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WHAT IS THE MEANING OF HAKHEL?
Dear Friends,
The coming year of 5776 (which starts at sundown on September 13th, 2015) is a “Hakhel Year”!
"Hakhel" means "You shall gather together”. It was during the Hakhel year, which occurs once every seven years, that the King of Israel, the spiritual leader of the Jewish People, would gather all men, women and children into the Beis Hamikdash (The Holy Temple in Jerusalem) to read to them selected portions of the Torah. The stated purpose of this Mitzvah is so that our people will “listen, learn, revere Hashem, and carefully follow all of the Torah’s instructions” (Deut. 31:12). The inspiration of the divine Hakhel experience would last until the next Hakhel year - seven years later! This is how this precious and awesome Mitzvah was fulfilled by our great grandparents, when the Beis Hamikdash stood in all its glory.
Today, to our vast sorrow, we have neither the Holy Temple nor a spiritual leader of this magnitude. However, our Torah teaches that although we are unable to fully fulfill the precepts connected with the Holy Temple in a physical sense, these precepts are nevertheless still vibrant, meaningful and nstructive. Indeed, even today, Hakhel contains a powerful and pertinent directive for every individual and instructs us with implications that are as strong as ever.
WHAT IS HAKHEL’S SIGNIFICANCE TODAY?
Our Torah teaches that every individual is likened to a “king” due to the soul powers which he or she possesses. In fact, everyone is capable of positively influencing his/her surroundings. And this is the clarion call of this year: To give full expression to our “kingly attributes”, by reaching out and organizing gatherings of family and friends. The objectives of such gatherings are a) to increase feelings of camaraderie and strengthen the unity of our people and b) to arouse within each participant passionate sensibilities for our awe inspiring heritage, through studying a passage of Torah - the backbone of the people, placing a few coins in a charity box, and reciting a prayer which all can relate to.
Please do not underestimate the impact of such gatherings, regardless of knowledge level, number of people, or the informal nature of your get-together. Our Torah promises us that all efforts in this regard will yield fruits far beyond our expectations!
Throughout the world, offices have been established to stimulate participation in the Hakhel initiative. Such a program has also been inaugurated by the Chabad Center of Northwest NJ in conjunction with the Rabbinical College of America. We are ready to assist you in any way that we can, including through providing meaningful materials which you can share at your Hakhel event, whether it be at your home, workplace or elsewhere.
Please join us in this most significant endeavor by developing your own Hakhel get-together(s) during the coming year (anytime during the year is great - but earlier in the year is better!). Kindly indicate your participation by filling out our Hakhel Form. We will gladly send you further information pertaining to Hakhel upon request. If you would like discuss the Hakhel initiative with one of our Rabbis, kindly include your telephone number on the reply card. We will, of course, be pleased to contact you. You can also contact us at [email protected]. You can also find a wealth of information on Hakhel (articles, audio and video) by Clicking Here.
This is a year of unique and monumental importance. It is our fervent hope that it will be observed and utilized to the highest degree, both to intensify Jewish unity and strengthen the faith cherished in the hearts of Jews everywhere.
With warmest wishes for an extraordinary and accomplished year!
Rabbi Asher Herson, Rabbi Mordechai Baumgarten, Rabbi Mendel Dubov and Rabbi Mendel Stiefel
Hakhel Coordinators
To participate in the "Hakhel" initiative, Click Here for the form .
For more information about "Hakhel", Click Here
