Shabbos Chazon and Tisha B'Av According to Chassidus - Rabbi Asher Parkesh

00:01 Once, a group of Torah scholars came to the Tzemach Tzedek. They asked him to teach them Chassidus. They wanted to become familiar with Chassidus and draw closer to it. But they had a question about something they had seen that troubled them, and they wanted an answer. What was their question? They said that once, on Tisha B’Av, they had seen a Jew, a chossid, who was joyful—even dancing with joy on Tisha B’Av. Later they saw that same Jew on Simchas Torah, and he was filled with bitterness and heartbreak, with tears in his eyes. So they asked: How could it be that on a day like Tisha B’Av, such a bitter day, a day of mourning for all that happened, he showed joy? And on Simchas Torah, the greatest time of joy in the entire year, he showed bitterness, tears and weeping? They added that our Sages say, “A statement made in the presence of the person it concerns is not considered lashon hara”—when something is said in front of the person it is about, it is not lashon hara. So, they said, this was being said “in the presence of the person it concerns,” meaning that it

01:30 was the Tzemach Tzedek himself. [unclear] What they had seen in the Tzemach Tzedek was joy on Tisha B’Av and bitterness on Simchas Torah. The Tzemach Tzedek explained that Chassidus, the inner dimension of Torah, reveals the inner dimension of everything. So when Tisha B’Av arrives, and he sees the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and reflects on the destruction and its inner meaning—that precisely at this time, within the destruction, the inner dimension of Hashem’s love, the greatness of His love for the Jewish people, is revealed—it arouses great joy in a chossid. And when Simchas Torah arrives, and a person reflects on the fact that the Torah wants to rejoice with a Jew, that the Torah rejoices with the Jewish people who study it, and thinks about how much Torah he has studied throughout the year, it arouses a sense of bitterness in him. In any case, with Tisha B’Av we see how Chassidus, in the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples, revealed its depth and inner meaning. It begins with the very name of the month, and that brings us to ask

02:59 this question: Why is this month specifically called Menachem Av? The month of Av, or the month of Menachem Av—what is the reason for that name? Surely all the names of the months are by Divine providence, as the Baal Shem Tov says. The Gemara says that the names of the months came up from Babylon, but these names have meaning and content, and so on. The question is: “Av” means father. How can this very month, which was marked by distance, the month in which the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, be called “Av”—father? Chassidus explains this, beginning with the maamarim of the Tzemach Tzedek and the Rebbes [unclear] after him: On the contrary, it is precisely in the month of Av that the greatness of a father’s love for his child is revealed. When you see an adult with a child, giving him a gift or a toy, or smiling at him, that is not yet proof that he is the child’s father. It could be anyone; it is human nature. When people see a small child, they like to play with him and smile at him. That is human nature. But when

04:24 you see an adult scolding a child, speaking to him sharply and sternly and correcting him, you know that he is probably the child’s father. For it is a father who truly loves his child, with boundless love. Out of that genuine love, he wants to educate and guide him. And with such great love, he sometimes speaks a firm or sharp word to him in order to educate him. So it is precisely through correction that a father’s true desire for his child is revealed. If this is true of any father and child, how much more so of Hashem, our Father in Heaven, who [unclear]. In Tanya, Igeres Hakodesh, section 22, the Alter Rebbe gives the example of a wise and righteous father who strikes his son out of great love, because he wants to educate and guide him. This is the meaning of “washing away and purging the filth of the daughters of Zion.” Hashem, the great and awe-inspiring King, as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, washes him Himself out of His great love. He does not send emissaries; He Himself washes away the filth of His only son. Likewise, and all the more so, the great and awe-inspiring King, Hashem, the King of kings,

05:50 washes away and purges the filth of the daughters of Zion. It is precisely in this that His great love is revealed. That is why the month [unclear] is the month of Av. This is the Father, our Father in Heaven, and it is from such great love that this aspect of “Av” comes. Now, at the time in which we find ourselves, we see openly [unclear]. But in the future, the inner meaning of this will be revealed. Then the inner love will be revealed—the reason [unclear], and how it stems from the father’s great love for his only son. As the holy Baal Shem Tov says, to Hashem, as it were, every Jew is like an only son born to his father in his old age. The Baal Shem Tov gives an example of a father who had no children for many years, and then a child was born to him in his old age. We can understand how great that father’s love for the child would be, beyond the ordinary relationship between a father and child. Likewise, every Jew is like an only son born to his father in his old age. So this is a love beyond compare. But sometimes it is precisely the greatest love that appears clothed in rebuke, and [unclear] rebuke, and this is the meaning

