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Nitzavim-Vayelech
Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30
Isaiah 61:10-63:9

"What did you learn in school today?" It is a question that has been dodged for millennia. But not only by children; Talmudic scholars have been known to avoid answering this query as well. A story: The Talmud (Chagigah 3A) tells of an incident in which Rabbi Yochanan ben Broka and Rabbi Elazar bar Chamsah went out to go see Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Yehoshua asked them what they learned that day, and they tried to evade the question. They exclaimed, "We are your students, and it is from your waters that we wish to drink!"

Rabbi Yehoshua was not easily deterred. "Nonetheless, there is always something learned at the study hall. What was taught?" Seeing that he would not let it go, Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar gave in and described that day's insight, namely that the mitzvah called "hakhel" requires that infants attend a special Torah reading, even though they are too young to understand, in order to grant merit to those that bring them to hear. Rabbi Yehoshua responded, "You had a pearl like that and you sought to lose it (by coming to me)?" End of story.

One of the first questions that races to mind as the story closes: You call that a pearl of wisdom? What exactly does this teaching even mean, and what deep message does it bear that qualifies it for comparison to precious jewels?

A closer examination of the mitzvah of hakhel, found in our Torah portion (Deuteronomy 31:10-13), reveals that it was a major event. The text and the Talmud (Sotah chapter 7) are clear that men, women and even babies are to come to the Temple in Jerusalem for a reading of large portions of the book of Deuteronomy by the king of Israel. This took place once every seven years, just after the end of the sabbatical year, on the holiday of Sukkot. A platform was built so that everyone could see, the people would gather around, and in grand style the king read the latter portions of the Torah.

Yet upon further thought, why the king? This is a religious matter, not a political or military affair. Shouldn't it be read by the high priest? Moreover, why was this only done every seven years? It's such a beautiful idea to share public Torah study. Why not do this every year? And why read only from Deuteronomy? Wouldn't people learn more if the books of the Torah were alternated?

The Abarbanel explains that this was only done once in seven years, after the sabbatical year, because during that year the Jewish people were off from work and spent their time learning. The king read Deuteronomy because he had spent much prior time learning all the earlier books of the Torah. This was, in effect, a "siyum" (a party to honor the completion of a large unit of study) for the king's study of the entire Torah.

The Abarbanel continues that "pearl" here is not that people get merit for having simply brought the children. The merit is that down the road these very children, who saw their parents and even the deeply admired and respected king of the entire nation learning Torah, will learn to be committed to the study of Torah themselves.

Children learn from what they see, not only from what they hear. Actions speak louder than words. The efficacy of sending children to learn about their tradition without any personal modeling whatsoever is limited at best. In just a few short weeks, Jewish communities across the globe will celebrate completing the reading and study of the Torah once again, only to immediately begin again. May we all join in that study, not only the children but also the adults.




Rabbi Judah Dardik is the spiritual leader at Oakland's Beth Jacob. He can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) "> .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .

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