
The messengers recognized the man as the ruler of their city, and he admitted that he did intend to do this.
The Arizal handed him a bucket that was missing its bottom, and told him, “I am obliging you to draw the water from the well into this bucket until it is empty. You must do so before the dawn rises.”
The governor looked at the bucket and said, “How can I do that? Even if I live a thousand years, I will not be able to draw even a single drop of water in such a bucket. It has no bottom so no water will go into it!”
However, the Arizal insisted. He told him, “Start drawing water or else your end will be bitter!”
The ruler begged for mercy. He pleaded not to demand something from him that he could not possibly do. The Ari then said to him, “How can you want me to have mercy on you, when you yourself have made decrees on the Jews of your country that they cannot possibly comply with? If you revoke what you decreed on them, everything will be fine. If not, you will die here.”
The ruler was seized with fear and trembling. With his teeth chattering, he promised to fulfill the request. The Ari took out a prepared document from his pocket and read it aloud: “I the ruler of such-and-such place, confirm with this document, signed with my hand, that I have received into my hands the sum that I have imposed on the Jews of my city to deposit in my treasuries. This nullifies every decree I have enacted against them.”
The ruler immediately signed the document and returned it to the Ari. The Ari handed it over to the messengers and ordered the man and his bed to be lowered back into the pit.
When the morning dawned, the ruler awoke from his night’s sleep, his head heavy and all his limbs aching. He wondered about the strange dream he had but he convinced himself that it must have just been a silly dream, with no basis in reality.
When the day of the deadline to bring the money arrived, the ruler eagerly awaited the arrival of the representatives of the Jewish community, but they did not come. He immediately sent word to the leaders of the community that if they did not appear before him with the money by sunset, he would expel all the Jews and their property would be confiscated by the government. The emissaries who had returned from Tzefas came and stood before the king, bowed before him in humility, and said: “Our lord, your signature attests that we have paid in full to the royal treasury all that was imposed on us, and the decree is null and void.”
They presented him with the receipt, written and signed by him from that fateful night.
The ruler looked at the letter and the men who were there with a bewildered look in his eyes. He recalled the frightening vision he had seen that night, and he now understood that it was not merely a dream.
Great fear filled his heart. He thought: Who knows what else might happen to him at the hands of the holy leader of the Jews? If he could bring him and his bed to him in the dead of night, what else could he do?
He immediately announced that this was indeed his signature. He revoked the decreed and, from that day on, he was very careful not to harm the Jews. Not only that, but he issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom that all Jews living in his state would be under his protection and a severe punishment would be inflicted on anyone who harmed them.
May the memory of the great tzadik be a blessing for all of Klal Yisroel.
