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All of Israel, even children, even infants, are included in the mitzva of “Hakhel”, gathering all of Israel for a public Torah reading in Jerusalem on the Sukkot following the Shemitta year. The Torah’s command opens, “Gather together the nation, men, women, and children . . . ,” and it uses the word “taf”, that even includes infants. Why include children and infants?

The Or Hachayim answers by pointing out a difference between two verses in the Hakhel passage. At first (31:12) the Torah says that the purpose of Hakhel is, “So they should hear, and learn, and fear Hashem your G-d . . .” In the next verse (31:13) it focuses on the children, and says, “Your children that did not know should listen and learn to fear Hashem your G-d . . .” The expression in the first verse, “yilmidu v’yaru” – learn and fear – (referring to adults) separates the two. To learn and to fear G-d are two separate items. In the second verse (referring to children) they are combined as one expression, “v’lamdu l’yira” – they should learn to fear. The goal of their coming to Hakhel is exclusively to learn fear of G-d, “Yirat Hashem”.

Says the Or Hachayim, “When children are educated to fear G-d from their very foundations, it sticks with them for their whole lives.”

The Gemara (Chagiga 3) also discusses why children are brought and answers, “to merit those who bring them.” That, says the Or Hachayim, refers to infants who cannot understand anything themselves. The Gemara brings this explanation in the context of an anecdote. Rabbi Yochanan son of Broka and Rabbi Elazar son of Chisma went to Pekiin to visit their teacher, the great Rabbi Yehoshua. He inquired what new teachings they heard in the Beit Midrash. They reply, “We are your students and drink of your waters,” to which he replies, “Something new is always taught in the Beit Hamidrash.” The item they give over is an explanation of why children are brought to Hakhel: “If men come to learn, and women to listen, why do the infants come? To bring merit those who bring them.”

Rabbi Yehoshua heard this and said, “You had such a wonderful pearl and you wanted me to lose it?”

The Meshech Chokhma explains Rabbi Yehoshua’s special connection with this particular teaching. The Yerushalmi at the end of the first chapter of Yevamot tells us that the sages visited the elderly Rabbi Dosa son of Hyrkanos to ask about a certain halakha. At the end of their meeting, Rabbi Dosa, who had problems seeing, prays (according to one of the commentaries on the Yerushalmi) to be able to look at the faces of the sages. When he looks at Rabbi Yehoshua’s face he says the verse, “Who will teach knowledge,” and says, “I remember that when he was a baby his mother used to take him to synagogues so that the Torah would cling to him.”

The mitzva of bringing babies to Hakhel in order to teach them Yirat Hashem and develop a connection with Torah from birth, was something that Rabbi Yehoshua's mother had deeply understood. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students. “How could you have withheld that wonderful pearl from me?" – for that was my mother’s secret in my education, exposing me to Torah as soon as possible.

[Note: In the second chapter of Avot (2:8), when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai describes his students, he says of Rabbi Yehoshua, “Ashrei yoladto,” (Fortunate is the one who gave birth to him). Perhaps the expression “ashrei” was chosen because of “Ashrei yoshvei veitekha” (Fortunate are those who dwell in Your house.).]

[prepared by Eliezer Kwass]