Introduction: The Great Passover of Chizkiyahu
In this chapter, the prophet describes for us the Passover that the Jewish people celebrated in that year, after many years during which Passover was not observed properly. King Chizkiyahu does not content himself with Judah alone, but also sends letters to the northern tribes, attempting to inspire the entire nation to return to Hashem and make the pilgrimage to the Beit HaMikdash. The entire chapter is a blend of great spiritual awakening on the one hand, and mockery and contempt on the other - a picture that has accompanied the Jewish people throughout all generations.
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ עַל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה וְגַם־אִגְּרוֹת כָּתַב עַל־אֶפְרַיִם וּמְנַשֶּׁה לָבוֹא לְבֵית־ה' בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם לַעֲשׂוֹת פֶּסַח לַה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "And Chizkiyahu sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Menasheh, to come to the House of Hashem in Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover to Hashem, the God of Israel."
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: Why did he write letters to Ephraim and Menasheh as well? Because at that time, Ephraim and Menasheh had not yet been exiled. Their exile took place in the sixth year of Chizkiyahu's reign, and we are still in the early years of his rule. Although portions of them had already been exiled, as we will see further on, he sends letters to those who still remained in Samaria, saying to them: Now it is within your power to come to the House of Hashem in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to Hashem, the God of Israel.
And why did this become possible specifically now? Because during those days, Hoshea the son of Elah reigned in Samaria. We have already learned in Melachim that it was Hoshea the son of Elah who granted permission to make the pilgrimage, being the first to reopen the roads after Yarov'am the son of Nevat had closed them, with the roads remaining sealed throughout the reigns of all the kings who followed him. The year we are discussing here is the ninth year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel.
The Malbim already taught us a profound insight there: it was precisely the reopening of the roads that hastened the exile. As long as they did not make the pilgrimage because they were prevented by force, they had a justification - what could they do, an evil king would not allow them. But from the moment Hoshea the son of Elah came and reopened the roads, there was no longer any excuse: Why are you not making the pilgrimage? From this point on, they were held accountable, and as we will soon see, they were hardly eager or joyful to ascend.
Celebrating Passover in the Second Month - Intercalating Nisan in Nisan
וַיִּוָּעַץ הַמֶּלֶךְ וְשָׂרָיו וְכׇל־הַקָּהָל בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם לַעֲשׂוֹת הַפֶּסַח בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי׃ - "And the king took counsel, along with his officers and the entire assembly in Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover in the second month."
What was stated in the first verse, "And Chizkiyahu sent to all Israel and Judah," followed this consultation: the king consulted with his officers and the assembly to celebrate the Passover in the second month, and only afterward did he send the letters.
And what is Passover in the second month? Chazal say that Chizkiyahu intercalated Nisan within Nisan, and this is one of the things for which the Sages did not agree with him. The meaning of this is: as long as you are still in Adar, you have the authority to intercalate the year and add an extra Adar, followed by Nisan. But once Nisan has begun, the year may no longer be intercalated, nor can one declare that this will now be Adar and Nisan will follow later - for you are already standing within Nisan. This is what it means that he "intercalated Nisan within Nisan," and the Sages did not agree with him.
Radak wonders about this: Why do you say that they did not agree with him? After all, it explicitly states, "And the king took counsel, along with his officers and the entire assembly in Jerusalem," implying that he consulted beforehand and they did agree with him!
The Malbim resolves Radak's difficulty, but first he cites a dispute in Masechet Sanhedrin. There are opinions that hold Chizkiyahu intercalated the year contrary to the view of the Sages, in which case "in the second month" means that he made Iyar into the month of Nisan, which is the first of the months of the year. But in the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehudah in the name of Rabbi Shimon, the verse genuinely refers to the month of Iyar - meaning Pesach Sheni. According to this approach, he did not intercalate the year at all, but rather deferred them to observe Pesach Sheni.
The Malbim's Difficulties with the Pesach Sheni Approach
The Malbim notes that this raises a serious difficulty. We saw in the previous chapter that they brought sacrifices on the sixteenth of the first month, and he said to them, "Draw near and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings (todah)." Yet a todah cannot be offered on Pesach, for a todah offering includes ten loaves of chametz! If the first month mentioned there is indeed Nisan, how could they have brought todah offerings during the days of Pesach?
