Shabbat Shuva Dvar Torah by Rabbi Herzfeld, will take place on Monday, September 13 at 8:00 PM via Zoom (click here to join). If you want to review the sources in advance you can download here.
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Vayelekh
31:19 Now write for yourselves this poem… This parasha contains the last mitzvah of the Torah—the commandment to write a Torah scroll.
Here is a story about the writing of Torah scroll.
Once there was a sofer who was known throughout the world for his expertise in writing Torah scrolls. His letters were crisp and sharp. His tagin were truly a crown upon the letters of the Torah. People used to come from far and wide just to purchase one of his magnificent Torah scrolls.
One time one of his customers came back to him and showed the sofer that he had made a terrible mistake in the writing of the Torah. He had skipped an entire word! The sofer was distraught. He started crying: “How could I have done this!” The sofer was so upset that he decided to stop writing Torah scrolls.
The rabbi of the town invited the sofer to his office. The rabbi asked him why he had stopped writing Torah scrolls. The sofer explained what had happened. He then added that it is too much pressure for him to write a Torah. He can’t bear the responsibility of writing a Torah scroll with a mistake.
The rabbi told him: “There is a halakha that a Torah scroll written by an angel is not a kosher Torah scroll. Only angels do not make mistakes. If you are saying you don’t want to make a mistake then that means you are an angel. If you don’t go home at once and immediately start again to write a Torah, then I will disqualify every Torah you have ever written as being the work of an angel.”
The sofer hurried home and resumed writing a Torah.
Parshas Vayelech, all 30 verses of it, packs a powerful punch. The shortest of all parshas, it proves that it's not the size of the parsha that matters. In it, Moshe prepares for his death, the Jews prepare to conquer the land of Israel (as preemptive self-defense, OK?), and we learn about a beautiful ceremony conducted in the Beis Hamikdash every seven years, Hakhel. Performed the first day of chol hamoed Sukkos after the Shemita year, loud trumpets would sound and the King of Israel would stand on a platform in the Women's Section of the Beis Hamikdash and read select portions from the Torah to all gathered. Rare among mitzvos, Hakhel is meant not only for adult men and women, but also for children! Why, the gemara asks? "To provide a reward for those who brought them (Chagiga 3a, by way of Wikipedia)". A mashal for all youth programs!
As a side note, we have just entered the shemita year, which means this Shabbos will be practice. Next year, we'll do a major Hakhel blowout!!
Yoni Friedman
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Daf Yomi for Kids To download the Daf Yomi for kidsclick here
