[Par-lite] Parshat Va'yelech - shiur

[Menachem Leibtag]

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        THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
		In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
	Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
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                        PARSHAT  VA'YELECH

	Were we all at Ma'amad Har Sinai? 
	According to "pshat," only the generation that
left Egypt was granted this privilege. According to the
popular Midrash, however, the "neshama" [soul] of every
Jew, of every generation, witnessed that momentous
event. 
	In this week's shiur, as we study Parshat
Va'yelech, we will show how the mitzvah of HAKHEL helps
'bridge this gap' between "pshat" & "drash."

INTRODUCTION
	Our study of Sefer Devarim thus far has focused
on the centrality of Moshe Rabeinu's main speech
(chapters 5->26), which details the mitzvot that Bnei
Yisrael must keep in the Land.  In our shiur on Parshat
Nitzavim, we discussed how Moshe Rabeinu's final speech
(i.e. chapters 29->30) forms a most appropriate
conclusion for that main speech.
	At this point in Sefer Devarim, i.e. as Moshe
has completed his address, we would expect to find some
concluding remarks and thus bring Sefer Devarim to a
close. Sure enough, this is exactly what happens in the
opening section of Parshat Va'yelech. Moshe Rabeinu
first bids farewell by explaining why he can no longer
lead (see 31:2), then introduces his successor -
Yehoshua (see 31:3-8), and finally presents the written
version of the Torah (whose mitzvot he has just
completed teaching) to the Leviim and elders. 
	This indeed would have been an appropriate
conclusion.
	However, the next section (see 31:10-13) - the
mitzvah of HAKHEL - i.e. the commandment to read the
Torah in public once every seven years on the holiday of
Succot - seems glaringly out of place. Did we not
already finish listing all the mitzvot? Did Moshe not
just write down the 'final' version of the Torah and
present it to the Leviim? Would it not have made more
sense to include the mitzvah of HAKHEL somewhere in
Parshat Re'ay, together with all the other mitzvot
relating to "haMAKOM ashe yivchar Hashem"?
[Note 31:11!/ see shiur on Parshat Re'ay. (Pay
particular attention to 16:12-16.)]

	To understand why the mitzvah of HAKHEL is
recorded specifically at this time, we must return to
Parshat Ki-tavo (and to Sefer Shmot) to uncover the
underlying relationship between mitzvat HAKHEL and the
events at Ma'amad Har Sinai.

FROM BRIT SINAI TO BRIT HAR EIVAL
	Recall from Parshat Ki-tavo that immediately
upon the completion of his main speech, Moshe instructs
Bnei Yisrael to gather on Har Eival on the 'day they
cross the Yarden' (see chapters 27->28).  Here they were
to:

a) write down the mitzvot of Sefer Devarim, to be read
and taught to Bnei Yisrael (see 27:1-4,8);

   b) erect a "mizbayach" & offer OLOT & SHLAMIM /see
27:5-7

c) conduct a covenantal ceremony including the public
reading of the "tochacha" (see 27:11-28:69).

   It is important to note the fundamental difference
between the "tochacha" and the main speech of Sefer
Devarim. The main speech describes the MITZVOT which
Bnei Yisrael must keep upon entering the Land, while the
"tochacha" describes Bnei Yisrael's REWARD should they
OBEY these mitzvot and their PUNISHMENT should they
DISOBEY. [This can help us understand why the "tochacha"
FOLLOWS the main speech]

	To understand the reason for this additional
"brit" on Har Eival, let's consider the parallel between
this ceremony and that which took place at Har Sinai
forty years earlier (see Shmot 24:3-11). There (as
well), we find that Moshe:

	a) writes down the laws and reads them to the
nation;

	b) erects a "mizbayach" and offers OLOT &
SHLAMIM;

	c) conducts a covenantal ceremony.
[Note that a "tochacha" was presented at Har Sinai, as
well, as recorded in Parshat Bchukotei - see Vayikra
26:3-46.  See also Chizkuni's explanation of "sefer
ha'brit" in Shmot 24:7!]
 
	Considering that the vast majority of the people
of this new generation (i.e. those who are about to
enter the Land) were not present at the original
ceremony, this new generation must 'relive' the HAR
SINAI experience.  Since it will now become their duty -
to fulfill the destiny originally planned for their
parents' generation – they too must undergo a similar
experience.
	[Note: In Sefer Yehoshua we find many other
parallels between "dor yotzei mitzrayim" and "dor knisa
la'aretz," most probably for the very same reason. See
end of chapter 8.]

