We begin today the book of Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles), and as is our custom, we will present an introduction to the book before embarking on its study. Sefer Divrei HaYamim concludes the section of Ketuvim (the Writings). At its opening, it presents an overview of the genealogical tree from Adam HaRishon down to the families of the twelve tribes and their descendants, and afterwards chronologically surveys the history of the Jewish people from the end of the reign of Shaul through the destruction of the Kingdom of Yehudah and the Proclamation of Cyrus.
The book was composed during the Persian period, in the fifth century of the fourth millennium [of the Jewish calendar], approximately 2,300 years ago. Chazal state that Ezra HaSofer began writing the book and Nechemyah completed it, while others say that Ezra wrote the entire book, as cited in the Yad Ramah and in Bava Batra.
This was the generation in which the Jewish people returned from exile and arrived in the Land to build the Second Beit HaMikdash. Those who returned were primarily from the tribes of Yehudah, Binyamin, and Levi, and they did not know their lineage. In addition, when they returned here there was widespread intermingling - Chazal speak of an "eisah" (a mixed dough) - with people marrying Ashdodite and Ammonite women, creating severe genealogical issues. Therefore, Ezra came and authored this book for them, so that they would know their ancestry.
First: The entire book is filled with genealogies. It should be noted in advance that there are virtually no commentaries on these sections; therefore, we will move through them relatively quickly, whereas on the sections rich in narrative and meaning, we will dwell at length.
Second: The tribes that returned were Yehudah, Binyamin, and Levi, and indeed the book focuses primarily on them - exclusively on the Kingdom of Yehudah. The Northern Kingdom of Yisrael in Shomron, and the kings who ruled there - Yarovam and his successors, Achav and the other monarchs - receive virtually no mention in the book. From this we see that the primary objective was to establish the lineage of those who returned, identifying their ancestry and clarifying the families and origins from which they came.
The first part, Divrei HaYamim I, opens with a chronological summary from the creation of the world until the death of Shaul on Mount Gilboa, and continues with an account of the reign of King David. The second part, Divrei HaYamim II, deals with the history of the Kingdom of Yehudah and the royal Davidic dynasty from the era of Shlomo until the destruction of the First Beit HaMikdash, concluding with an appendix: the Proclamation of Cyrus.
Part of the book parallels the content of the books of Shmuel and Melachim, and there are many points of connection between what we have learned there and what we will see here. However, one should note: while there are many identical points, certain matters are mentioned here but not there, and conversely, matters mentioned in Shmuel and Melachim are omitted here.
Examples of omissions: the sin involving Batsheva is not mentioned at all in Divrei HaYamim, even though it occupies a prominent place in the Book of Shemuel. On the other hand, there are events recorded here that do not appear there: the deeds of Yehoshaphat and his spiritual initiatives, his admonitions to the judges to uphold justice (II Divrei HaYamim 19), are not mentioned in the Book of Melachim. The same is true of the repentance of Menasheh and his restoration to the throne, and other such matters that do not appear in Melachim at all.
On the other hand, there are matters that are modified - that is, presented in a different manner. For instance, in the Book of Shemuel it does not say that the Levi'im participated in bringing up the Ark, whereas in I Divrei HaYamim 15 the Levi'im are mentioned. The Malbim generally reconciles these apparent contradictions. At times there are also variations in names: certain names appear in the Torah or the Prophets in one form and in Divrei HaYamim in a slightly different form, and we will address and explain these differences as well. According to most opinions, these variations were made intentionally by the author of the book, Ezra.
Rashi - or more accurately, the commentary attributed to Rashi, the reason for which will be explained below - writes repeatedly that this book was written to the praise of David. Therefore, every matter that reflects David's success, and every instance in which David's descendants prosper, finds expression in this book. Conversely, matters that reflect shortcomings on David's part are omitted here, such as the sin involving Batsheva and other such episodes, because the book was primarily written for the distinction and praise of David.
There is a view among the Rishonim, including the Radak - though it is important to emphasize that this is a minority view among them - that this book is the very work referred to in several places in the Book of Melachim as "the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah." Most Rishonim reject this, especially since there are many events stated to be recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Yehudah, yet when one opens the Book of Divrei HaYamim, they are not found here; according to that view, one would have to say that portions of it have been lost to us. Logic therefore dictates that "the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Yehudah" was an official royal record in which the day-to-day events of the kings were chronicled, and it is unrelated to the canonical Book of Divrei HaYamim authored by Ezra HaSofer.
Chazal state that Divrei HaYamim concludes Kesuvim (the Writings) and is its final book, and this is also the order of our study of Tanach: when we complete Divrei HaYamim, we will have completed the study of the entire Tanach with the commentary of the Malbim. However, one should know that some say there is no fixed sequence in Kesuvim - meaning that within Kesuvim it makes no difference which comes earlier and which later, as they are not arranged in a definitive chronological order. There are even those who place Divrei HaYamim as the very first book of Kesuvim, and this is how it is recorded by the Masoretes in Tiberias, who placed it first among them.