And one cannot suggest that he referred to shelamim as todah - that in reality they were ordinary peace offerings (shelamim) and he merely labeled them todah. That is impossible. The Gemara in Zevachim 7a states: A todah may be referred to as shelamim, but shelamim are not called todah. Shelamim are never called todah; therefore, if Scripture writes "todah," it necessarily refers to an actual thanksgiving offering.
He raises another question: According to this opinion, the majority of the congregation observed the first Pesach, since together with the women they formed the majority, and only a minority was deferred to Pesach Sheni - for a majority of the community cannot be deferred to Pesach Sheni. If so, Scripture implies that they did not finish purifying the Temple until the sixteenth of Nisan. How, then, could they have offered the Pesach on the fourteenth, when they had not yet finished cleansing the Temple? One must conclude that the Pesach was offered in a state of ritual impurity (tumah).
And if that is so, why does the verse state here, "For they could not observe it... because the kohanim had not sanctified themselves sufficiently"? After all, the Pesach offering is brought in impurity and eaten in impurity when the majority of Israel is ritually impure; and on the fourteenth and fifteenth the Sanctuary was still impure (since they only finished purifying it on the sixteenth), so they would necessarily have had to perform it in impurity anyway. If so, they could have observed it - and indeed, they should have done so in impurity! This is the Malbim's question.
The Rambam's Halachic View
Indeed, the Rambam rules halachically that Chizkiyahu intercalated the year, rather than following the opinion that they celebrated Pesach Sheni - for as we have seen, that view faces severe textual difficulties. However, this intercalation was done without the consent of the Sanhedrin, for two reasons: First, he intercalated on the day that was already eligible to be declared Nisan, namely on the thirtieth of Adar, which was already fit to be the first of Nisan, at which point the year may no longer be intercalated - this is what is meant by "he intercalated Nisan in Nisan." Second, he intercalated because of tumah, since they had not yet had enough time to become ritually pure, and this is not a valid justification: the year is not intercalated on account of tumah. This, therefore, is what the Sages did not agree with him on.
"Kahal" Rather Than "Edah," "Vayishar" Rather Than "Vayitav"
Yet the Radak's question still stands: The verse says, "For the king and his officers and all the congregation had taken counsel" - so he did consult! Why, then, do the Sages say that he acted unlawfully and that they did not agree with him?
The Malbim answers: Pay close attention to the wording. "The king and his princes took counsel" - it does not say "and the Sages." "And all the assembly (kahal)" - it does not say "and the congregation (edah)." As I have explained in several places: when the elders of the congregation lead them, they are called an edah; but when the elders of the congregation are not leading them, they are called a kahal. Therefore, Scripture deliberately writes, "The king, his princes, and all the assembly took counsel." Who is missing from this picture? The Sages of Israel. From this you can understand that the matter was not done properly or with the consent of the Sages of Israel.
וַיִּישַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וּבְעֵינֵי כׇּל־הַקָּהָל׃ - And the matter was right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly.
This is also why it specifically says, "and the matter was right (vayishar)," rather than "and the matter was good (vayitav)" - for the matter was not genuinely good if the Sanhedrin did not approve it. He held a referendum, convened the general assembly, but did not consult the Sages.
And why did they not protest against him? One cannot outsmart a king. There were kings who killed the prophets, and there were those who killed the Sages - Herod killed all the Sages of Israel. With a king, one cannot speak one's mind freely, and if you attempt to nullify his words you might incite rebellion, which could serve as a pretext for the king to execute you. Certainly, according to Torah governance, this is not proper conduct - Torah governance dictates that the king is subordinate to the Sanhedrin and subordinate to the prophet. But when the king does not wish to listen, the matter remains in the category of "actions for which the Sages did not concede to him," and it is recorded to his detriment that he did something the Sages did not approve of - even though Chizkiyahu was a righteous king.
כִּי לֹא יָכְלוּ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ בָּעֵת הַהִיא כִּי הַכֹּהֲנִים לֹא־הִתְקַדְּשׁוּ לְמַדַּי וְהָעָם לֹא־נֶאֶסְפוּ לִירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - "For they could not keep it at that time, because the Kohanim had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem."