FROM HAR EIVAL TO HAKHEL
	For a similar reason, we can explain the reason
for recording the mitzvah of HAKHEL in Parshat
Va'yelech.  Needless to say, the covenant of Sinai is
binding for all generations (see 29:12-14).
Nevertheless, just as it was necessary to 'recreate'
that experience forty years later for the new generation
on Har Eival, the mitzvah of HAKHEL will recreate that
experience for all future generations. Once every seven
years, Am Yisrael must 'relive' MA'AMAD HAR SINAI as the
men, women, and children gather at the Beit Ha'Mikdash
on Chag ha'Succot for a public celebration to hear the
Torah. The Torah will be read in public (see 31:9-13)
just as it was at Har Sinai (see Shmot 24:4-7), and just
as it was at Har Eival (see 27:3,8).
	This interpretation is supported by the Torah's
explicit reason for the mitzvah of HAKHEL:
	"HAKHEL ET HA'AM - Gather together the nation,
the men, the women, and the children... in order that
they HEAR and in order that they will LEARN and fear
their God, and they will faithfully keep all the words
of this TORAH. And their children WHO DO NOT KNOW [i.e.
those who were not at the last ceremony] will listen and
learn to fear God, for all of the days that they are
alive on the land which you are now crossing to
inherit." (31:12-13)

OLOT & SHLAMIM - ALIYAH LA'REGEL
	However, for our parallel to be complete, we
would expect to find a mitzvah to offer korbanot of OLOT
& SHLAMIM - just as was the case at Har Sinai and Har
Eival. Why don't we find them in the Torah's commandment
of HAKHEL?
	One could suggest that this relates to the
timing of HAKHEL - on SUCCOT. Recall that on SUCCOT
every individual is obligated to offer OLOT and SHLAMIM
to fulfill the mitzvah of "aliyah l'regel" (see 16:16-17
and Mesechet Shkalim).
	Therefore, by performing this mitzvah on Succot
at the Beit Ha'Mikdash, the element of korbanot of OLOT
& SHLAMIM is present, and our parallel to Ma'amad Har
Sinai is complete. [Recall as well our shiur Parshat
Terumah that expalined why the Mishkan/Mikdash itself is
simply a model (and perpetuation) of Ma'amad Har Sinai!]
	
WHY HERE?
	With this background, we can explain why Moshe
orders the mitzvah of HAKHEL specifically now as he
presents the Leviim and the elders the 'official copy'
of the Torah. The mitzvah of HAKHEL is not 'just another
mitzvah' in Sefer Devarim - it relates to the entire
sefer!  The purpose of this mitzvah is to periodically
remind Bnei Yisrael of their obligation to keep ALL the
mitzvot of Sefer Devarim, which Moshe had just finished
teaching. Therefore, it is given when the Sefer itself
is given over the Leviim for 'safe-keeping'.
	[Iy"h, in next week's shiur we will explain why
this mitzvah is followed by the SHIRA.]

A PARALLEL PURPOSE
	The need to periodically teach these mitzvot at
a NATIONAL gathering emphasizes yet another significant
aspect of Matan Torah. The ultimate purpose of the
mitzvot of Sefer Devarim is not only to enable each
individual to develop his own, personal relationship
with God, but also to create an "am kadosh" (a holy
nation) in the Land of Israel - a nation that can
properly represent God to the other nations. 
	This perspective is supported by yet another
textual parallel between the mitzvah of HAKHEL and the
description of "Ma'amad Har Sinai," as depicted earlier
in Sefer Devarim (4:5-14). Precisely in the same
'parshia' where Sefer Devarim explains the ultimate,
national purpose for keeping these mitzvot, we find a
parallel description of Ma'amad Har Sinai:
	"See, I have taught you 'chukim & mishpatim'...
for you to keep in the Land which you are about to enter
and conquer. Keep them and do them, for they are the
proof of your wisdom and discernment IN THE EYE OF THE
NATIONS, who, upon hearing these laws, will say... For
what a great nation that has God so close to it...  and
what great nation has laws and rules as perfect as this
Torah..."  	(4:5-8)

	That parsha then continues with a commandment
not to forget Ma'amad Har Sinai:
	"But take utmost care ... NOT TO FORGET the
things you saw with your own eyes and so that they do
not fade from your memory as long as you live, and MAKE
THEM KNOWN TO YOUR CHILDREN AND CHILDREN'S CHILDREN -
The DAY YOU STOOD BEFORE GOD AT HAR CHOREV ("ma'amad har
sinai") when Hashem told me GATHER THE PEOPLE TOGETHER
that I may let them hear my words... (4:9-11)
		
	Now we will study this parallel - using
transliterated Hebrew - by carefully reading the psukim
concerning Har Sinai & Hakhel [note the repetition of
several key words]:

AT HAR SINAI (4:10-12):
	"yom asher amad'ta lifnei Hashem Elokecha
b'Chorev b'emor Hashem alei HAK'HEL LI ET HA'AM
v'ASH'MI'EIM et dvarei asher YIL'M'DUN L'YIRAH oti KOL
HA'YAMIM, asher heym CHAYIM AL HA'ADAMA v'et B'NEIHEM
y'LAMEIDUN."
	
