In Parashat Vayelech, the Torah tells us the last two of the 248 mitzvot aseh, positive, because the Rambam and the Chinuch and other מוני המצות, other ספרים that write a list of mitzvot, so the last two of the 248 mitzvot aseh, positive mitzvot, are the two mitzvot of מצות הקהל and מצות כתיבת ספר תורה. מצות הקהל is the mitzvah that on Sukkos, in the year right after שמיטה, all the Yidden had to gather together in the בית המקדש, and the מלך, the king, would read to them certain portions of the Torah. And the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה is that there is a mitzvah upon every single Yid that he must write a ספר תורה for himself. These are the two last mitzvot. And these two mitzvot are written in Parashat Vayelech. These two mitzvot were said in Parashat Vayelech, which means they were said very close to the time when Moshe Rabbeinu passed away, which is at the very end of the 40 years that the Yidden were in the desert. During these 40 years, the Yidden were given all the mitzvot, all תרי\"ג מצות, all 613 mitzvot. And towards the very end of the 40 years, right before Moshe Rabbeinu was נסתלק, passed away, they were given these two mitzvot: the mitzvah of הקהל and the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה. The mitzvah of הקהל we learn out from the פסוק where it says, מקץ שבע שנים, etcetera, בבוא כל ישראל, הקהל את העם, that's in פרשת וילך קפיטל ל\"א פסוק י', and then the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה is learned out from the פסוק, ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת, which is in קפיטל ל\"א פסוק י\"ט. We know that even the order, the way the things are written in the Torah, also is exact, and that itself is also part of Torah. So we have to understand, why did the Torah wait with these two mitzvot till the very end of the Torah? Concerning the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, certainly the question is a question, that why is davka this mitzvah of writing a ספר תורה the last mitzvah? Why was this given at the end? Why wasn't it given to the Bnei Yisrael earlier? But even concerning the mitzvah of הקהל, where here one might answer that the reason it was given at the end is because this mitzvah did not apply in the desert, this mitzvah only applied after the Yidden entered Eretz Yisrael, so therefore there was no need to tell them this mitzvah while they were in the desert. But still, even לגבי הקהל, the question is a question, because we find many other mitzvot which only applied in Eretz Yisrael and only applied in the Beit HaMikdash, and nevertheless, they were written before, they were written in earlier parashiyot of the Torah. And therefore, being that the mitzvah of הקהל is connected to shemitah, as the פסוק says, מקץ שבע שנים במועד שנת השמיטה, at the end of the seven years, right after shemitah, that's when you have to do the mitzvah of הקהל, so lichorah the Torah should have written this mitzvah of הקהל in continuation to the mitzvah of shemitah, in Parashat Behar or at least in Parashat Re'eh. Why did the Torah wait with this mitzvah of Hakhel till the end of the 40 years, right before Moshe Rabbeinu passed away?

The answer to this could be based on what the Rambam says in Hilchot Chagigah פרק ג' הלכה ו' concerning the mitzvah of Hakhel. The Rambam writes like this: חייבין להכין לבם, all the people have to prepare their hearts, ולהקשיב אזנם, and to make their ears hear, לשמוע, to hear, באימה ויראה וגילה ברעדה, that they have to hear the words of the king with fear, etcetera, etcetera, כיום שניתנה בו בסיני, similar to the day that the Torah was given by Sinai. Which means that when they listen to the king reading the parshiyot of Hakhel, they had to feel as if they are accepting the Torah from Sinai. And the Rambam continues: אפילו חכמים גדולים שיודעים כל התורה כולה, even the greatest chachamim who know the whole תורה, חייבין לשמוע בכוונה גדולה יתירה, they have to listen with a special great kavana. ומי שאינו יכול לשמוע, and someone who can't listen, can't hear, מכוון לבו לקריאה זו, has to still put his heart, to be מכוון his heart to this reading, שלא קבע הכתוב אלא לחזק דת האמת, because the Torah only established this to strengthen the true religion, ויראה עצמו, you're supposed to see yourself, you're supposed to consider yourself, כאילו עתה נצטווה בה, as if now you are being commanded, ומפי הגבורה שומעה, as if you are hearing it now from השם Himself. שהמלך שליח הוא להשמיע דברי האל, because the king is the shaliach to repeat, to give over the words of Hashem. So what the Rambam is telling us here, that listening to the king by Hakhel is mamash like standing by Har Sinai and hearing the Torah from Hashem. Concerning the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah, the Rambam writes a similar thing. The Rambam writes in Hilchot Tefillin, Mezuzah uSefer Torah in the beginning of פרק ז', taking it from the Gemara in Menachot דף ל' עמוד א', that כותבו, if you write a ספר תורה, מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיבלו מהר סיני, the Torah considers it as if you received it from Har Sinai. So it comes out that the inyan of writing a Sefer Torah is similar to Kabbalat HaTorah, similar to the way the Yidden were standing by Har Sinai and received the Torah. So we see that these two mitzvot, the mitzvah of Hakhel and the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah, have one thing in common, that they both are an extension of Kabbalat HaTorah. The truth is every mitzvah that we keep is an extension of Kabbalat HaTorah. We keep it because Hashem gave us the Torah on Har Sinai. But nevertheless, we don't find in other mitzvot that the quality of the mitzvah itself is the concept of feeling that you're receiving the Torah right now, that this itself is a concept of Matan Torah. But by Hakhel the Rambam says that you have to feel as if you are hearing these words from Hashem, it's mamash like you're standing by Har Sinai, and concerning the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה the Rambam says that this is another way of receiving the Torah. By writing a Sefer Torah, you are actually receiving the Torah by Har Sinai. And this was the reason why Hashem gave us these two mitzvot. We know that מעמד הר סיני, מתן תורה took place in the מדבר. And even though the people who are ready to enter Eretz Yisrael at the end of the 40 years were not the same people that stood by Har Sinai, because this was the second generation, but still it was in the same place, in the same desert, in the same place, so the Yidden were still under the impression of Har Sinai, under the impression of Matan Torah. Especially that their leader was Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the one that actually received the Torah. משה קיבל תורה מסיני ומסרה, משה received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over. So the Yidden, who were guided and led by Moshe Rabbeinu, were still under the complete impression of Matan Torah, of מעמד הר סיני.

