Devarim

The Shabbat before Tisha B’Av is known as Shabbat Chazon. As with many of the special Shabbatot of the year (Shabbat Shuva, Shabbat Hagadol, Shabbat Nachamu) the name comes from the connection to the Haftarah of that Shabbat. The Haftarah opens with the word “chazon,” vision. It speaks of the vision of Isaiah, a vision of exile and destruction that would eventually befall the People of Israel for not remaining loyal to God and to the teachings of the Torah.

In addition to the theme of exile and destruction, the Haftarah also connects linguistically to Tisha B’Av. In verse 21, in speaking about the city of Jerusalem, the text uses the word “eicha” – “Alas, she has become a harlot, the faithful city that was filled with justice.” The word "eicha," which repeats several times over the course of Tisha B’Av (most notably in Megillat Eicha that we read at night and also numerous other times throughout the recitation of Kinot) also appears in the Torah reading that we read on Shabbat Chazon. Parshat Devarim is always read the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av. Chapter 1, verse 12 reads, “Eicha esah l’vadi” –“How can I alone carry your arguments, your burdens and your quarrels?”

Moshe was telling the People of Israel that he needed help in leading them because he alone could not adjudicate all of their problems. Though in this verse the word "eicha" is translated as “how” and in other places the word is translated as “alas,” it serves the purpose of linking the Torah reading to Tisha B’Av. It also alludes to one of the underlying causes of our exile – arguments and fighting – clearly something that still plagues the Jewish people to this day. Because of the allusions to Tisha B’Av, most of the Haftarah, as well as the particular verse from the Torah reading, are read using the heartending tune of Megillat Eicha.