Don’t Lose Sight of Your Vision

Don’t Lose Sight of Your Vision

Shlomo Hamelech wrote in Mishlei (29:18):

בְּאֵ֣ין חָ֖זוֹן יִפָּ֣רַֽע עָ֑ם

“without vision, the people will perish.”

                Vision is an idea of the future. But more than that, it is the ability to see the present as it is and formulate a future that grows out of and improves upon the present. People with vision are able to see into the future without being far-sighted and remain rooted in the present without being near-sighted. The list of sins alluded to by Moshe at the beginning of this morning’s Parsha can all be attributed to one basic failing: Bnai Yisrael lacked vision.

                If we are looking for a role model for having vision, then Rabbi Akiva is our man. The Talmud (Makkot 24) recounts how Rabbi Akiva and his Rabbinic colleagues were touring the Temple Mount in the aftermath of the Destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. Suddenly, they saw a fox emerging from what once was the Kodesh Hakodashim. While his colleagues wept, Rabbi Akiva laughed.

They asked him: Why are you laughing?

He asked them: Why are you crying?

                They responded: It’s obvious. A place that at one time was so holy that even the High Priest could only enter into once a year, and now a fox roams through: isn’t that enough reason to cry?!

In response Rabbi Akiva explained that the prophecies of Zecharya foretelling the Messianic age could only be fulfilled once the prophecy of Uriah which deal with the Temple Mount being plowed over, had been realized.

                Rabbi Akiva was a man who saw the bigger picture. He had vision. Instead of dwelling in the tragedy of the moment, he took solace in knowing that the Messianic prophecies were now sure to be fulfilled.

                We should not be surprised by this quality of Rabbi Akiva’s. One of the earliest stories we know of him is how at age 40 he was inspired to begin learning Torah. What was his inspiration? A rock that over time was being worn away by dripping water. Only a person with vision could be inspired by such a sight. Rabbi Akiva understood that real change is the type that takes years, if not decades, to occur.

                Rabbi Akiva’s ability to have vision continued even at the time of his death. We read of his martyrdom on Tisha B’Av. The Talmud Yerushalmi explains that as Rabbi Akiva was being executed, he was engrossed in his prayers. The executioner asked him how it is possible that he not feel the pain. Rabbi Akiva responded that he rejoiced now at the opportunity to Love G-d with bechol Nafshecha- with his life, and not just with his heart and his possessions. By having vision, and focusing on the bigger picture, namely his love of G-d, Rabbi Akiva was able to transcend a fleeting moment of unimaginable pain.

                It is not by coincidence that we explore the importance of having vision on Shabbat Chazon, named for the first words of this morning’s Haftarah. In it, the prophet Isaiah has a chazon, a prophetic vision of the destruction of Jerusalem and its causes. Rabbi Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, The Piasetzner Rav, was Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto. His sermons and teachings were collected in the book Aish Kodesh. The last entry in that book is from Shabbat Chazon 1944. In that drasha, Rav Shapira explains that Yeshaya received a chazon, a vision, because The Jewish People had lost their vision.

“We lost the vision of our true goals in life, and we lost our sight of the truth.”

                Disappointment, frustration and stagnation, as well as a lack of spiritual growth can all be attributed to one root cause: a lack of vision. It’s not enough to make a To Do list for the day and post it on our refrigerators, or even to make goals for the week. We need to ask ourselves: What do we want to achieve, who do we want to be in 5, 10 or even 20 years from now?

                On this Shabbat Chazon, let us learn from the example set forth by Rabbi Akiva: Real change and significant goals can only be achieved if we never lose sight of our vision.