07:19 of Tisha B’Av, of the month of Av in general and Tisha B’Av in particular. That is why this month specifically is called the month of Av and the month of Menachem Av. Why? Because in the future, the inner love concealed within all of this will be revealed. And so, as it says in [unclear], in the future [unclear]. Similarly, the holy Shelah writes in his book that in the future, Tisha B’Av specifically [unclear] will be a great festival. As it is brought down, it will be the greatest festival, because then the inner meaning of the entire matter, of Tisha B’Av, will be revealed: the great love Hashem has for the Jewish people. When the Baal Shem Tov revealed the inner dimension of Torah and began preparing the world for the era of Moshiach, for the time to come, [unclear] the time of the Geulah, it became possible even now to see the inner meaning of this, Hashem’s great love [unclear] for the Jewish people. And so then [unclear] all of this, [unclear] as it is according to halachah, of course—all these are laws in the Shulchan Aruch that must be observed during the Nine Days, the Three Weeks, and

08:44 on Tisha B’Av, and so on. But there is also another aspect: joy and love among true tzaddikim. Along these lines, Shaar Hakavanos, from the writings of the Arizal, also brings several points concerning Tisha B’Av in particular. It says there that at the time of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, the Jewish people in general—as brought there in Shaar Hakavanos in the name of the Arizal—even though Tisha B’Av is a time of destruction, a time of exile and a time of mourning, nevertheless, at Minchah—first of all, Tachanun is not said, as ruled in the Shulchan Aruch, because the verse says, “He called an appointed time against me,” and Tisha B’Av is called an appointed time. What is more, at Minchah on Tisha B’Av we say “Nachem” and verses of consolation, to the point that there is a custom to stop observing a number of mourning practices after midday on Tisha B’Av. As brought in the writings of the Arizal, the reason is that at that time the Moshiach of the Jewish people was born. The source is the Jerusalem Talmud and Midrash Eichah: on Tisha B’Av, on the very day of the destruction, the Moshiach of the Jewish people was born, with all the details of the story told in the Midrash. So Shaar Hakavanos writes, and explains the point in general, that since the Moshiach of the Jewish people was born—meaning that the birthday of Moshiach’s soul is Tisha B’Av—there are certain practices, especially after midday, that express consolation and joy, because we reflect on

10:23 the fact that the Moshiach of the Jewish people was born then, and that the spiritual fortune of King Moshiach grows stronger at that time. But he brings another point. He writes that at the time of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, when Minchah arrived and Jews saw the Beis Hamikdash going up in flames, may Hashem have mercy—that was the moment of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, when the nations came and set it on fire and the Beis Hamikdash began to burn—at that very time, they rejoiced greatly. How do those two things go together: “they rejoiced greatly”? He explains: They saw that “He poured out His wrath on wood and stones.” Hashem poured out all His anger on wood and stones, and they knew that this meant the Jewish people would be saved and would survive. This is also the point he makes about “A psalm of Asaph” in chapter 79: Why do we say “A psalm of Asaph”? “G-d, nations have entered Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy Sanctuary; they have reduced Jerusalem to ruins.” The Gemara asks: “A psalm of Asaph”? It should be “a lament of Asaph”! Why is it called “a psalm of Asaph”? There is the well-known explanation concerning the gates: They saw that “her gates sank into the earth,” and in the future they will emerge again; Hashem promised that there would be a Geulah. But as he explains in the writings of the Arizal, it is “a psalm of Asaph” because “He poured out His wrath on wood and stones,” and since He poured

