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(TIMES OF ISRAEL) — Every seven years, in ancient times, Jewish men, women, and children would gather at the Temple in Jerusalem on the first day of Sukkot to hear the king read aloud from the Torah.
In 2022, there’s no king and no Temple, and more than half of all Jews live far from Jerusalem — but the ritual is still inspiring Jews around the world to gather together. In fact, the tradition, known as hakhel, appears to be seeing a resurgence of popular interest.
In Northampton, Massachusetts, Abundance Farm will host an outdoor festival with tree planting, music, pickles and cider to mark the end of the seven-year cycle of the shmita or agricultural sabbatical year to which hakhel is tied.
