This Shabbat is called "Shabbat Chazon" because of the Haftarah reading from the Prophets that begins with the words "Chazon Ishaiahu"—"The vision of Ishaiahu (the Prophet Isaiah)," which deals with the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. It is well known that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev said that Shabbat is called Chazon—vision—because on this Shabbat, the Third Temple is shown to every Jew from afar. Thus, the same word, Chazon—vision—alludes simultaneously to destruction and reconstruction.
This combination of destiny and redemption is at the very core of the concept of diasporic exile (the galutThe story of the exile actually begins at the moment when HaShem sealed an eternal covenant with Abraham, the Patriarch - the Covenant between the Parties (Brit Ben HabetarimAt that moment, the Most High announced to Abraham: "Know that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be enslaved and made to suffer..." Our Sages explain that in the Covenant between the Parties, Abraham was also shown all the future exiles that the Jewish people would endure—not only in Egypt—until the final redemption.
This raises the question: how is it possible that just at the moment when God seals a covenant of love and eternal union with Abraham, He announces such harsh events as the four exiles of the Jewish people?
A similar question arises in light of the words of the Midrash, which states that when the Romans entered the Kodesh HaKodashim -the most sacred precinct of the Temple- they saw the golden cherubim carved into the lid of the Aron Kodesh - the Ark of the Covenant - looking at each other face to face. That position of the cherubim (their face facing that of their companion) reflects, according to the Talmud, the time when "Israel does the Will of the Omnipresent" (while "when they did not do the will of the Omnipresent" their faces were in opposite directions).
Again we ask ourselves here: when did the enemies enter the Kodesh Hakodashim It was a moment contrary to Divine Grace, so why were the cherubim in a position looking at each other face to face?
This reveals the essence of the theme of destruction and the Diaspora exile. It is not merely anger toward the Jewish people and punishment for their transgressions, but within the Diaspora exile and destruction lies a great and extraordinary love of HaShem for His people.
The prophetic promises of redemption can only be attained through passing through diasporic exile, the galut, and the whole objective of galut is the final redemption- the Geula.
That is why, precisely at the moment the covenant between God and Abraham, the Patriarch, is sealed, God informs him of the exile, for it is specifically from within him that the extraordinary light of redemption will blossom. At the height of destruction lies the zenith of God's love for the Jewish people.
Hasidic teachings offer an illustrative example of how an event perceived as negative can contain within it a great love. It is like a rabbi, a teacher, who, sitting before his student, lavishes his full attention, imparting profound wisdom. Suddenly, he interrupts his lesson and completely disconnects from the student. The student would feel astonished and with a sense of rejection; it would seem that his teacher no longer wishes to teach him.
What exactly happened here? In the middle of a lesson, while teaching his class, the teacher had a novel and extraordinary idea that could give the student a much deeper understanding of the subject. If the teacher were to ignore this inspiration and continue with the lesson, the novel idea would disappear, never to return. The rabbi must free his mind to focus on the new idea, concentrating solely on it to grasp it completely, and only then will he be able to transmit it to the student.
It is understood that when he returns to the student revealing this novel idea, the student will also understand that the disconnection suffered was for his own good, since thanks to it he learned a novel and original thought.
This is also the inner meaning of destruction and exile: outwardly, horrific misfortunes occurred, and there was a terrible concealment of the "Divine Face"; but since HaShem is Goodness and absolute Goodness, it is impossible for evil to arise from Him. We must say, then, that within this concealment lies hidden an extraordinary and sublime goodness—in the heart of the diaspora, the galut, redemption is woven, the Geula, which implies an absolutely novel Divine revelation.
The darkness and the concealment are an indication that HaShem is "busy," speaking allegorically, in preparing that light of the highest, the light of redemption, for which it was worth having suffered all the terrible hardships of diasporic exile and destruction.
This explains why spiritual darkness and the concealment of the "Divine Face" strengthen and increase as the [period] lengthens galutFor the longer the diasporic exile, the greater and more intense the hidden well-being in redemption. The greater the disconnection of the "student," the greater the light with which the "master" will illuminate upon his return.
The position of the cherubim at the time of the destruction made tangible the inner reality of what was happening: there was not only anger and punishment, but (inwardly) there was an expression of HaShem's intense love for his people, whom he was preparing through destruction for an intense light, for the true and complete Redemption at the hands of the Messiah.
Extracted from www.jabad.org.ar