Chapter 30 of Divrei HaYamim II marks the climax of Chizkiyahu's enterprise: following the purification of the Mikdash and the restoration of the Avodah, Chizkiyahu assembled all of Israel and Yehudah to celebrate Pesach in Yerushalayim. In this part of the chapter, we enter into the celebration of the Pesach itself - the removal of the idolatrous altars, the slaughter of the Pesach offering, the sacred work performed by the Levi'im, eating the Pesach in ritual impurity, Chizkiyahu's prayer, and the seven additional days of celebration added to the festival. We will follow the order of the pesukim primarily in light of the commentary of the Malbim, as well as the commentary attributed to Rashi, the Metzudos, Radak, and Ibn Ezra.
וַיֵּאָסְפוּ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם עַם רָב לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת חַג הַמַּצּוֹת בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי קָהָל לָרֹב מְאֹד׃ וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיָּסִירוּ אֶת הַמִּזְבְּחוֹת אֲשֶׁר בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם וְאֵת כָּל הַמְקַטְּרוֹת הֵסִירוּ וַיַּשְׁלִיכוּ לְנַחַל קִדְרוֹן׃ - "A vast multitude gathered in Yerushalayim to celebrate the Festival of Matzot in the second month, an exceedingly large assembly. They arose and removed the altars that were in Yerushalayim, and all the incense altars they removed and cast into the Kidron Valley."
The people gathered in Yerushalayim to observe the Festival of Matzot in the second month. However we explain it: whether it means he intercalated the year and this was an intercalated month of Nisan, or it means the month of Iyar and thus Pesach Sheni. At this stage, they arose and removed the altars and incense sites - those altars and places that had been designated for burning incense to idolatry - and cast everything outside Yerushalayim, into the Kidron Valley.
Why did they do this specifically now? The Malbim explains: because one who feeds the Pesach sacrifice to an apostate who worships idols is liable to lashes. "No stranger shall eat of it" - and the Targum translates: "And no Israelite who has apostatized," meaning an Israelite who turned to idolatry. Thus, an apostate Jew is also considered a "stranger" in this regard. Therefore, it was essential to eradicate all forms of idolatry from the people of Israel, so that they would no longer have the status of apostates to idolatry, and would then be permitted to eat the Pesach offering.
וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ הַפֶּסַח בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם נִכְלְמוּ וַיִּתְקַדְּשׁוּ וַיָּבִיאוּ עֹלוֹת בֵּית יְהוָה׃ - "They slaughtered the Pesach offering on the fourteenth day of the second month; and the Kohanim and the Levi'im were ashamed, and they sanctified themselves and brought burnt-offerings to the House of the Lord."
Why were they ashamed? The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: because they had delayed in sanctifying themselves. As we saw earlier, the Kohanim were not quick to sanctify themselves; the Levi'im sanctified themselves more promptly, while the Kohanim lagged behind, and therefore delayed in arriving until now. And what caused this delay? They did not believe that this was real: after all, Achaz had prevented anyone from ascending and offering sacrifices in the Beis HaMikdash for decades, and just yesterday Achaz was worshiping idols - yet here his son Chizkiyahu, in his very first year and right in the first month, calls upon everyone to come and offer sacrifices. "What, suddenly we are needed, after so many years of doing nothing?" They assumed it would take a long time to heal all the spiritual damage wrought by Achaz, and did not believe everything could happen immediately. Therefore, they were sluggish and remiss in coming. The same was true of the rest of Yehudah before them, whom Achaz had neglected and prevented from coming to offer sacrifices.
When the Kohanim arrived and investigated the matter, it became clear to them that Chizkiyahu had indeed succeeded in purifying the Beis HaMikdash, preparing the altar, and properly setting everything up for the offerings. Only then did they realize that everything had been restored here purely for the sake of Heaven, which led to their feeling of shame - and they immediately came and sanctified themselves. And the burnt-offerings they brought, says the Metzudas David, were meant to appease Hashem for having delayed their sanctification, which ultimately necessitated intercalating the year.
