These are the words that Moses spoke to all
Israel…. "God our Lord spoke to us
at Horeb, saying: 'Enough of your dwelling by this mountain. Turn yourselves around and journey'…. See! I have given the Land before you. Come and possess the Land that God swore that
He would give to your forefathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to
their descendants after them." (Deuteronomy
1:1, 6-8)
The vision of Isaiah .… Learn to do good, seek
justice, relieve the oppressed, render justice to the orphan, plead for the
widow. (Isaiah 1:1, 17)
Moses challenges Israelites to journey beyond theory heard
at Horeb (Mt. Sinai) to its implementation in the Land they are
about to enter.
On Shabbat Hazon (Vision), we link our reading
Devorim in synagogue with Isaiah's vision of doing good and seeking
justice in our Land.
It is followed by the 9th of Av when we mourn our ruin and
exile for our failure to implement Isaiah's vision two millennia ago.
The Talmud teaches that mourning will turn to joy as the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob regain sovereignty over the Land of
Israel.
The mourners will merit an outburst of joy as they transform
the theory of Horeb into practice and the vision of Isaiah into
reality.
We saw those transformations at Achuzat Sara Children's Home
in Bnei Brak, a place that 130 children consider to be their home.Headmaster Shmuel Ron told us that the aim of his work is to put smiles on the faces of orphaned, abandoned, neglected, and abused children.
Achuzat Sara helps its children gain self-esteem, develop
emotionally and spiritually, and grow into responsible and productive adults.
The children are encouraged to cultivate their talents in
areas ranging from art, music and theater to sports, computers and science.
The dismal picture of the past painted by Moses and Isaiah
transformed into a vision of a bright future is what we see at Achuzat
Sara.
