Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
How much Torah was read at הַקְהֵל (hakhel), that massive Torah reading event that happened once every seven years? Did they read the whole thing?
According to the Mishnah (Sotah 7:8), they read some key sections of Sefer Devarim. (Topics that have all come up in recent issues of Devash!)
- The first six chapters of Devarim, plus the first paragraph of Shema (in Devarim and Va’ethanan)
- The second paragraph of Shema (in Eikev)
- Two discussions of מַעֲשֵׂר (ma’aser, tithing) (in Re’eh and Ki Tavo)
- Rules for kings of Benei Yisrael (in Shoftim)
- Blessings and curses from God (in Ki Tavo)
The Mishnah also reports that the Torah reader at hakhel would be none other than…the king himself! The Mishnah describes how it was a powerful experience for him to review, in this public way, all the rules that limited his own power over the people.
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