At the start of each week at school we gather the entire community together for time we call "Hakhel." It is time to share the empowering nature of our community. The word "hakhel" echoes from the word that begins this week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel -- as it begins "vayakhel Moshe (lit. Moses assembled or called together)" the entire community of Israel. (Ex. 35:1)
"Hakhel” also becomes the penultimate mitzvah in Torah; a once-every-seven-years convening of the entire community for hearing and learning through a reading of the entire Torah. Everyone was to be at that reading. Torah calls out for gathering even strangers who live in the neighborhood and children (Deut. 31:10-15) The rabbis later interpret this calling together to include scholars steeped in Torah to listen with great concentration (Maimonides, Hilchot Chagigah 3:6) because even they could learn something new in the context of this communal listening.
In other words, “hakhel” is for listening and learning in community. There are even some who link the Hebrew root for assembling a community (קהל - kuph/hey/lamed) with the Hebrew root the human voice (קול - kuph/vav/lamed). We even hear hints of that link in English where "call" as in “calling a community together” is linked to the Hebrew word "kol" or voice.
So a story to demonstrate the link between the power of community to hear the voice of others.
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who thought he had grown so wise there was no need for him to listen to others anymore. He would wake early each day and go immediately to his library to continue reading and the learning that he interrupted the night before only to crawl into bed. Each morning while it was still dark outside he made hot tea and buttered toast, then went right back to his study table to re-read another book whose contents he already had memorized.
Occasionally townspeople came to the wise man’s door to ask for his help feeding the hungry. When they did he would look around his kitchen. Then he would announce he had just enough food for himself. Since he was not taking food away from anyone he felt he had nothing to offer others.
Or when they came by asking for blankets to warm some without shelter in the town, he would look at his bed. Then he would announce he had just enough blankets for himself. Since he was not taking blankets away from anyone he had nothing to offer others.
Day after day he stayed in his library. Content with the little he had. Satisfied he did not need to listen to anyone else’s call for help. This frustrated his neighbors. Although he was not greedy he was so self-centered and selfish. They could not get him to listen to anyone except himself. He joined the community for nothing.
One neighbor took it upon herself to get him out of the house. She began to build a boat in her backyard. She hoped the commotion would attract his attention. If the wise man got up at 6:15 am to begin his learning; she would get up at 6:00 am and begin using really loud power-tools in her backyard. If he stayed up late at night reading, she stayed up even later shining bright lights on her work that she was certain broke the dark in his house next door.
She sawed and hammered and sanded and painted -- all as loudly as she could. She was hoping to attract his attention to the boat she was building. And she did. He often peeked out past the shades on his window to see what all the noise and activity was about. He was surprised and impressed that one person could build a boat that big by herself.
Then when it was completed she called a huge gathering of the town to help her launch the boat at the edge of the lake. She could build it by herself, but she needed help to launch it. Just before leaving her house with the boat, she knocked on the door of the wise man. He was startled; a bit afraid that maybe she was angry he had been watching.
Instead, she smiled and invited him to join the launch. She assured him he did not have to bring anything. The wise man was a little curious so he joined in with everyone else. Once they were afloat on the lake and had drifted so far from shore that it seemed to disappear the woman who built the boat took out a drill. She cleared the space under her seat and began to drill into the bottom of her boat.
Everyone on the boat was alarmed. They started shouting at the woman to stop. Even the quiet wise man was worried; he did not know how to swim. He begged her not to drill a hole in the boat.
"What's to stop me?!?” she asked looking right at the wise man, “I have enough boat for myself even without the piece that I drill. What's more, I only plan to drill under my own seat. I am not drilling under your seat!”
“But, but, but” the wise man stuttered, “when you sink your seat, you will sink the whole boat and all of us with it. All of us are in the same boat!”
The woman paused saying, “repeat that again and I put away my drill." "All of us are in the same boat!” he repeated.
With that, the woman put away her drill. She looked that the wise man saying, “Right! So the next time someone calls on you for food or blankets or the needs of others in our community, heed the call! As you say, 'all of us are in the same boat.'"
Yes, we are!
[Boat story inspired by Leviticus Rabbah 4:6.]
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