וַיַּעַמְדוּ עַל עָמְדָם כְּמִשְׁפָּטָם כְּתוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים הַכֹּהֲנִים זֹרְקִים אֶת הַדָּם מִיַּד הַלְוִיִּם׃ - "And they stood in their place according to their custom, according to the Torah of Moshe, the man of God; the Kohanim dashed the blood from the hand of the Levi'im."
The Metzudas David offers a wonderful explanation here: the verse emphasizes the Levi'im. Since it says that the Kohanim dashed the blood received from the hand of the Levi'im, Scripture comes to stress that the Levi'im stood in their station and did not carry the blood. The explanation is as follows: the owner of an offering is qualified to perform slaughter (shechitah), and even a non-Kohen is fit to slaughter, so the Israelites themselves could have slaughtered. In practice, they did not slaughter because they had not sanctified themselves, so it was the Levi'im - who had already sanctified themselves beforehand - who did the slaughtering. The Levi'im assisted here and served as the right hand of the Kohanim in offering the sacrifice, since the Kohanim were late in sanctifying themselves. Yet in their assistance to the Kohanim, they merely handed the blood to them - for conveying the blood is strictly among the services of the Kohanim, and a Levi is forbidden to carry the blood.
There are four services in a sacrificial offering: slaughtering (shechitah), receiving the blood (kabbalah), conveying the blood (holachah), and sprinkling the blood on the Altar (zerikah). From kabbalah onward, it is strictly the service of the Kohanim - "and the Kohanim shall take the blood." Therefore, the Levi'im could not have conveyed the blood; that is not the task of the Levi'im, but of the Kohanim alone. This is precisely what the verse emphasizes: "And they stood in their place according to their custom, according to the Torah of Moshe the man of God" - they indeed received the blood at the time of slaughter, or took it as the Kohanim handed it to them, but they did not convey it. They merely assisted by holding the vessel containing the blood in their hands until the Kohen took it and sprinkled it upon the Altar; acting, as it were, like a shelf - you hand it to me and I hold it. A Levi is permitted to hold the blood, but he is not permitted to convey it. "And the Kohanim sprinkled the blood from the hand of the Levi'im" - they took it from their hands and sprinkled it.
כִּי רַבַּת בַּקָּהָל אֲשֶׁר לֹא הִתְקַדָּשׁוּ וְהַלְוִיִּם עַל שְׁחִיטַת הַפְּסָחִים לְכֹל לֹא טָהוֹר לְהַקְדִּישׁ לַיהוָה׃ - "For there were many in the congregation who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover offerings for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to Hashem."
Here the Malbim explains why the Kohanim sprinkled the blood from the hands of the Levi'im, and why the Levi'im slaughtered rather than the owners: "For there were many in the congregation who had not sanctified themselves" - most of the Israelites in the assembly were not sanctified, meaning they were ritually impure, and therefore could not perform the slaughter themselves. For every person who was not ritually pure, a Levi took his place to perform the slaughter, "to sanctify to Hashem" - so that the sprinkling of the blood would be done in purity. This is the meaning of "for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to Hashem": one who is ritually impure cannot sanctify to Hashem, and therefore the Levi'im specifically did this; they received the blood, and afterward it was sprinkled in purity, while the Israelites did not perform the slaughter because they were impure.
Even though the owners ate the offering in a state of ritual impurity - for the halachic rule of the Pesach offering is that when brought in impurity, it may also be eaten in impurity, and thus there was no impediment to eating it in impurity - the sanctification of the sprinkling of the blood was nonetheless performed in purity. And now the text explains how they brought and ate the Pesach offering in a state of impurity.
כִּי מַרְבִּית הָעָם רַבַּת מֵאֶפְרַיִם וּמְנַשֶּׁה יִשָּׂשכָר וּזְבֻלוּן לֹא הִטֶּהָרוּ כִּי אָכְלוּ אֶת הַפֶּסַח בְּלֹא כַכָּתוּב כִּי הִתְפַּלֵּל יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ עֲלֵיהֶם לֵאמֹר יְהוָה הַטּוֹב יְכַפֵּר בְּעַד׃ - "For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover offering otherwise than as written. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: 'May Hashem Who is good grant atonement for...'"
