Netzavim VaYelech
“And Moshe commanded them, saying, ‘At the end of [every] seven years, at
an appointed time, [after] the Shemitah year, on the Festival of Succot, when
all Israel comes to appear before Hashem, your God, in the place He will
choose, you shall read this Torah before all Yisrael, in their ears. Assemble the people: the men, the women, and
the children, and your convert in your cities, in order that they hear, and in
order that they learn and fear Hashem, your God, and they will observe to do
all the words of this Torah. And their
children, who did not know, will hear and learn to fear Hashem, your God, all
the days that you live on the land, to which you are crossing the Jordan, to
possess’.” (Devarim 31:10-13)
This week’s parasha
describes the mitzvah of HaKhel.
This mitzvah is performed on
the Succot following the Shemitah
year. The nation gathers at the Bait HaMikdash – the Temple – for the
festival. On the day following the
first day of the festival, the entire nation gathers in the outer courtyard of
the Bait HaMikdash. At this assembly the king reads to the
nation major portions of Sefer Devarim.
The above passages stipulate that men, women and
children are included in this mitzvah. It is unusual for children to be explicitly
included in mitzvot. Presumably, the children to whom the
passages refer are minors. As minors
they are not obligated to perform the mitzvot. Why are they included in this commandment?
Nachmanides suggests that children to whom the passages
refer are not infants. Instead, they
are approaching the age of maturity and will soon be obligated to observe the
commandments. They are capable of
participating fully in this assembly and will benefit from hearing this
impressive reading of the Torah.
Therefore, it is not unreasonable for these children to be included in
this commandment.
However, Nachmanides acknowledges that his
interpretation of the passages does not seem to agree with its treatment by the
Talmud. The Talmud asks why children
are included in the commandment. The
Talmud answers that children are included in order to provide a reward to their
parents who bring them to Yerushalayim and to the assembly.[1]
The Talmud’s response is enigmatic. It requires further consideration. But regardless of the exact meaning of the
Talmud’s response, it clearly does not correspond with Nachmanides’
interpretation of “children.” If these
children were close to adulthood, as Nachmanides suggests, the Talmud should
have simply responded that they are brought because they are of adequate
maturity to benefit from the event. The
implication of the Talmud’s response is that the children are not brought for
their own benefit. They are brought in
order to provide benefit – reward – to their parents who bring them. This implies that the children to whom the
passage refers are youngsters who are not yet approaching adulthood.[2]
Based on this discussion in the Talmud, most
authorities disagree with Nachmanides and maintain that even very young
children are included in this mitzvah. As a result of this consensus ruling,
Minchat Chinuch explores the minimum age at which children are included in the
commandment.[3]
HaKatav VeHaKabalah offers a novel explanation of
the Talmud’s comments. He explains that
according to the Talmud, the children to whom the passages refer are
specifically those who are very young and unable to fully grasp the event. These young children would inevitably be
among the assembly. Their parents
converged upon Yerushalayim and the Bait
HaMikdash from all parts of the Land of Israel. They could not be expected to leave their children at home with
the few individuals who are exempt from this commandment. According to HaKatav VeHakabalah, the Talmud
is explaining that although these children would be present in any event – as a
consequence of practical considerations – the Torah legislates their inclusion
in the assembly. Through legislating
their inclusion their presence becomes part of the commandment. As a result, the efforts of their parents to
bring them to the assembly are not merely a response to a practical
necessity. These efforts become part of
the mitzvah. As part of the mitzvah, these efforts are worthy of reward.[4]
Tosefot seem to disagree with this
interpretation. Tosefot’s exact
comments will be explored later.
The comments of Sefer HaChinuch seem to imply a
different interpretation of the Talmud’s comment. Sefer HaChinuch discusses the objective of the mitzvah of HaKhel. He explains that
the Torah is essential to our lives.
The HaKhel assembly was an
impressive event. The massing of the
entire nation to hear the reading by the king of Sefer Devarim created a
strong, moving impression upon all those present. It reinforced the importance and centrality of the Torah in our
lives.[5]
According to this insight, an alternative
interpretation of the Talmud’s comments emerges. The young children were not included in order to provide them
with instruction. They were too
young. However, their presence did
impact the character of the assembly as a national event. Their parents who bought them contributed to
the uniqueness and immensity of the event.
