ב"ה

ChabadOne PR

Dear __________,

The year of 5783 marks “Shnas Hakhel,” the Year of Hakhel, a momentous year of gathering that was pioneered by the Rebbe and very dear to him. We at ChabadOne have put together a suite of resources to help you mark this special year.

Please find a practical overview of Hakhel below along with tools to promote Hakhel in your city. Throughout the year we will, bez”h, share additional Hakhel promotional material at ChabadOne.org/PR.

Ksiva vachasima tova!

ChabadOne PR Team

What is Hakhel?

Every seven years the entire Jewish nation gathered on Chol Hamoed Sukkos in the Beis Hamikdash. The king would ascend the bima, heralded by trumpets, and read from a Sefer Torah. Unlike any other positive time-bound mitzvah, all Jews participated in the Hakhel ceremony – men, women and children. The Rambam teaches that Hakhel allowed us to relive Matan Torah, inspiring the Jewish people to recommit themselves to Hashem’s Torah and mitzvos.

After the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, Hakhel—a mitzvah that only applies when the Jewish people are in Eretz Yisroel—was no longer observed.

In our generation the Rebbe declared that although the technical observance of Hakhel is not possible, and no ceremonial remembrance of it was ever instituted by our Sages, the spiritual message and impact of Hakhel is deeply accessible and relevant today.

“Although the Mitzvah of Hakhel, in its concrete and plain form, is connected with the time of the Bais Hamikdosh, there is the well known principle that all matters that are connected with the Beis Hamikdosh, such as sacrifices and the like, are in their spiritual context relevant at all times.” - Letter from 19 Kislev 5748

Hakhel Has a Renaissance

The theme of Hakhel can be found in the Rebbe’s Torah as far back as 5692 (1931), when the Rebbe farbrenged about Hakhel during Sukkos in Otwock, Poland. Building off of that early farbrengen, the emphasis has intensified throughout the years of the Rebbe’s nesius. During Hakhel years the Rebbe held special farbrengens in honor of Hakhel and spoke at length about its application in modern times. Hakhel was also a prominent theme in the michtovim klolim.

The year 5727 (1966) was the first to be titled “Shnas Hakhel,” and in 5741 (1980) the Rebbe instructed at least three gatherings for children should be arranged in honor of Hakhel: Before Rosh Hashanah, before Yom Kippur and then on Sukkos. That year the Rebbe had his own Hakhel gatherings, saying a sicha every night of Sukkos, something previously unheard of. In the new edition of Hayom Yom that was prepared for publication that year, the Rebbe’s biography was updated and the Rebbe added: “Encourages that this year is one of gathering the men, women and children etc., to fulfill all the words of this Torah.”

Perhaps the Rebbe’s Hakhel campaign hit its apex in 5748 (1987), when the Rebbe underscored the Hakhel connection to many of the things he spoke about that year, setting in motion the Hakhel campaign as we know it today.

In essence, the Rebbe taught that since the central aspect of the mitzvah of Hakhel was to inspire the Jewish people, it can and should be commemorated without a Beis Hamikdash or a king. In fact, in many ways it’s even more pertinent today, since the awe inspiring grandeur and pageantry of the gathering no longer takes place, the main theme of Hakhel comes into greater focus: To encourage every single Jewish man, woman and child to recommit themselves to Torah and mitzvos through gathering together.

Themes of Hakhel in Modern Times

  1. The Heart of Hakhel: To experience Hakhel you need to emphasize three things: 1. Hashem, 2. Torah, and 3. Am Yisroel - all coming together to add in liyrah es Hashem.
  2. Jewish Unity - Hakhel is connected to Matan Torah, when the Jewish people were “like a single person with a single heart.” By gathering today we express our innate unity.
  3. “Year of Gathering” - The concept of a Hakhel YEAR is the Rebbe’s chiddush. Whereas Hakhel was once limited to Sukkos, the Rebbe insisted that the entire year be channeled for the express purpose of Hakhel gatherings. The Rebbe expressed this change through even some of the most minute details of his personal practice. On Sukkos of 5748 (1987), the Rebbe held the esrog with the lulav for the duration of Hallel, explaining that this was because of Hakhel. Given that each part of the arba minim represents another type of Jew, the Rebbe held them together throughout Hallel in the spirit of Hakhel and unity.
  4. Hakhel for the People: Hakhel isn’t limited to events you host in your mosad. Instead it is everyone’s responsibility to arrange Hakhel gatherings. As the Rebbe explains, today we are all the melech who leads the gathering. This is the year to get your community members to create powerful Jewish events on their own.

Non-Jews and Hakhel

In a Michtav Kloli from 6 Tishrei 5734 (1973), four days before the Yom Kippur War, the Rebbe points out that as Matan Torah made the Jewish people a “light unto the nations” and as Hakhel is representative of Matan Torah, even an individual Jew can have a profound impact on the people around him or her, even if they are lacking in areas of belief and observance.

How to Observe Hakhel

From the Rebbe it is clear that any gathering during the year of Hakhel which expressly includes Torah and Mitzvos is a Hakhel event. It should be emphasized at the event that it is taking place during this special year of Hakhel. Even if the event isn’t organized specifically for Hakhel, it can be transformed into a Hakhel event by sharing this idea.

Further Resources on Hakhel

Create a Hakhel Consciousness

Transform even your most mundane gatherings with the power of a Hakhel gathering.
In the lead-up to the Yomim Tovim and throughout the year, any event can be connected to Hakhel. Give new power and meaning to Jewish gatherings by explaining how this year is special because it is Hakhel. This year in particular, after years of isolation and societal divisiveness, Hakhel gatherings are particularly important.

Now is the perfect time to focus on the sanctity of gathering.

Here’s a helpful idea when speaking to the press: you can connect Hakhel to why you’re expecting more people this year than in the past for the High Holidays and why you’re offering free High Holiday services.

You can also tie it to the end of COVID restrictions in your area:

The message of Hakhel resonates with particular meaning now, as we emerge from the pandemic. During the past few years the community has been constrained in its ability to assemble and gather together. Now the Jewish calendar year of 5783 instructs us Hakhel – assemble in order to elevate.

Throughout this year, all the ChabadOne press material will include an impact sentence about Hakhel. We encourage you to include a variation of it in all your printed material this year as well:

This year’s services bring added significance as Jewish communities worldwide mark the year of Hakhel, a once-every-seven-years effort to organize and host Jewish gatherings focused on unity and Torah learning and practice.

It was in 1966 that the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the most influential rabbi in modern history, first began encouraging Hakhel gatherings, something now widely observed in all segments of the Jewish community.

Hakhel Beyond You and Your Institution

By encouraging rabbis, Jewish school principals and teachers and other Jewish communal leaders in your community to incorporate themes of Hakhel in their communications you will bring Hakhel to so many more people. We’ve prepared a Hakhel One-Pager you can share to help them understand, very simply, what Hakhel is and how they can promote it.

Press Material

All the Tishrei press releases include Hakhel themes: