Hakhel Renewing Torahs Light
בפרשת הקהל
Regarding the mitzvah of Hakhel.
The Sfas Emes opens by setting his focus on the mitzvah of Hakhel, the gathering of all Bnei Yisrael to hear the Torah read by the king.
ישמעו וילמדו כו' נראה שע"י מצות השמיטה זכו אח"כ לבחי' התכללות
"They shall hear and they shall learn etc." It appears that through the mitzvah of Shemittah, Bnei Yisrael afterward merited the level of being gathered together as one.
He notes that the wording of hearing and learning suggests that keeping Shemittah earned Bnei Yisrael the elevated state of being unified and gathered as one.
והוא הלשון שכ' בקבלת התורה הקהל לי א"ה ואשמיעם את דברי
And this is the very expression that is written regarding the receiving of the Torah: "Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words" (Devarim 4:10).
He points out that the identical language of gathering the people to hear Hashem's words was used at Har Sinai when the Torah was given.
ונראה שזה הי' שכר על שמירת שביעית שדרשו חז"ל גבורי כח בשומרי שביעית הכ' מדבר
And it appears that this was the reward for the observance of the seventh year, for Chazal expounded on the verse "mighty in strength, who fulfill His word" (Tehillim 103:20) that the verse is speaking of those who keep Shemittah.
This unified hearing was the reward for keeping Shemittah, as Chazal teach that the verse praising those who are mighty in strength refers to the Shemittah-keepers.
ומסיים לשמוע בקול דברו שזכו לשמוע ד' ה' אח"כ במצות הקהל שהי' מתגלה להם מחדש אור התורה כפי מה שהי' צריך להם אז כי מציון תצא תורה
And the verse concludes "to hearken to the voice of His word," for afterward they merited to hear the word of Hashem through the mitzvah of Hakhel, when the light of the Torah would be revealed to them anew according to whatever they needed at that time, for "from Tzion the Torah shall go forth" (Yeshayah 2:3).
The continuation of that verse, hearkening to Hashem's word, points to Hakhel, where the Torah's light was revealed afresh to fit the needs of that generation, just as the Torah goes forth from Tzion.
כי בוודאי הי' סיוע משמים להמלך כי מצד הטבע אין באפשרות להשמיע באזני כל קהל ישראל
For surely there was assistance from Heaven granted to the king, for by the natural order it is not within the realm of possibility to make oneself heard in the ears of the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael.
He explains that the king reaching the ears of the entire nation was naturally impossible, so it could only have happened through Heavenly assistance.
וכ"כ הרמב"ם בה' חגיגה שהמלך שליח הוא וצריכין לעמוד בהקהל כמו בהר סיני באימה ביראה ע"ש
And so too the Rambam wrote in Hilchos Chagigah, that the king is a messenger, and one must stand at Hakhel just as at Har Sinai, with awe and with fear; see there.
He cites the Rambam that the king at Hakhel functions only as a messenger of Hashem, and the people must stand with the same awe and fear they had at Har Sinai.
וזה ענין שמיטין אצל הר סיני
And this is the matter of the laws of Shemittah being juxtaposed to Har Sinai.
This explains why the Torah places the laws of Shemittah right next to Har Sinai, since both share this revelatory, unifying quality.
ויתכן לומר כי שלמה המלך ע"ה חיבר ס' קהלת ע"ש מצות הקהל שהיא בסוכות
And it is fitting to say that Shlomo HaMelech, peace be upon him, composed the sefer of Koheles in connection with the mitzvah of Hakhel, which takes place on Sukkos.
He suggests that Shlomo HaMelech named and composed Koheles in connection with Hakhel, which falls on Sukkos.
וכשראה שיתבטל בהמ"ק ומצות הקהל שנתחדש אז הארת התורה בכל שמיטה
And when he foresaw that the Beis HaMikdash and the mitzvah of Hakhel would be nullified, through which the illumination of the Torah was renewed at that time in every Shemittah,
Foreseeing the loss of the Beis HaMikdash and Hakhel, which had renewed the Torah's light each Shemittah, Shlomo wanted to preserve that power.
הניח זה הכח בספר קהלת שחיבר על ימי הסוכות כנ"ל:
he deposited this power in the sefer of Koheles, which he composed concerning the days of Sukkos, as explained above.
He therefore embedded that spiritual force into Koheles, which he composed for the days of Sukkos.
Summary: The Sfas Emes connects the mitzvah of Hakhel to the keeping of Shemittah, showing that observing the seventh year earned Bnei Yisrael the level of being gathered as one to hear Hashem's word, in language that echoes the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. Drawing on Chazal's teaching about those who are mighty in keeping Shemittah, he explains that at Hakhel the light of the Torah was revealed anew to fit each generation's needs, with the king serving merely as a messenger through whom Hashem made Himself heard in a way that nature could not allow. This is why the Torah juxtaposes Shemittah to Har Sinai, for both carry the same unifying revelation of Torah. Finally, he proposes that Shlomo HaMelech composed Koheles in connection with Hakhel on Sukkos, and that, foreseeing the loss of the Beis HaMikdash and this mitzvah, he deposited the renewing power of the Torah's illumination into Koheles to endure even in galus.