In Deuteronomy 31; 10-12 Moses conveys the Torah’s 612th commandment: “…at the end of every seven years… on the Festival of Sukkot. When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord, your G-d, in the place that He shall choose, you shall read this Torah before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people the men, women, and the little ones, and your stranger… so that they may hear, and so that they may learn; and revere the Lord your G-d and observe to perform all the words of this Torah.”
This in-depth mini-series focuses on the page in Masechet Sotah that records the teachings of our Sages about this rare Mitzvah. The Talmud (and its multi-layered commentaries) richly define and elucidate the details that govern the fulfillment of this enigmatic biblical commandment.
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Series on Hakhel, Part Three. Tractate Sotah, Chapter Seven, Page 41a
THE IMPOSTER KING ~ The Day a Royal Foreigner Led the Hakhel Assembly, and why it was important to preserve this story for Posterity!
In our second Episode we examined the reasons the Mishna would goes into details of a seemingly superfluous ceremonial hand-off, and the fabrication of a giant wooden platform that set the stage for the performance of this unique Gathering.
In this Episode we will continue studying the Mishna that now strangely introduces us to an exceptional historic phenomenon: a seemingly alien monarch who led us in the performance of this unique Septennial Assembly Mitzvah.
While the less than stellar credentials of this King are a matter of dispute, it’s clear that this led to a departure of the standard formal procedure. The bigger question is, who precisely was this man, how did it happen, and why is it of lasting relevance to us?
This third segment of our unique Hakhel mini- series is dedicated to the Refuah Shleima and, b’Ezrat Hashem, long life of Rebbetzin Henya bat Bracha Devorah Leah.
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