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Why does Hakhel mandate that non-Jews attend and that the king (not a sage) reads? The shiur develops a yesod that Hakhel defines the Jewish nation not merely as Torah (תורה) learners but as the Aron HaTorah itself—bearers of keser Torah. This madrega transforms the person into a vessel of holiness and is a teshuvah greater than all korbanos. The message applies equally to bnei yeshiva and baalei batim: redefine who you are.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a question about the theological message of recent upheavals and hurricanes, proposing that the mitzvah (מצוה) of Hakhel offers insight into what HaKadosh Baruch Hu seeks from us. The shiur analyzes Parshas Nitzavim and Vayeilech, focusing on the mitzvah of Hakhel—the gathering of all Jews (men, women, children) and even converts every seven years at the Beis Hamikdash after Shmita, where the king reads from Sefer Devarim. The first set of difficulties: Why is Hakhel specifically the king's obligation? Why does the Torah (תורה) call it "b'moeid shnas hashmita" when it actually occurs after Shmita ends? And most strikingly, why does the Ibn Ezra say the "ger" who must attend is a ger toshav—a non-Jew who accepted the seven Noahide laws—rather than a ger tzedek? The shiur argues that the Ibn Ezra's reading is correct and that the Rambam (רמב"ם) in Hilchos Chagigah agrees: Hakhel includes non-Jews because it is a universal re-enactment of Maamad Har Sinai, where the erev rav also stood.
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Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech 29:9-30:20, 31:10-13
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