AT HAK'HEL (31:12-13):
	"HAK'HEL ET HA'AM, ha'anashim v'ha'nashim
v'hataf ... l'maan YISHM'U ul'maan YIL'M'DU v'YA'RU et
Hashem.... u'B'NEIHEM asher lo ya'du, YISH'M'U v'LAM'DU
l'YIRAH et Hashem KOL HA'YAMIM asher atem CHAYIM AL
HA'ADAMA."
[It is easier just to compare them by yourself in the
actual Hebrew.]

	Similarly, the Torah in Devarim 18:16 refers to
the day of Matan Torah as Yom ha'KAHAL. [Note also
"k'halchem" in 5:19.]
	Both these textual and thematic parallels point
to a clear connection between the mitzvah of HAKHEL and
Ma'amad Har Sinai. 

JEWISH CONTINUITY
	This background in "pshat" can possibly help us
better understand the Midrash that every Jewish
"neshama" was present at Ma'amad Har Sinai. One could
explain that as members of the Jewish nation and our
shared eternal destiny, each and every one of us was
indeed present at Har Sinai. Nonetheless, to impress
upon each new generation the importance of Ma'amad Har
Sinai, there remains a need to recreate that experience
(ideally through the mitzvah of HAKHEL).
	Today, in the absence of the Beit Ha'Mikdash, we
cannot fulfill the mitzvah of HAKHEL. Nevertheless, we
can still utilize our 'Tishrei gatherings' [in 'shul' -
the "mikdash m'at"] on Rosh Ha'shana, Yom Kippur, and
Succot to help achieve (at least partially) the
important goals of HAKHEL - at both the individual and
national levels.
						shabbat
shalom,
						menachem

===================
FOR FURTHER IYUN

A. Note the opening and closing psukim of Sefer KOHELET.
Based on those psukim, can you find a conceptual
relationship between Sefer KOHELET and the mitzvah
HAKHEL? [Keep in mind Devarim 31:12-13!] 
	Does this help explain our minhag to read sefer
Kohelet on the shabbat of Succot?
	Can you find a relate Sefer Kohelet to the time
of year of Succot?

B. Review the HAKHEL psukim again and pay attention to
the emphasis on "yirat Shamayim." Compare this emphasis
with the purpose of Ma'amad Har Sinai as described by
Moshe himself in Shmot 20:17. Notice the two distinct
functions Moshe mentions. How does the element of "nasot
etchem" come into play at HAKHEL? Compare Rashbam's
interpretation with the Rambam's comments towards the
end of Hilchot Chagiga 3:6 ("l'chazek dat ha'emet").
Additionally, see Dvarim 14:23. Could "ma'aser sheni"
serve as a "miniature" form of HAKHEL? [See Ramban 14:22
and Rashbam 14:23.] 

C. The m'forshim offer different bases for the
relationship between HAKHEL and shmitta. Of particular
interest to us is that of Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman, who
compares the cessation of agricultural work during
shmitta to the wilderness, which he views as the perfect
setting for the preparations for Matan Torah. Note the
machloket among the m'forshim on Chumash as to whether
Hakhel takes place at the beginning or end of the shmita
year, and the various reasons given therefor. 
	How does this relate to the parallel to Har
Sinai?
	Relate to the fact that if one was not permitted
to work his field for an entire year (during shemitah),
it was likely that he could dedicate that year to Torah
study.

D. The Torah requires that specifically the melech read
the Torah in public at Hakhel. Suggest various reasons
based on the content of Sefer Devarim that would explain
this halacha.

E. According to 'pshat,' it would appear that the Sefer
Torah that Hashem commands to be placed next to the Aron
is only Sefer Devarim. Note the machloket rishonim on
this topic (see 31:9 & 31:24-26).
		[Be sure to see at least Ramban.]
1. Try to explain the reason for this machloket.
2. Why is this Torah placed next to the Aron? What does
the Aron contain?
3. As usual, relate this to the shiurim thus far on
Sefer Dvarim.

F. Based on the above shiur, why do you think the Rambam
records the halachot of Hakhel in Hilchot Chagiga rather
than Hilchot Shmita & Yovel?



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