The book is divided into two: I Divrei HaYamim and II Divrei HaYamim. One should be aware that all the books divided into two - such as I and II Shemuel, and so on - were not divided by Chazal. Typically, they were divided in Christian traditions: Christians also studied the Bible and divided them for convenience, as the work itself was too large to fit in a single scroll or volume. In authentic Jewish tradition, there is no such division into I Melachim and II Melachim.
We have mentioned in the past that the division into chapters is likewise not of Jewish origin. The entire system of chapter divisions we have today in Tanach - chapter 1, chapter 2 - does not stem from our traditional sources, but from Christianity. We have even demonstrated previously that Christian scholars had specific motives for dividing certain chapters in a particular way, in order to reflect disparagingly on the Jewish people. We have shown examples of this in the past, but we will not dwell on it now.
Why, then, was this division adopted among us? Because debates were frequently held between the scholars of the nations and the sages of Israel, and this was a very common way in those times to entertain royalty - they had no social networks and needed some form of entertainment. They would stage theological disputations and bring representatives of different faiths to debate before them, such as the famous Disputation of the Ramban and others, for which we have extensive historical documentation. When they came to debate and an opponent would say: I wish to discuss the Book of Yeshayahu, chapter 61 - one had to reference the chapter numbers to know what was being discussed. Through this, the system found its way into Jewish printing as well, and that is why our printed editions also feature these chapter designations.
Some were meticulous not to use chapter numbers for this reason, since their origin is not pure. Instead, they would say "in such-and-such a parashah," without writing "chapter" (kapitel) and without specifying the chapter number. An exception is Sefer Tehillim, where the division into chapters stems from our own sacred sources. One finds writers noting that the Chafetz Chaim was careful not to use chapter numbers for this reason, though others have written that this is not accurate, pointing to many places where the Chafetz Chaim did indeed cite chapter numbers. In any event, since the practice has already become widely accepted and ingrained, the chapter division is commonly used today. Interestingly, regarding Divrei HaYamim, it was already divided into two books in the Septuagint, and it is possible that the Christian division derived from there, as the Septuagint predated them.
Divrei HaYamim I: Chapter 1 - the genealogy from Adam HaRishon to Yaakov Avinu. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 - the genealogy of the tribe of Yehudah, with Chapter 4 also addressing the tribe of Shimon. Chapter 5 - the tribes of Reuven, Gad, the half-tribe of Menasheh, and the Levites. Chapter 6 - the descendants of Levi and their cities. Chapter 7 - the descendants of Yissachar, Naftali, Asher, and Ephraim. Chapter 8 - the tribe of Binyamin and the house of Shaul. Chapter 9 - the conclusion of the genealogies, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and the house of Shaul. Chapter 10 - the death of Shaul. And from Chapter 11 through 29 - David HaMelech.
Divrei HaYamim II: Chapters 1 through 9 - Shlomo HaMelech. 10 through 12 - Rechavam. 13 - Aviyah. 14 through 16 - Asa. 17 through 20 - Yehoshafat. 21 - Yehoram. 22 - Achazyahu. 23 - Atalyahu. 24 - Yoash. 25 - Amatzyahu. 26 - Uziyahu. 27 - Yotam. 28 - Achaz. 29 through 32 - Chizkiyahu. 33 - Menasheh and Amon. 34-35 - Yoshiyahu. 36 - Yehoachaz, Yehoyakim, Yehoyachin, Tzidkiyahu, the Churban, the exile, and the proclamation of Cyrus. And with this, Sefer Divrei HaYamim concludes.
Let us add another introductory note regarding what the Beit Yosef writes in his work, Maggid Meisharim. As is well known, an angel would reveal himself to the Beit Yosef to teach him secrets of the Torah. When he immersed himself in the study of Mishnah, an angel would be created from his learning, and the Mishnah would say to him: "I am the angel created from the Mishnah you studied" - and it would speak with him and reveal Torah secrets to him. From this, he wrote Maggid Meisharim. It is said that Maggid Meisharim contains only a small fraction of what the angel revealed to him. The teachings the angel imparted were primarily Kabbalistic, making Maggid Meisharim essentially a Kabbalistic work, which also included guidance for the Beit Yosef's spiritual growth, moral admonitions, and the like.
There, in Parashat Tzav, on the eve of Shabbat HaGadol, the Maggid tells him: "Reza demilta, de'oraita shebichtav ihi Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim" - the secret of the matter is that the Written Torah consists of Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. And Divrei HaYamim is "lekavel Malchut, de'ihi chelala dechulhu" - corresponding to the sefirah of Malchut, which encompasses everything.
As is well known, the sefirot are divided into ten: from above, Keter, Chochmah, and Binah, followed by the lower seven - Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. Malchut is the lowest sefirah, encompassing all the sefirot above it, because Malchut "has nothing of its own" (leit lah migarma chalum). It possesses no intrinsic light; rather, it receives from the sefirot above it and channels it downward, and all divine abundance reaching the world flows through the aspect of the sefirah of Malchut.
