Hakhel Like You’ve Never Seen

By COLlive reporter

A group of Israeli actors was recently decked out in ancient clothing – not for a movie production, but to promote a Jewish tradition.

Yigal Akida, Oded Manster and Hila Ofer are the lead stars of a new video clip explaining the concept and relevancy of Hakhel, the current Jewish year of unity.

Produced by the Mitzvah Channel on YouTube, the clip shows a police officer stopping traffic on a typically congested road in Israel and asking commuters to “gather.”

Asked why it was necessary, the officer goes on to explain how during the Hakhel year the Jewish nation would converge on the Beis Hamikdash in Jerusalem where the Jewish king would inspire Jews to commit themselves to Hashem.

The video, created by the Olam Umloeo production company, shows footage of the pilgrimage and of the gathering with the king and a Torah scroll.

“The purpose of this video is to explain the message of Hakhel to the masses,” Rabbi Shmuel Bistritzky, Director of the Mitzvah Channel (Yahaduton), told COLlive.com. “This video was released in Hebrew, Russian, Italian and today we present it in English.”

He thanked Crown Heights businessman Dudi Farkash for contributing the English version of the video and supporting the multimedia production spreading Judaism and its Mitzvos across the web.

VIDEO: