Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Haftarah הַפְטָרָה
Shabbat this week is called Shabbat Hazon, named after the first word in our haftarah. Hazon means “vision.” Our haftarah includes a grim vision of destruction from the prophet Yeshayahu.
Reading this haftarah really gets us in the mood for Tisha B’Av. In many communities, most of the haftarah is read in the sad tune that we use on Tisha B’Av for the Book of Eikhah.
One of Yeshayahu’s main messages is that God is not pleased with the ritual mitzvot that Benei Yisrael are observing.
לָמָּה־לִּ֤י רֹב־זִבְחֵיכֶם֙ יֹאמַ֣ר יהוה
שָׂבַ֛עְתִּי עֹל֥וֹת אֵילִ֖ים וְחֵ֣לֶב מְרִיאִ֑ים וְדַ֨ם פָּרִ֧ים וּכְבָשִׂ֛ים וְעַתּוּדִ֖ים לֹ֥א חָפָֽצְתִּי׃
“Why do I need your sacrifices?”
says God.
“I am full of burnt offerings of rams, and fat of fatlings, and blood of bulls.
I don’t desire lambs and he-goats.”
You might wonder: Why is God having these negative reactions to the observance of mitzvot?
The reason is these three words in pasuk 15:
יְדֵיכֶ֖ם דָּמִ֥ים מָלֵֽאוּ
Your hands are full of blood
- What does it mean to have hands that are full blood? What behavior is like having hands full of blood?
- What’s so problematic about doing religious actions (like sacrifices and holiday celebrations and praying) at the same time that “your hands are full of blood”? Why does God hate this combination so much?
Thankfully, God also offers a step-by-step way to make things better (1:16-17):
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