At the end of the 40 years, when Moshe Rabbeinu was going to pass away and give over the הנהגה, the leadership, to Yehoshua, and the Yidden were going to leave the desert, which was the place of Matan Torah, and enter Eretz Yisrael, so at this point the feeling and the impression that the Yidden had by Matan Torah, by Har Sinai, was going to wear off. So therefore Hashem said, now that you are, so to speak, finished with this impression of Matan Torah, of Har Sinai, I will give you two mitzvot that will also have the quality of Matan Torah, so then this impression of Har Sinai and Matan Torah should always continue. And He said, I will give you the mitzvah of Hakhel, as we said before, that when you perform this mitzvah, you get the feeling of מעמד הר סיני, of Matan Torah again, and I will give you the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, which is, as we said before, כאילו קיבלו מהר סיני, a feeling of Matan Torah. And that's the difference between these mitzvot and other mitzvot which were also only supposed to be performed in Eretz Yisrael, like Shemitah and other mitzvot. Those mitzvot, the reason they were performed only in Eretz Yisrael is because this was one of the condition of the mitzvah, and therefore, even though they wouldn't perform it anyway till they entered Eretz Yisrael, so they didn't have to know about it earlier, still the Torah, Hashem told them these mitzvot earlier. But concerning the mitzvah of Hakhel, here the fact that it was done in Eretz Yisrael is not just as a, a condition, a side condition to the performance of this mitzvah, the whole reason for the mitzvah of Hakhel is because they are finishing with being in the desert and entering Eretz Yisrael. And therefore, not only was there no reason to tell them the mitzvah of Hakhel before, but Hashem specifically told them the mitzvah towards the end to tell them that this is the continuation of your being in the desert. When you're finishing physically with being in the desert, and you're leaving the place of מתן תורה, you're leaving Moshe Rabbeinu, who is the one that brought about, brought the Torah, you will have something that will be a continuation to this, and this is the mitzvah of Hakhel. And the same is concerning the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, that here you have a mitzvah that will continue to bring the feeling within you of מתן תורה, continue to keep the impression within you of מתן תורה, of Har Sinai.

But the question one might ask is, why did they need need two mitzvot that should have the impression of מתן תורה? Why wasn't one enough? And the answer is, because we find by מתן תורה two things, and these two mitzvot, the mitzvah of Hakhel and the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, represent and are a continuation of these two aspects of מתן תורה. By מתן תורה we had two things. Hashem gave them the Torah, which is the limud, the learning of Torah, the wisdom of Torah, the שכל of the Torah, the Torah as the chochmah, and it also was the time when Hashem commanded them to do the mitzvot. And these two inyanim, the mitzvah of Hakhel and the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, correspond to these two inyanim. The mitzvah of Hakhel, its main inyan is the concept of קבלת מצוות, that corresponds to the aspect of מתן תורה concerning the acceptance of mitzvot, and the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, that corresponds mainly to the idea of learning Torah, of the learning the שכל of the Torah.

