This week’s Shabbat, the first in the month of Av, is known as Shabbat Chazon, a sabbath of vision, containing the third of three Haftarot – selections from the prophets – that rebuke Israel for its intransigence. Taken from Isaiah, the selection condemns Israel for privileging ritual over morality:
“Why [bring] your sacrifices to me?” asks Adonai, “I am stuffed with the offerings of rams, the suet of fatlings, the blood of bulls. I take no delight in lambs and goats. Who asked that you come to look upon Me? Trample my courts no more. Bringing oblations is futile. Incense is abominable to Me. Do not proclaim your sabbaths or new moons and gather in iniquity. Your months and seasons fill Me with loathing. They have become a burden to Me. I cannot endure them (Isaiah 1:11-14).”
Rather, the prophet urges, Israel must:
“Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice. Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan. Defend the cause of the widow (Isaiah 1:17).”
This excoriation parallels criticisms found within Isaiah 58 And Amos 5, which criticize the fasts and supplications of Israel, encouraging them instead to free the enslaved and care for the indigent. Both here and in those instances, God reminds Israel that it is never too late to change.
“Be your sins like crimson, they can turn snow white. Be they red as dyed wool, they can become like fleece. If you consent and listen, then you shall eat the goodness of the earth (Isaiah 1:18-19).”
The prophet’s charge not only justifies the impending dangers faced by Israel but also reminds Israel that disaster can be averted. By doing so, the passage not only prepares us for Tisha B’Av, when we commemorate the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, it also begins to prepare us for Elul and the Days of Awe, when we are called upon to repent for our misdeeds and commit to some of the many ways in which we may live more ethical lives in the year to come.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel