{"id":11120,"date":"2001-01-08T00:05:20","date_gmt":"2001-01-07T22:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=11120"},"modified":"2022-09-19T11:24:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T08:24:57","slug":"13-08-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/13-08-05\/","title":{"rendered":"05. Commemorating Hak\u2019hel<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent times, the great of rabbis have encouraged the Jews of Eretz Yisrael to hold a commemoration of this precious mitzva, to honor the Torah and commemorate the Temple. We have learned that the Sages enacted several ordinances to commemorate Temple practices. They derived the impetus for these commemorations from a verse: \u201cBut I will bring healing to you and cure you of your wounds, declares the Lord. Though they called you \u2018Outcast, that Zion whom no one seeks out\u2019\u201d (Yirmiyahu 30:17). The Gemara elaborates: \u201cwhom no one seeks out\u201d implies that we should seek Zion and remember it. Doing so will help it heal (Rosh Ha-shana<\/em> 30a).<\/p>\n

All agree that there is no way to fulfill the mitzva of Hak\u2019hel<\/em> nowadays, because it is linked to the mitzva of making a pilgrimage to the Temple for the festival, as it is written: \u201cAt the Festival of Sukkot, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose\u201d (Devarim 31:10-11). As long as the Temple is in ruins and it is impossible to offer the festival sacrifices, the mitzva of making the pilgrimage does not apply (Peninei Halakha: Mo\u2019adim<\/em> 1:16). The Sages derived this from a gezera shava<\/em>, as the Torah speaks of \u201cappearing\u201d in the context of both mitzvot<\/em> (\u1e24agiga<\/em> 3a). Rambam codifies this succinctly: \u201cAll who are exempt from the pilgrimage are exempt from Hak\u2019hel<\/em>, except for women and children\u2026\u201d (MT, op. cit.<\/em> 3:2).<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the greatest of rabbis considered it important to make a nationwide commemoration of Hak\u2019hel<\/em>, especially in our generation, as the Jewish people continue to gather in its land. The first person to put forth this idea was R. Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim, \u201cthe Aderet,\u201d who composed a booklet called Zekher Le-Mikdash<\/em> and then moved to Jerusalem at the end of his life to serve as its chief rabbi. His son-in-law, our master Rav Kook, supported the idea as well, but neither of them lived to see it happen.<\/p>\n

Other rabbis who were in favor of a Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration included R. Ye\u1e25iel Michel Tikochinsky (Ir Ha-kodesh Ve-hamikdash<\/em> 4:15) and two chief rabbis of Israel \u2013 R. Yitz\u1e25ak Ha-Levi Herzog and R. Ben-Zion Uziel \u2013 as well as R. Yaakov Moshe Charlap and R. Zvi Yehuda Kook. Two rabbis who worked hard to turn it into a reality were R. Shlomo David Kahana, who served for decades as the head of the Warsaw beit din<\/em> and later as Chief Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem, and his son, R. Dr. Shmuel Zanvil Kahana, who served for two decades as the Director General of Israel\u2019s Ministry for Religious Services. It was during his tenure there he organized the Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration.<\/p>\n

In 1945, after the Holocaust and before the founding of the State of Israel, the initiative of these rabbis came to fruition, and the first Hak\u2019hel <\/em>commemoration took place, with the participation of the chief rabbis and other leading rabbis. It was organized by the cultural division of Hapoel Hamizrachi, a political party of Religious Zionist workers.<\/p>\n

Every seven years since then, at the end of every Shemita<\/em>, there has been a Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration. The one exception was in 1973, at the height of the Yom Kippur War, when the men had been called up to fight and risk their lives to protect the land and its people.<\/p>\n

In 1987 there was an especially impressive Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration, led by Chief Rabbis R. Avraham Shapira and R. Mordechai Eliyahu. Tens of thousands gathered at the Kotel and the porches overlooking it. The Western Wall Plaza was filled to capacity, and the crowds overflowed into the alleyways. The event was broadcast live on TV. The President of Israel, Chaim Herzog, participated in the reading, along with the chief rabbis. Many of the country\u2019s luminaries participated in the ceremony, including the Prime Minister, many other ministers, and the President of the Supreme Court. Ever since then, at the end of each Shemita<\/em> on the first day of \u1e24ol Ha-mo\u2019ed<\/em>, a Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration takes place at the Kotel, drawing huge crowds and bringing great honor to God and His Torah.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n[3]<\/a>. See R. Yehuda Zoldan\u2019s article \u201cLe-toldot \u2018Zekher La-Hak\u2019hel\u2019<\/em>\u201d in the collection Sefer Hak\u2019hel<\/em> (pp. 653-678). Some \u1e24aredi rabbis were opposed to a Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration. Their reasoning was similar to the reason for their opposition to settling Eretz Yisrael and establishing the State of Israel \u2013 fear of breaking with tradition \u2013 which was popularly expressed in the proverb, \u201cAnything new is prohibited by the Torah.\u201d Since their position does not have a strong halakhic basis, most of the great rabbis dismissed it. See R. Yehuda Amichai\u2019s article \u201cTakanot Zekher La-Mikdash<\/em>\u201d in that collection (pp. 606-617), where he puts forth the thesis that anywhere the Temple can be commemorated, it should be done, as long as there will not be negative halakhic consequences.<\/p>\n

Should a berakha <\/em>be recited on a commemoration of the Temple? If a mitzva still applies after the Temple\u2019s destruction (such as the lulav<\/em>, where there is a mitzva everywhere to take it on the first day, even without the Temple), and the Sages expanded its scope as a commemoration of the Temple (ordaining that the lulav<\/em> be taken everywhere during the rest of the festival as well), a berakha<\/em> is recited on the commemoration. In contrast, if there is no mitzva remaining after the destruction, then its commemoration is performed without a berakha<\/em> (as would seem to be the case with the mitzva of Hak\u2019hel<\/em>, which applies only when the Temple stands). Nevertheless, R. Herzog, in his article \u201cHatza\u2019ot Le-ma\u2019amad Zekher Le-Hak\u2019hel <\/em>5713\u201d tentatively presents a halakhic justification for the Torah reader at the Hak\u2019hel<\/em> commemoration to recite the berakhot<\/em> that are normally said before and after an aliya<\/em> (p. 620 in that collection). R. Ovadia Yosef gives his support to the custom of commemorating Hak\u2019hel<\/em> but says not to recite berakhot <\/em>(Yabi\u2019a Omer<\/em>, YD 10:22). This was also the position of the other chief rabbis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent times, the great of rabbis have encouraged the Jews of Eretz Yisrael to hold a commemoration of this precious mitzva, to honor the Torah and commemorate the Temple. We have learned that the Sages enacted several ordinances to commemorate Temple practices. They derived the impetus for these commemorations from a verse: \u201cBut I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[214],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-13-08"],"yoast_head":"\n05. 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