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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