They could not celebrate the Pesach at that time in purity, because the Kohanim had not sanctified themselves "sufficiently" (lemaddai) - meaning a sufficient amount, that not enough Kohanim had sanctified themselves to offer the sacrifices, and therefore they could not conduct the Pesach properly. And with the words "and the matter pleased," Scripture adds that after they took counsel on the matter, it was pleasing in the eyes of all - and again: the king and the congregation, while the Sages of Israel are out of the picture and do not agree to this.
"And They Established a Decree" - A Royal Edict
וַיַּעֲמִידוּ דָבָר לְהַעֲבִיר קוֹל בְּכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִבְּאֵר־שֶׁבַע וְעַד־דָּן לָבוֹא לַעֲשׂוֹת פֶּסַח לַה' אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם כִּי לֹא לָרֹב עָשׂוּ כַּכָּתוּב׃ - "So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Be'er Sheva even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Pesach unto Hashem, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem; for they had not kept it in great numbers as it was written."
"So they established a decree" - they resolved to issue a proclamation throughout all Israel from Be'er Sheva to Dan. That is to say, not only in Yehudah, over which Chizkiyahu reigned, but he summoned all of Israel. "For they had not kept it in great numbers as it was written" - for a long time they had not observed Pesach as written in the Torah, and therefore it was necessary to remind them of the entire concept of Pesach, to awaken and urge them. For all the mitzvos were typically passed down from father to son, yet here, since they had not observed Pesach for many years, they had to be taught anew what Pesach was. For hundreds of years, Yarov'am ben Nevat and those who followed him had made them forget the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and they had gone exclusively after the golden calves in Dan and Beit El.
The Malbim cites the words of Rava, who feared that if Adar is intercalated at the end of Adar, people might come to treat the prohibition of chametz lightly on Pesach. Why? Because they had already begun expounding the laws of Pesach thirty days before the festival, and if they are now told that this is not Pesach but rather a month later, they might treat it dismissively. Therefore, messengers were dispatched at once, and the matter had to be expedited immediately.
And what is meant by "and they established a decree" (vaya'amidu davar)? It implies that the decision had to be enforced with authority. And rightly so, says the Malbim, for the Sages disagreed with him on this, and therefore a directive and royal edict was required - to enforce the matter and establish it by royal decree and the order of the officers.
"For They Had Not Kept It in Great Numbers" - The Consideration of Impurity and the Sages' Response
The Malbim explains Chizkiyahu's reasoning: had they not intercalated the year and had celebrated the first Pesach in ritual impurity, only a few of Israel would have gathered. Chizkiyahu was concerned that a minority may not offer the Pesach offering in impurity - only a majority may offer the Pesach offering in impurity. Therefore, he postponed Pesach by intercalating the year, in order to give them sufficient time to purify themselves.
Seemingly, he was correct - when only a few arrive and they are ritually impure, one cannot rely on that to offer the sacrifice in impurity, for a majority of Israel must be impure. However, the Sages said to him: You are mistaken in this matter. We do not calculate the majority relative to the entire nation of Israel, but relative to those who enter the Temple courtyard. If the majority of those who come to celebrate Pesach and enter the courtyard are impure - even if they constitute only ten percent of the Jewish people - this is considered "a majority of Israel are impure." Consequently, you did not need to intercalate the year and add a month because of impurity, and you could have celebrated Pesach in its proper time, since the majority of those who came to offer the Pesach offering were indeed impure.
The Couriers' Letters: A Call to Repentance
וַיֵּלְכוּ הָרָצִים בָּאִגְּרוֹת מִיַּד הַמֶּלֶךְ וְשָׂרָיו בְּכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה וּכְמִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ לֵאמֹר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שׁוּבוּ אֶל־ה' אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְיָשֹׁב אֶל־הַפְּלֵיטָה הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת לָכֶם מִכַּף מַלְכֵי אַשּׁוּר׃ - "So the couriers went with the letters from the hand of the king and his officers throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the king's command, saying: 'Children of Israel, return to Hashem, the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisrael, and He will return to the remnant of you that escaped the hand of the kings of Assyria.'"
