AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 67
SPIRIT
Uniting by Sharing Torah Thoughts
E
merging from what feels
like a lifetime of isola-
tion and fragmentation,
it seems to me that there is
something delightful about get-
ting together with friends.
Let’s look at the greatest gath-
ering of all: the moment that
our nation all stood at the foot
of Mount Sinai as God spoke to
us, communicating His wishes
for us.
In this week’s Torah portion,
we read instructions for how
the people were to carry their
desert inspiration with them
into the Promised Land.
The answer was Hakhel.
Every seven years, following
the shemitah (Sabbatical year),
the people of Israel, even the
little babies, would gather in
the Temple in Jerusalem to hear
the king read from the Torah.
Infants surely did not under-
stand the significance of what
was read, but the very fact that
they were there was important.
They were part of the
Chosen Nation, one
with the Torah being
read and one with the
Creator who command-
ed it be read.
This act of unity gave
the people the inspira-
tion they needed for the
next six years of plow-
ing, tilling, planting and
reaping — which today
would be commuting,
shopping and stressing.
In a word: life. Today, the Holy
Temple is not with us; but the
Hakhel experience lives on.
Over the course of this
coming year, whenever Jewish
people get together and share
words of Torah and inspiration,
they have performed an act of
Hakhel. It’s that simple. It can
happen anywhere, at any time,
under any circumstances.
You can study the week-
ly Torah portion (theshul.
net/parsha), discuss the
meaning of a story from
Talmud (theshul.net/tal-
mud) or even tell an inspi-
rational story (theshul.net/
stories).
Now, I can almost hear
what you are saying: “It’s
not for me. I’m not the
type.
” And you may be
right.
But not this year. This is the
time to set aside our reserva-
tions, dig deep into our souls
and reach out to our fellows.
It may be awkward at first, but
you’ll be amazed at how natural
it will soon become.
On Hakhel, every Jew is the
king who can provide leader-
ship and every home is a Holy
Temple.
Hakhels can be simple gath-
erings. If you meet your buddy
at the gym and share a Torah
thought, you’ve transformed
your workout into a Hakhel. If
you’re chatting with your sister
on the phone and you tell her
something you’ve learned, your
conversation just became a
Hakhel.
Opportunities abound. Let’s
make sure to make this com-
ing year into one filled with
Torah study, Jewish unity, holy
inspiration and more: a Hakhel
year.
Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov is spiritual
director of The Shul in West Bloomfield.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi Kasriel
Shemtov
Parshat Reeh:
Deuteronomy
11:2-16:17;
Isaiah
54:11-55:5.
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