Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

No Kids Allowed?!

Parshat Nitzavim/Vayelech:
Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30;
Isaiah 61:10-63:9.

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84

September 2 • 2010

JIM

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W

e are now just days before
the Torah.
Rosh Hashanah, when
The Jerusalem pilgrimage of Hakhel
everyone is encouraged to
was likewise not held to hear new
come to synagogue with their children things never before heard. Everyone
and to hear the blowing of the shofar.
knew the book of Deuteronomy and
And naturally, there will be some
what the king would recite. But the
noise and tumult.
experience was always new — the
How do we reconcile this? Let
entire Jewish nation in one place at
us explore a mitzvah mentioned in
one time, men, women and children,
this week's parshah, the mitzvah
with no one missing. It was this event
of Hakhel ("Assemble!"). When the
that lent strength and motivation to
Temple stood in Jerusalem, follow-
the Jewish people to carry on keeping
ing the Sabbatical year, all
the Torah and its mitzvot.
Jews — men, women and
Today, our synagogue
children — would gather in
is a place in which Jewish
the Temple to hear the king
children are raised and
of Israel read selections
educated to be good Jews.
from Deuteronomy. The
Likewise, the weekly Torah
purpose of the gathering
reading on Shabbat is not
was "to listen, to learn and
to teach congregants the
fear the Lord your God."
contents of the Torah por-
(Deuteronomy 31:12)
tion — for that, there are
If the main reason for
classes throughout the
Rabbi
this assemblage was for the
week
that adults can attend
Schneor
entire nation to hear the
and
study
in a conducive
Greenberg
Torah reading, then why
atmosphere
without being
Special to the
bring the children, who
distracted
by
kids.
Jewish News
were sure to run around
The Torah reading takes
and annoy people?
place, rather, to relive the experience
Maimonides explains that the goal
of the giving of the Torah.
of this mitzvah was to reenact the
Prayer time in synagogue on
Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai:
Shabbat is like the mitzvah of
"To strengthen the true faith and to
"Assembling" held every seven years
see one's self as if he is now being
in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. But
charged with the Torah and hearing
today, once every seven years is not
it directly from God, since the king is
enough — in these tumultuous times
the messenger to make God's word
of exile, we need to assemble once a
heard."
week.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained
On Rosh Hashanah, which is rapidly
that the essential reason behind giving approaching, let the sound of the sho-
the Torah at Mount Sinai was not to
far be engraved deep within us and
learn the Torah — most of the people
within our children's hearts. This year
knew the commandments already. The let us resolve to give our kids as many
importance was the show; to see and
authentic Jewish experiences as pos-
hear it and to live it, so that "the fear
sible.
of God shall be upon your faces so
that you do not sin."
Rabbi Schneor Greenberg is the rabbi of
The goal of this extraordinary event the Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce/
— the thunder, lightning, smoke, sho-
Walled Lake.
far sounds — was to create a strong
experience that would penetrate the
very essence of all who witnessed it.
Conversations
No one could ever forget this — an
Why is it important to allow
experience recounted to children and
kids into shul? What can you do
grandchildren and thus passed from
this year to give your children a
generation to generation. It is what
better Jewish experience?
empowers the Jewish people to fulfill

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