The Talmud is telling us that the parents receive rewards for their
efforts to create this special and impressive spectacle.
Maimonides does not speak directly to this
issue. However, he does discuss a
series of related questions which provides an insight into his position
regarding the inclusion of young children.
The king read from Sefer Devarim in Ivrit –
Hebrew. Among those required to be
present are converts who may not even understand Ivrit. Why are those who cannot even understand the
reading required to be present?
Maimonides adds that even great scholars who are thoroughly versed and
committed to the teachings of the Torah must participate in the assembly. Why must these individuals include
themselves? Finally, in an assembly of
this size, it is inevitable that a significant portion of those present will
not be able to hear the king’s reading.
What expectation does the Torah have of these individuals? How are they to participate?
Maimonides responds that although all of these
groups cannot directly benefit from hearing the king’s reading, they are
required to attentively focus on the reading.
He continues to explain that the objective of this assembly is to
strengthen our commitment to the Torah.
We are to attend to the reading – even if we cannot hear or understand
it – in awe and as if we are reliving the Revelation at Sinai. In other words, serious, attentive
participation in the event is an end in itself. The experience of this participation is achieved regardless of
whether the participant can fully understand, or even hear, the reading.[6]
It is notable that according to Maimonides, the
essential element of the event is not actually hearing the reading and
understanding it. The very
participation in the event is designed to make a strong emotional impression
upon those assembled. From this
prospective, it is not necessary for a child to be intellectually mature or
approaching adulthood to benefit from the event. The emotional impact of the event will be felt even by younger
children. The message of the Talmud is
that parents are required to provide this moving emotional experience for their
children.
Let us now consider Toesfot’s comments. Tosefot comment that from the mitzvah of HaKhel we learn that it is appropriate to bring young children to
synagogue.[7] As noted above, Tosefot apparently do not
accept the HaKatav VeHaKabalah’s interpretation of the Talmud’s comments. Unlike the instance of HaKhel, the children could be left at home. There is not a practical imperative to
include young children in the assembly in the synagogue. These comments seem to indicate that even
though young children could be left at home, it is preferable to bring them to
synagogue.
However, Tosefot’s comments are completely
understandable from Maimonides’ perspective.
Although young children may not be capable of intellectually
appreciating the beauty of the prayers, they can experience the emotional
impact of a community assembling in order to offer prayers to Hashem and hear
the reading of His Torah.
When my children were young, they regularly
accompanied me to synagogue. One
Shabbat morning I walked home with an elder member of our congregation. He asked me if I required my children to
stand by my side during services so that I could carefully supervise them. I was cautious in my response. I assumed that this gentleman – like many
others – was annoyed by the sometimes noisy and distracting behavior of the
young children in our congregation. I
explained that I did try to supervise them but that I probably was guilty of
lapses. To my surprise, he admonished
me to not supervise them too carefully or with too heavy a hand. He commented that synagogue attendance can
have a powerful impact on children. But for this impact to occur, the children
must feel a sense of joy and excitement at the synagogue. He said, “Let them run up to the bimah or the aron. Don’t be overly restrictive.” Once I recovered from the shock of this exchange, I realized that
this was an important insight.
It seems that this wise gentleman’s advice is
reflected in Tosefot’s comments.
Tosefot contend that we are encouraged to bring our young children to
synagogue in order to share with them the experience of synagogue
attendance. Of course, our children
will not appreciate or experience the services in the same way as their
parents. But nonetheless, we must
endeavor to provide them with the emotional impact of the experience of
participating in an assembly devoted to prayer and Torah.
[1] Mesechet Chagigah 3a.
[2] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides), Commentary
on Sefer Devarim 31:13.
[3] Rav Yosef Babad, Minchat Chinuch, Mitzvah 612, note 4.
[4] Commentary
HaKatav VeHaKabalah on Sefer Devarim 31:12
[5] Rav Aharon HaLeyve, Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah
612.
[6] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne
Torah, Hilchot Chagigah 3:6.
[7] Tosefot, Mesechet Chagigah 3a.