Visuals are playing a huge role in how the world reacts and responds to situations. Indeed only this week, we have seen how fake visuals are being used and peddled even by mainstream media and politicians to spread a modern-day blood libel against Israel and the Jewish people.
In the 21st Century with its fast-moving media cycles, social media and now AI driven and manipulated information, visuals have become weapons that are used to twist narratives and sadly are sometimes selectively used to advance and prolong suffering.
The visuals for example of the hostage video that was released yesterday, which once again shows a hostage in terrible physical condition, won't make it to the front page of the papers who have an agenda against Israel, but will certainly cause a lot of pain and gut wrenching sadness in the hearts of so many who care so deeply for the hostages and anyone else suffering.
This Saturday evening through Sunday, marks the 9th of Av, a day which is dedicated to mourning the destruction of the Temples, and the many other tragedies that have befallen our people over the course of history. This year we are also acutely aware of the continued suffering of the hostages and their families, the many losses the Jewish people have incurred this year, and the pain and suffering brought about to so many, due to the war launched by Hamas, which sadly has so much support around the world to continue causing suffering to so many.
On the 9th of Av, known as Tisha B’Av, we will be remembering and contemplating the past, thinking about the here and now, and praying and planning for a better and much more hopeful future. We will be thinking about the words of Isaiah (1:27) the prophet which we read this Sabbath, "Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her penitent through Tzedakah (righteousness or charity).", and we will be praying and thinking about a future in which we channel the pain and hardships of the past and now, into bettering the world around us.
This Shabbat, which is the Shabbat before the 9th of Av, is known as Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision, as we read about the vision of Isaiah, regarding the destruction of the Temple. The Chassidic masters explain that we understand that vision of this Shabbat to include another element, and that is that we are all empowered to be "shown" a vision of the third Temple on this Shabbat, in which we can imagine and envision, the future that is spoken of by the prophets, the Third Temple, a world of peace, unity, tranquility, and a place of no more suffering, wars and evil.
It is a belief that Maimonides lays out as one of the Thirteen Principals of Jewish Faith, and one that our ancestors through the ages, including on the trains to Treblinka and Auschwitz, would sing about and believe in, knowing that as Jews, not only is this what we believe in, it is also what we live for each and every day, and collectively we are all playing a part in making this happen.
So as we contemplate the visuals that have been used to spread evil and blood libels, and pray and hope for the return of the hostages and an end to war and suffering, we are also mindful and thoughtful of the visuals that we hope for the world. The visual is not simply a short term victory over terrorists or their regime supporters, rather it is for us to be making steady progress towards a much kinder and better world, a place of peace, goodness, kindness, that reflects its Divine design, that G-d can call home, and a place where Zion shines in its full glory, as a source of light, inspiration, and blessings to all of humanity.
So let us never lose sight of this visual, let’s contemplate on it and act on it, and let’s pray and hope that this beautiful visual, spoken of by the prophets and held dear for so many thousands of years, develops from a visual into a reality for us and in turn all of humanity.
ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel