Shabbos Vayelech / Shuva 5786 - Showcasing the Torah

This week’s parsha introduces the 613^th, final mitzvah of the Torah: Hakhel (some count it as the 612th):

“Moshe commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of seven years, at the conclusion of the Sabbatical year, during the festival of Succos, when all Israel comes to appear before Hashem your God in the place that He will choose, you shall read this Torah before all Israel in their ears. Gather together the people—the men, the women, and the small children, and the stranger in your cities—so that they will hear, and so that they will learn, and they shall fear Hashem your God.’” (Devarim 31:10–12)

Every seven years, the nation assembled in Jerusalem as the king read passages from Sefer Devarim aloud to the people. The Sefer HaChinuch explains that the root of this mitzvah is the primacy of Torah in Jewish life. Since Torah is the essence of our identity, it is fitting that the entire people gather as one to hear its words proclaimed.

For the adults, the purpose is clear. As the Ramban notes, they will hear the Torah read publicly, gain renewed awe for its greatness, and strengthen their fear of Heaven. But the mitzvah of Hakhel goes further—it explicitly includes small children and even the non-Jewish stranger living among us. Why?

Children, though not yet obligated in mitzvos, are deeply shaped by experience. The Ramban explains that by attending such a majestic gathering, children will naturally ask questions, prompting their parents to teach and inspire them. Even infants, the Gemara (Chagigah 3a) teaches, were brought. Though they cannot yet ask or understand, Rashi explains that simply exposing them to Torah brings reward to the parents and plants seeds of familiarity and attachment that will grow over time.

But what of the non-Jews, who are not commanded in Torah study? Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky zt”l teaches that we are encouraged to invite them as well, so they too can sense the greatness of Torah. However, our obligation to showcase the greatness of Torah is not only to study the Torah itself but to embody it—living with such refinement, kindness, and integrity that Jew and non-Jew alike recognize the Torah’s beauty. As the Mishnah says (Avos 3:13): “If people are pleased with you, the Omnipresent is pleased with you.”

Hakhel thus becomes more than a mitzvah of study—it is a mitzvah of unity and inspiration. It reminds us that Torah is not only about the individual, but about the shared destiny of Klal Yisrael and our responsibility to sanctify Hashem’s Name before the world.

In this special week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when we long for Hashem’s favor, we can reflect on the message of Hakhel. Let us strive to gain renewed awe for the greatness of Torah and its primacy in our lives. We should work  to improve our relationships, treat others with dignity, and reflect the greatness of Torah in how we live. In that merit, may Hashem respond with kindness and compassion, and inscribe us—and all of Am Yisrael—for a year of blessing, goodness, and peace.

-Rabbi Garber