A Message from Rabbi Bellows

July 12, 2026/27 Tammuz 5786

Dear Friends,

This Shabbat is Shabbat Chazon, the “Sabbath of Vision,” named for the opening words of Isaiah’s powerful vision. Read on the Shabbat before the fast day of Tisha B’Av, commemorating the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It remembers major disasters in Jewish history. including the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Isaiah’s vision reminds us that societies are judged not only by their strength but also by their compassion, justice, and care for one another. 

It would be easy to hear Isaiah’s words as only a warning. But they are also an invitation. Even in times of division, uncertainty, and grief, Judaism calls us to imagine a better future—and then to help build it. Vision is not wishful thinking; it is the courage to see what could be and to take the next faithful step toward it. 

May we be granted the vision to see what is broken and the courage to repair it.

With Blessings,

Rabbi Bellows