12:04 His wrath on wood and stones, and the Jews had great joy. So it follows that precisely on this day, when we look at the inner meaning, Hashem’s great love for the Jews is revealed. This is also the point raised when Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbos Chazon. The significance of Shabbos Chazon is even more pronounced when, as this year, it falls on Tisha B’Av itself: the day’s central positive aspect becomes apparent—the joy associated with Tisha B’Av, when the Moshiach of Israel was born. Since on a Tisha B’Av that falls on Shabbos, a person “sets his table like the feast of Shlomo in his time,” the positive aspect is all the more apparent: this is the day Moshiach was born, when the spiritual fortune of King Moshiach is ascendant. Then the significance of Shabbos Chazon is at its greatest. What does Chassidus say about Shabbos Chazon? It is well known that Reb Hillel of Paritch, one of the great chassidim of the Tzemach Tzedek, relates that he heard a profound teaching about Shabbos Chazon in the name of the holy Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev: “Chazon” means a vision, a sight—everyone is shown the Beis Hamikdash each Shabbos. He gives a parable: There was a father who loved his son very much and bought him a garment. And the child was

13:48 The parable goes like this: As children do, the child played and came home with his garment torn. His father, who was compassionate and kind, went and sewed him a new garment. The child wore the new garment, kept playing, and that garment tore too. When he came back the second time, the father sewed him a third garment, but did not give it to him. He only held it up from a distance. From time to time, the father shows the child the garment and tells him: When you change your behavior, going somewhat beyond your usual habits, when you change your nature a little beyond what you are accustomed to, I will give you the garment, and it will be yours. Similarly, says the holy Rebbe of Berditchev, when Shabbos Chazon arrives—“Chazon” meaning vision—every Jew is shown the Beis Hamikdash from afar, though only their soul sees it. A radiance from the Beis Hamikdash shines within them, awakening them to change and correct their ways until it becomes second nature. Through this, they will merit the revelation of the Third Beis Hamikdash speedily in our days, when we merit it. That is what the holy Rebbe of Berditchev relates. And from this emerges something wonderful about Shabbos Chazon: Precisely on Shabbos Chazon, the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av—and on this very Shabbos

15:26 we read the haftorah of “Chazon Yeshayahu,” a frightening, sharply worded haftorah containing very stern words of rebuke. And it is precisely about this Shabbos that we say every Jew is shown the Third Beis Hamikdash, awakening a thirst and longing for it, until they understand that they must change their ways and conduct, until that change becomes second nature. The Rebbe devoted many sichos and explanations over a number of years to this teaching of the Rebbe of Berditchev about Shabbos Chazon. The Rebbe explained many points and fine details, and wonderful lessons we can draw from the parable and what it represents, and what they mean for us. Today I want to dwell on one very relevant point that has a great deal of depth. It is the question that seemingly arises: The parable the Rebbe of Berditchev gave is about a garment, about a father who sews a garment. Seemingly, the parable should resemble what it represents. What it represents is a house—the First Beis Hamikdash, the Second, the Third. We are talking about a house. But what is the parable about? A garment. Seemingly, a garment is something entirely different. One could seemingly give the same parable about a house. Perhaps it would not work quite as well, but one could certainly give a parable about a house: a father who buys a house or builds a room for his child, or gives him a room, and the child needs

17:03 needs, needs, needs—[unclear] in the room, he gets it dirty, and the father gives him a new room. Again, we could speak about a house throughout, and then the parable would match what it represents: when speaking of the Beis Hamikdash, we would give a parable about a house. Why does the holy Rebbe of Berditchev choose a parable about a garment instead? These are the words of tzaddikim, and every detail is precise. The Rebbe gives a wonderful explanation. The difference between a house and a garment, in simple, physical terms, is that a house is something general. Both a house and a garment surround a person; in Chassidus they are called “encompassing” things, things that surround a person from the outside. A house is external, and so is a garment. But the difference is that a house is not made to a person’s measurements. A small person can be alone in a large house, and many children can live in a small house. In other words, the size of the house does not depend on the person’s physical dimensions, shape, or measurements. In short, a house is a large encompassing thing that surrounds the whole person. But a garment is measured according to the person’s dimensions. A small person has a small garment, and a large person has a large garment; there are garments for the arms, legs, and body, and every

