The parsha begins:
וַיַקְה ֵ֣ל מֹש ֶׁ֗ה א ֶֽת-כָּל-עֲדַַ֛ת בְנ ֵ֥י יִשְרָּא ֵ֖ל וגו'.
"And Moshe gathered all the people of Israel..."
Asks the Ohr haChaim haKadosh: Why does the posuk mention that Moshe Rabbeinu gathered Klal Yisrael in order to speak to them? Isn't that what happened the whole forty years in the midbar (desert)? What is special about this time in particular?
Says the Ohr haChaim: Moshe had just received "keren ohr panav," a divine light shining from his face, so there were some that were afraid of approaching him at all. So that's why the posuk specifies that there was an extra act of gathering, in order to "counteract" this fear.
On a similar note, Novardok was full of "pratim," meaning different "acts" done in order to "break the ice." There is a story with the Alter from Novardok z"l himself that he once was called to speak by a large assembly of many distinguished people, and on his way up to the podium he felt like the matzav (situation) was "too stiff", so he asked out loud if anyone has the keys to the beis hakisei (restroom)...
Needless to say the "tension" was broken, and everyone "chilled out" in their seats to hear what he had to say. Being Jewish is fun!