And so the angel tells him: Know that Divrei HaYamim encompasses the entire Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. "And this is what our Sages said, that how many secrets of the Supernal Chariot are in Divrei HaYamim, and there was never a sage who was able to grasp all the mysteries of Divrei HaYamim."
We read Divrei HaYamim on a simple, surface level, but we should know that it is an exceedingly lofty book, corresponding to the sefirah of Malchut. This aligns remarkably well with what is brought in the commentary attributed to Rashi, that its primary essence is the praise of David HaMelech - and David HaMelech personifies the sefirah of Malchut, as we mention during Hakafot and elsewhere. Thus, it is thoroughly fitting that the book corresponds to Malchut and encompasses the entire Torah, holding profound secrets that no sage has fully grasped. We will study the text according to its straightforward meaning, having in mind that may it be the will of the God of Heaven that it be considered before Him as if we had attained all the inner secrets and depths of these teachings, and with divine assistance, may we truly merit to grasp them.
To conclude this introduction, it is worth citing the words of Rabbi Yaakov Emden in his work Lechem Shamayim regarding the commentary of Rashi on Divrei HaYamim, which also pertains to the commentary of Rashi on Pirkei Avot. He writes as follows: "Furthermore, I shall address Bnei Yisrael and faithfully make known, that the commentary found on Masechet Avot which the scribes and printers attributed to Rashi, in order to hang from a tall tree when they wish to hang themselves" - the Gemara says: "One who wishes to hang himself should hang from a tall tree," an idiom referring to someone seeking credibility for his words by attributing them to a great and renowned figure - "is not by the true, pure, subtle, and refined Rashi, but by a dwarf who fancied himself a giant." Here, too, there is an elegant rhyme in the Hebrew: not the true Rashi who is tsach, dak, umefunak, but a nanas who fancied himself an anak.
Indeed, the Gedolim possessed an extraordinary sense of discernment: when reading a commentary, they could tell whether it truly originated from the sage to whom it was attributed. Today there is computer software that does this - an algorithm fed with texts, which can then examine a given book and determine whether the author of those other works wrote this one as well. It uses specialized analysis to identify identical expressions, writing style, structural flow, sentence openings, and more. Today, software can reveal the authorship of certain books even when it is not obvious and they were not published under the author's name.
About a century or a century and a half ago, an individual from the Maskilim came forward claiming he had discovered the lost Yerushalmi on Seder Kodashim. It is well known that the Rishonim had a Yerushalmi on Kodashim, but over recent centuries it was lost to us, and this man claimed to have found it. When it was brought before the Gedolei Yisrael, each rejected it for a different reason. It is told of one of the great Chasidic Rebbes that when the book was brought to him, he opened it, took a smell of it, immediately returned it, and said: There is no holiness in this.
Many were misled, but the truly great sages were not. The work was brought to the Rogatchover Gaon, a peerless genius throughout the entire Torah and renowned as the master of the Yerushalmi, possessing vast and unparalleled fluency in it. He took one look and said: This is not the Yerushalmi. When asked how he knew, he explained: In the Yerushalmi, throughout each Seder, there is a specific Sage who is mentioned repeatedly - a Sage who dealt especially with that Seder, and whom the Yerushalmi cites constantly. In this manuscript, however, that is missing; there is merely a haphazard medley of Sages with no single dominant figure, which does not match the Yerushalmi's consistent pattern. The forger was exceedingly clever: he collected quotes from various sources and Rishonim that cited the Yerushalmi on Kodashim and planted them inside the text, creating a very convincing impression - one had to be a learned scholar to produce such a forgery. Ultimately, however, his disgrace was uncovered, and it became clear that the entire work was a fabrication he had authored himself. But the Gedolim had the vision to discern it immediately.
Here too, Rabbi Yaakov Emden had the discernment to state that this is not Rashi. As he continues: "Do not wonder that there could be people with such audacity to compose a commentary and label it 'Rashi.' This is nothing novel, for it has happened before, and such occurred three other times regarding commentaries attributed to Rashi that are not his. For the commentary on Gemara Nedarim, which is also titled Rashi, is not his, as is well known" - and indeed it is famous that there is no genuine Rashi on Nedarim; one studies the Ran there rather than Rashi, and it is even printed as "Attributed to Rashi," since it is not his. "Likewise, the commentary on Divrei HaYamim is mistakenly attributed to Rashi. And so too the commentary on Midrash Rabbah known by this name" - there is a commentary on Midrash Rabbah titled Rashi, yet Rashi did not author it; rather, someone wrote a commentary and falsely ascribed it to Rashi.
Nevertheless, we will study this commentary, as its style resembles that of Rashi, and it undoubtedly stems from the early authorities. Even if it is not Rashi himself, it is evident that a great Torah scholar authored it, and it was appended as one of the standard commentaries on Divrei HaYamim. Therefore, following our custom, we will study its explanations as well, simply bearing in mind that it is "attributed to Rashi."