18:26 part of the body has its own garment, suited to its dimensions and the way that part is shaped. In other words, a garment is tailored to the details of a person’s limbs. What does this mean in spiritual service? A house represents serving Hashem through faith. Just as a house surrounds the whole person, there is a way of serving Hashem that encompasses the person. That means faith in Hashem—a person’s belief in Hakadosh Boruch Hu—or kabbolas ol of the kingdom of Heaven, the general devotion and dedication with which a person gives themselves over to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A garment, though, indicates that one must acquire each detail, each part, every aspect of one’s particular service. A person, after all, is made up of distinct parts. There is the intellect in the brain, the emotions of the heart, the power of sight in the eyes, the power of hearing in the ears, and the power of speech in the mouth. What is the holy Rebbe of Berditchev telling us? We are speaking here of changing a person’s conduct until the change becomes second nature. To merit the Third Beis Hamikdash, it is not enough to serve only in a general way: with faith in Hashem, general devotion, and kabbolas ol—the mode represented by a house. The service must be like a garment. After all, we want it to become second nature. For it to become second nature,

20:04 every trait of my soul, every part of my limbs and faculties, must be thoroughly permeated with the service of Hashem. The entire purpose of the intellect should be to understand G-dliness and learn about Hakadosh Boruch Hu; the entire purpose of the heart should be to feel love and awe of Hashem; the entire purpose of the eyes should be to see G-dliness—“Lift your eyes on high”—and the entire purpose of the ears should be to listen to words of Torah, and so on. When every part of every limb is wholly permeated with G-dliness, that prepares us to enter the actual Third Beis Hamikdash. For when we speak of the revelation of the days of Moshiach, we will bring all of this with us. Chassidus says that in the future, the revelation of the Shechinah, the revelation of G-dliness in the world, will not merely be a general revelation in which G-dliness shines in a general way. Rather, every detail of the world and every part of it will be woven through with G-dliness to its very depths. There will be no part of the world that does not recognize G-dliness in its own particular way. As it says, “The glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” Physical flesh—in its nature, form, and very essence—will be permeated with G-dliness. And because this is the central innovation of the future, the preparation for it must specifically be service in every detail: every part of my body must be permeated with G-dliness.

21:34 The emphasis on detail, alluded to specifically by the garment in the parable, underscores that serving Hashem must be such that every part of my faculties is woven through with G-dliness, woven through with G-dliness. This is the meaning of the vision, of seeing: on Shabbos Chazon, everyone is shown the Beis Hamikdash from afar. Every Jew is shown the Beis Hamikdash, but how are they shown it? Like a garment—that is, in a detailed way, with a distinct form. A person must take in the meaning of the Beis Hamikdash and of “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell within them”: to find, in every detail, every part, every limb and every faculty of mine, how to connect it to G-dliness. All the intellect, all the emotions, the eyes—the entire being of every part of my limbs—must be woven through with and permeated by the service of Hashem, by the revelation of G-dliness. Then we can be a vessel for the vision to truly become sight, for me to see; and as the Tzemach Tzedek writes, there will be actual sight of G-dliness, and we will already see the Third Beis Hamikdash. From here we enter Tisha B’Av. Then we see how Tisha B’Av will be transformed, and we see the inner love shining on Tisha B’Av. We see the great love with which a father loves his son, and then the bitterness of Tisha B’Av will fall away, because

22:58 We no longer see only the rebuke; on the contrary, we see the revelation of G-dliness. And this is how the holy Berditchever explains it: we study Megillas Eichah. When we read Megillas Eichah at first glance, we see bitter matters in it—lamentation, sorrow, and exile, as the Megillah describes. But when we study the Megillah according to the inner dimension of the Torah, we see just the opposite: how something different is revealed in every verse. As the Tzemach Tzedek writes, citing the Gemara, the inner meaning of the curses in the Torah is blessings—the blessings we find within the curses, which are blessings [unclear]. Sometimes especially lofty matters must come clothed in a guise, even an opposite guise. This is like the story in the Gemara about Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai sent his son Rabbi Elazar, and everything the Tannaim said to him sounded like curses. But on the contrary, they were all blessings clothed in another guise. Because when blessings are lofty, [unclear] they come clothed in this way. And so it is with all of Megillas Eichah. In a maamar of the Tzemach Tzedek, we find