Where do we see this? So we see this in the pesukim. Concerning the mitzvah of Hakhel, the pasuk says: למען ישמעו ולמען ילמדו, they should hear and learn, ויראו את השם אלקיכם, they should have fear of Hashem your God, ושמרו לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת, and they should be careful to do all the words of the Torah. So we see that the main purpose of Hakhel is to make sure that they should do all the words of the Torah. And the pasuk continues: ובניהם אשר לא ידעו, and their children who don't know, ישמעו they should hear, ולמדו they should learn, for what reason? ליראה את השם אלקיכם. They should have fear of Hashem. So it comes out that the main stress concerning the mitzvah of Hakhel is on the concept of יראת השם, and concept of fear of Hashem which brings to actual doing the mitzvot. But concerning the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah, the pasuk says: ועתה כתבו לכם, you should write השירה הזאת, which means writing the Sefer Torah, and the pasuk continues: ולמדה את בני ישראל שימה בפיהם, and you should teach it to the בני ישראל. So it comes out that the תכלית, the main reason for the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, is to learn. And this difference between the mitzvah of Hakhel, that that's more connected to the doing of the mitzvot, connected to the yirat shamayim which brings to the מעשה המצוות, the actual doing, and כתיבת ספר תורה is more connected to the learning, we find also in halacha. Because concerning the mitzvah of Hakhel, the Rambam writes: מצות עשה להקהיל כל ישראל אנשים ונשים וטף, there's a mitzvah to do this mitzvah of Hakhel, and he says for what? ולקרות באזניהם מן התורה, and you should read in their ears from the תורה, פרשיות, those פרשיות שהן מזרזות אותם במצוות, the פרשיות that will make them extra careful in the מצוות, ומחזקות ידיהם בדת האמת, and straightens, strengthens their hands in the true religion. So it comes out that the whole purpose of this great inyan of Hakhel is in order that they should learn Torah to be able to have a chizuk, a strengthening in the קיום המצוות. And that's why the Rambam writes later on that every single person has to listen to Hakhel, and he says: אפילו חכמים גדולים שיודעים כל התורה כולה, even the chachamim, the great chachamim who know the whole תורה, חייבים לשמוע, they have to still listen, and he says why? Because that שלא קבע הכתוב אלא לחזק דת האמת, because the whole purpose of Hakhel is to strengthen the true religion, which means strengthening the fulfillment of mitzvot. And concerning מצות כתיבת ספר תורה, we find a halacha which shows that the main purpose is learning, not the idea of doing mitzvot. Because everyone knows what the Rosh says in Halachot Ketannot, in the beginning of Hilchot Sefer Torah, that the מצות כתיבת ספר תורה that used to be, so he says בדורות הראשונים, in the original generations, the old first generations, שהיו כותבים ספר תורה ולומדים בה, that they used to write a ספר תורה and learn from it, then the mitzvah was to write a ספר תורה. אבל האידנא, now, שכותבים ספר תורה ומניחים אותה בבתי כנסיות לקרות בה ברבים, now that the ספר תורה is only used to read קריאת התורה, מצות עשה היא על כל איש מישראל אשר ידו משגת, the mitzvah on every Yid that could afford, the mitzvah is לכתוב חומשי התורה to write Chumash, uMishnah, Gemara, ופירושיהם and פירושים, להגות בהן הוא ובניו, so that you should have ספרים from which to learn. And he says כי מצות כתיבת התורה היא ללמוד בה, the main purpose is to learn in it, כדכתיב it says ולמדה את בני ישראל שימה בפיהם. ועל ידי הגמרא והפירושים ידע פירוש המצוה והדינים על בוריים, לכן הן הן הספרים שאדם מצווה לכותבם. And since from the Gemara and other ספרים a person could learn, so now the mitzvah is to write those ספרים. So we see clearly that the ענין of כתיבת ספר תורה, the purpose is to learn Torah. So it comes out that these two mitzvot, the mitzvah of הקהל and the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, have two different goals, The goal of הקהל is to strengthen the קיום המצוות, and the goal of כתיבת ספר תורה is to add to learning Torah. We said before that these two mitzvot are an extension of מתן תורה, but each one is an extension of a different פרט of מתן תורה. Since we said before that in מתן תורה two things happened: Hashem gave the Torah, the חכמת התורה, the ענין of learning Torah, and Hashem also gave the mitzvot, commanded us to perform the mitzvot. So therefore, when the Yidden left the desert and left Moshe Rabbeinu, so the impression of מתן תורה wore off, so he gave them two mitzvot that should be a continuation to the impression of מתן תורה, two mitzvot that each one will correspond to another detail of מתן תורה. And therefore he gave them the mitzvah of הקהל, that by doing that, they will feel as if they stood by Har Sinai and were commanded to do the mitzvot, this would be a strengthening in קיום המצוות in continuation to מתן תורה which gave them the קיום המצוות, and he gave them the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה, which is also an extension of Har Sinai, because when you write a Torah it's as if you received it from Har Sinai, but which part? The part of the שכל of the Torah, the learning of the Torah. And that's the reason why these two were given at the end of the forty years, because by doing this, the stay in the desert would not stop, but it would continue, the feeling that they had, the impression that they had of מתן תורה would continue into the later years through performing these two mitzvot, the mitzvah of הקהל and the mitzvah of כתיבת ספר תורה.