The couriers ran with the letters sent by the king to awaken the people to come and offer the Pesach sacrifice. And the content of the letter was: "Children of Israel, return to Hashem, the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisrael" - and if you return to Him, He too will return to the remnant that remains for you from the hand of the kings of Assyria, to assist you. The Malbim explains: He is telling them to repent, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, will not destroy the rest of the remnant, but rather will protect those who remain through individual Divine Providence.
וְאַל־תִּהְיוּ כַּאֲבוֹתֵיכֶם וְכַאֲחֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ בַּה' אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם וַיִּתְּנֵם לְשַׁמָּה כַּאֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם רֹאִים׃ - "And do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who trespassed against Hashem, the God of their fathers, so that He delivered them to desolation, as you see."
"To desolation" (*le-shammah*) - related to *shemamah*, ruin and abandonment. Do not be like your fathers who were unfaithful, whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered them to desolation - and this came about through Divine Providence, as Scripture says, "Were it not that their Rock had sold them, and Hashem had delivered them up." The exile came through Providence, because your fathers and brothers had acted treacherously against Hashem, the God of their fathers.
עַתָּה אַל־תַּקְשׁוּ עׇרְפְּכֶם כַּאֲבוֹתֵיכֶם תְּנוּ־יָד לַה' וּבֹאוּ לְמִקְדָּשׁוֹ אֲשֶׁר הִקְדִּישׁ לְעוֹלָם וְעִבְדוּ אֶת־ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְיָשֹׁב מִכֶּם חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ׃ - "Now do not stiffen your neck as your fathers did; give your hand to Hashem and come to His Sanctuary which He has sanctified forever, and serve Hashem your God, that the fury of His wrath may turn away from you."
"Stiffening the neck" is a vivid figure of speech: it is as though a person has an iron sinew in the back of his neck, so that when someone calls to him from behind, warning him that he is walking along a perilous path and about to fall, he refuses to turn his neck to listen to the caller. His neck is like solid concrete; he will not turn his head to see who is calling out or warning him. Such were their fathers, to whom prophets were sent early and late, yet in the end they did not repent.
"Give your hand to Hashem" - the Metzudat David explains: like one who shakes hands to seal an obligation. Of course, this is a metaphor, for how could one literally shake hands with the Almighty? Rather, just as a person binds himself to a solemn commitment, so must you commit yourselves to serve Hashem.
The Malbim adds: You ought at least to have fear of punishment. For what is he reminding them of? Look and see that your fathers were exiled - and that is precisely what awaits you if you do not mend your ways. And even though this giving of the hand is on a lower level, born of fear of punishment rather than love, and ostensibly an incomplete repentance - nevertheless, this alone will suffice to turn away His fierce wrath from you. The punishment arrived through Providence, and just as it arrived through Providence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, removes it through Providence because you repented. Even a lower form of repentance motivated by fear has the power to turn away divine wrath.
Repentance Out of Love - and What It Accomplishes
כִּי בְשׁוּבְכֶם עַל־ה' אֲחֵיכֶם וּבְנֵיכֶם לְרַחֲמִים לִפְנֵי שׁוֹבֵיהֶם וְלָשׁוּב לָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת כִּי־חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְלֹא־יָסִיר פָּנִים מִכֶּם אִם־תָּשׁוּבוּ אֵלָיו׃ - "For when you return to Hashem, your brothers and your children will find compassion before their captors and return to this land; for Hashem your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him."
Here he goes further and tells them: If you advance to the higher level of repentance out of love, it will have the power even to rectify the past, and consequently the Holy One, blessed be He, will extend His lovingkindness even to those who have already been exiled. Those exiles are currently enduring a providential punishment, for Hashem exiled them through full Divine Providence because of their evil deeds - yet now He will show them mercy in two respects.
The first respect: "compassion before their captors." Even within exile itself there are vast differences. The Holy One, blessed be He, can orchestrate an exile like that of America today, or He can orchestrate an exile like that of Germany during World War II. Both are exile - yet the entire difference lies in what kind of exile it is. And He will grant them compassion before their captors.