24:20 two explanations in which he interprets two verses from Megillas Eichah. One is the first verse, “How does she sit alone,” which alludes to the level of “alone”—“the eye of Yaakov dwells securely alone,” the level of “a people that dwells alone.” It speaks of the revelation of “alone,” because in the future, the Jewish people will “dwell securely alone” on the loftiest level of “alone.” And there is also a wonderful interpretation of the final verse by [unclear]. Megillas Eichah ends with the words, “For even if You have utterly rejected us, You have been exceedingly angry with us.” Before that it says, “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old.” So the final verses of the Megillah go like this: first, “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old,” and then, “For even if You have utterly rejected us, You have been exceedingly angry with us.” So as not to end on something undesirable, we repeat “Return us.” But [unclear] asks: What is the connection between these two verses? “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old”—a pleasant verse, a beautiful verse, a verse rich in meaning. We ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return”—that He bring us back to Him—“renew our days as of old.” We want to return to the good days of the Geulah. And then, suddenly, comes the ending: the Megillah concludes with such a bitter verse, “For even if You have utterly rejected us, You have been exceedingly angry with us.”

25:50 What kind of ending is that? He says something wonderful. Here is a wonderful explanation of the claim that the Jewish people make to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Gemara says in Gittin that when a man divorces his wife, there can be two reasons: either he divorces her because “he found something indecent in her”—he found something indecent in her, and therefore divorces her—or he divorces her because he has come to dislike her. That is, not because of any indecency, but simply because he has come to dislike her. The Gemara records several opinions—Rabbi Akiva, Beis Shammai, Beis Hillel, and so on—but broadly speaking, these are two ways a divorce can come about. What is the difference? Even in halachic terms, if he divorced a woman because “he found something indecent in her,” he is forbidden to marry her again. If he divorced her because of indecency, he cannot take her back as his wife. But if he divorced her only because he had come to dislike her, he may marry her again—take back his divorced wife. Accordingly, says [unclear], this is what the Jewish people say to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They make a request of Him; after all, all of Megillas Eichah speaks about the relationship between the Jewish people and Hakadosh Boruch Hu, like a divorced woman who was “sent away from his house,” and so on.

27:21 So the Jewish people say to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return.” They ask Him to bring them back to Him. “Renew our days as of old”—after the divorce, may Hakadosh Boruch Hu marry the Jewish people again and take the Jewish people back to Him. But how is it permissible to marry again? Was it because “he found something indecent in her”—because the Jewish people sinned? No: “For even if You have utterly rejected us.” This has nothing to do with indecency; it is only that “You have utterly rejected us, You have been exceedingly angry with us.” There is no matter of indecency here, only “You have utterly rejected us.” And if that is the reason, it is permissible to marry again—to take back one’s divorced wife. So we ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old”: bring us back to Him and reveal Himself to us again. May we openly see the inner intent; may He take us out of exile and bring the complete Geulah. And of this our Sages say, “Whoever mourns for Jerusalem merits and sees its joy.” What this means is: “Whoever mourns for Jerusalem”—“merits and sees its joy.” It does not mean only that in the future he will merit to see it. No—in the present. A person who mourns for Jerusalem now, who is in a state of holiness, who is on Tisha B’Av and grieves and prays for the Geulah—“whoever mourns for Jerusalem” “merits and sees” now, in the present. He merits to open his eyes and see already now, to taste the Geulah even during exile.

29:09 As the Rebbe says: may we truly merit to open our eyes. Yes, may we merit to see the inner intent shining openly; may we truly merit this at the time of Tisha B’Av, which is called “the day on which the Moshiach of the Jewish people was born.” May we merit, in the month of Menachem Av, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu comfort us, that our Father in Heaven comfort every Jew. And here is another interpretation of “Menachem Av”: that the Jewish people comfort Hakadosh Boruch Hu, for as the Rebbe says, “the Shechinah is in exile.” And through Menachem Av, may we see openly and merit the ascent that follows the descent; may we truly merit “Return us to You, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old,” and may our eyes behold it, with the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.