Finding Refuge 

Shabbos Chazon - Parshat Devarim 

Yeshayahu uses three metaphors in our Haftorah in פרק א, פסוק ח to describe the destruction of Yerushalayim, וְנוֹתְרָ֥ה בַת־צִיּ֖וֹן כְּסֻכָּ֣ה בְכָ֑רֶם כִּמְלוּנָ֥ה בְמִקְשָׁ֖ה כְּעִ֥יר נְצוּרָֽה, and the daughter of Tzion was left as a hut in the vineyard, as a night lodge in a cucumber field, as a besieged city. These metaphors vividly illustrate the desolation of Tzion, highlighting how Yerushalayim has fallen from glory to a degraded state.

A hut in a vineyard is a temporary shelter that is used during the harvest and abandoned once the work is done. The night lodge in the cucumber field is only used at night during the harvest and stands empty each day and once the cucumbers are collected. Finally, a besieged city has temporary huts used by the opposing army which are abandoned once the city falls. Each of these structures is temporary and ultimately deserted, symbolizing the tragic fate of both Yerushalayim and the Beit HaMikdash.

Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch, as cited by Rav Shimon Schwab, offers a different interpretation, providing a poignant and relevant insight. He suggests that Yeshayahu laments that in the midst of horrific destruction and devastation, there was only one place of refuge and safety that the Jewish people should have sought. נוֹתְרָ֥ה בַת־צִיּ֖וֹן כְּסֻכָּ֣ה בְכָ֑רֶם, all that was left was the Bat Tzion, the Succah in the vineyard. Here, “Bat Tzion” alludes to the Beit Hamikdash and “vineyard” to the Land of Israel. Yeshayahu describes the sanctuary, the Beit Hamikdash, as a night lodge in the field, כִּמְלוּנָ֥ה בְמִקְשָׁ֖ה, a place of rest and strength The Beit Hamikdash should have been seen as a place of refuge and restoration, a space to regain spiritual connection.

Tragically, instead of recognizing the Beit HaMikdash’s potential to restore their glory and spiritual losses, the people saw it as a besieged city, inaccessible and walled off from themselves. According to Rav Hirsch, it was the people who laid siege to the Torah, trapping spirituality inside and preventing it from spreading.

In our lives today, we have many spiritual opportunities, whether through Torah learning, davening, or building connections with our families and communities. Yeshayahu’s message is as relevant now as ever. By allowing ourselves to be impacted by the holiness of our Torah teachings, we will find refuge in the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash, may it be speedily in our day.