The second aspect: "And to return to this land" - that He will have mercy on them to return as well, and will bring back the remnant of the survivors in exile, for Hashem your God is gracious and merciful, and His mercy will be aroused to return even the exiles.
"And He will not turn His face away from you" - turning away the face means turning one's back, or in the words of the Metzudat David: leaving them to mere chance, as in "And I will surely hide My face from them," leaving them subject to circumstance. When you return to Him out of love: 1) He will not exile you; 2) those who have already been exiled He will cause to find mercy before their captors; 3) He will even bring them back.
Mocking and Scoffing - and the Sealing of the Decree
וַיִּהְיוּ הָרָצִים עֹבְרִים מֵעִיר לָעִיר בְּאֶרֶץ־אֶפְרַיִם וּמְנַשֶּׁה וְעַד־זְבֻלוּן וַיִּהְיוּ מַשְׂחִיקִים עֲלֵיהֶם וּמַלְעִגִים בָּם׃ - "So the couriers passed from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them."
How painful it is to read these verses, yet they remind us that we are descendants of that ancient Jewish nation and that human nature has not changed. If someone today tries to inspire people through the media, we all know what the reactions will be. Do not be surprised - it has happened before throughout history. Here, messengers try to speak words of encouragement and spiritual awakening to them, and they turn them into an object of laughter and mockery, wicked and sinful.
The Malbim notes that at this moment, the decree of exile was sealed upon the northern tribes. Why? Because until now they could still claim, "I was coerced." But now Hezekiah sent them persuasive and sensible words: come, mend your ways, I am giving you the opportunity to make the pilgrimage, the roads are open, do not refuse - and for this refusal, there was no longer any excuse.
On the other hand, perhaps there is a merit to be found in their defense: they were accustomed to this from their fathers and grandfathers; they did not know what Pesach was and had no concept of the Beit HaMikdash. Jeroboam son of Nebat had drilled into their minds that they did not need any of these things, having provided golden calves instead, and for generations they had walked along this corrupt path. To come and speak to descendants, to great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons, about the service of Hashem which they had not heard about for centuries - that is extraordinarily difficult. In any case, we see that such was the reality, and the majority remained unconvinced.
אַךְ־אֲנָשִׁים מֵאָשֵׁר וּמְנַשֶּׁה וּמִזְּבֻלוּן נִכְנְעוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ לִירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - "Nevertheless, some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem."
Despite all this, there were individuals from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun who humbled themselves and came - only isolated individuals, the Malbim notes. Furthermore, they came out of fear of punishment rather than awe of God's majesty: because they were told, "Do not be like your fathers," who acted treacherously against Hashem and whom He exiled, and it was out of this fear that they came.
גַּם בִּיהוּדָה הָיְתָה יַד הָאֱלֹהִים לָתֵת לָהֶם לֵב אֶחָד לַעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַשָּׂרִים בִּדְבַר ה'׃ - "Also in Judah the hand of God was present to give them one heart to perform the commandment of the king and the princes, by the word of Hashem."
In Judah, too, divine assistance was needed, for they also had turned away from Hashem in the days of Ahaz. Not all kings of Judah were righteous, and Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, had shut the doors of the Beit HaMikdash and the doors of the study halls, not allowing them to engage in Torah. Despite all this, in the merit of Hezekiah, they were granted one heart to carry out the commandment of the king and the princes by the word of Hashem.
In summary: King Hezekiah was aroused to observe Pesach after generations of neglect, sending letters throughout all of Israel and Judah. He intercalated the year to postpone Pesach to the second month due to ritual impurity, thereby intercalating Nisan during Nisan - an act for which the Sages did not concur with him, as hinted by the precise wording of the verse: "the king, his princes, and the entire congregation" rather than "the Edah," and "it was pleasing" (vayashar) rather than "it was good" (vayitav). In his letters, he called upon the people to return to Hashem, not to be stiff-necked, and to submit to Hashem, promising that even repentance out of fear would remove divine wrath, while repentance out of love would arouse mercy even for the exiles and bring them back to their land. Yet most of the northern tribes laughed and mocked the couriers, thereby sealing their decree of exile - only isolated individuals from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem, while in Judah the hand of God granted them one heart to fulfill the word of Hashem.