"Had not cleansed themselves" - they had not had enough time to purify themselves, and remained ritually impure. And when the majority of the congregation is impure, the Malbim explains, the Pesach offering is brought in impurity; therefore they ate the Pesach "otherwise than as written" - not in the fundamentally ideal manner of eating the Pesach, which is in purity, but under circumstances of no choice, eating it in impurity. In the words of the Radak: not according to its proper ordinance. For under normal circumstances, an impure person who eats sacrificial meat incurs karet (spiritual excision) - "Any man of all your offspring... having his uncleanness upon him, shall be cut off" - and what is written "comes near," Chazal interpret as referring to eating, since mere touch does not incur karet. Ordinarily, these people would ostensibly have been liable to karet, but because there was no alternative and they were impure, they observed the Pesach in impurity, in accordance with the halachah that the Pesach offering is brought in impurity when the majority of the Jewish people are impure.
What is the meaning of "For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: 'May Hashem Who is good grant atonement for'"? The verse appears truncated - it should have said "grant atonement for you" or "for His people Israel." Incidentally, this is the origin of the phrase found so frequently in rabbinic literature: "May Hashem Who is good grant atonement." Some say that this is an elliptical verse (mikra katzer), and this is the view of Ibn Ezra: May Hashem Who is good grant atonement for those who ate the Pesach offering in impurity rather than in the purity of the Sanctuary - and this is what Chizkiyahu prayed for. On the other hand, others explain that the end of this verse connects directly with the beginning of the next verse:
כָּל לְבָבוֹ הֵכִין לִדְרוֹשׁ הָאֱלֹהִים יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתָיו וְלֹא כְּטָהֳרַת הַקֹּדֶשׁ׃ - "Everyone who has set his heart to seek God, Hashem, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the purification of the Sanctuary."
According to this, the reading is: "May Hashem Who is good grant atonement for everyone who has set his heart to seek God" - the Holy One, blessed be He, will grant atonement for His people Israel, who, although in practice sacrificed in impurity, properly prepared their hearts. The Malbim explains: even though the offering was brought "not according to the purification of the Sanctuary," that is, not as ideally prescribed lechatchilah, Hashem looks upon his prepared heart. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not, as it were, gaze upon his physical deficiency of being bodily impure, but upon his heart; though bodily impure, his heart was pure and burning with a deep desire to sacrifice to Hashem. Therefore, Hashem will grant him atonement for having eaten the Pesach offering in impurity.
It should be noted that according to the simple meaning of the text, and following the view of Ibn Ezra, this verse refers not to the people, but to Chizkiyahu himself: Chizkiyahu set his whole heart to seek God, Hashem, the God of his fathers, and "not according to the purification of the Sanctuary" - meaning that although it was through him that the Pesach offerings were eaten without the purity proper to the Sanctuary, nevertheless it was a temporary ruling (hora'at sha'ah), because he had directed his heart for the sake of Hashem. According to this approach, "May Hashem Who is good grant atonement for [them]" is the conclusion of the previous verse.
וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֶל יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ וַיִּרְפָּא אֶת הָעָם׃ - And the Lord listened to Chizkiyahu and healed the people.
Hashem listened to Chizkiyahu and forgave them, for offering sacrifices in a state of ritual impurity is certainly not an ideal situation (lechatchilah). And "healed" refers here to atonement, as explained by Metzudat Tzion and Radak: sin is an illness of the soul; a person who sins is a sick person, and atonement is considered healing. As the verse states, "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You" - I am in need of repentance; my soul is sick, for I have sinned against You.
The Malbim notes: from the plain meaning of the verse, it appears that the prayer was for the sin committed by the people in not sanctifying themselves sufficiently. That is, Chizkiyahu prayed that Hashem forgive them, since they should have sanctified themselves beforehand, and had they done so, they would not have arrived at this situation; rather, many of them - "a sufficiency of them" - had not sanctified themselves, and for this he sought atonement. But the Malbim questions this, since it seems to contradict the words of Chazal. Chazal state that Chizkiyahu prayed for himself: for having intercalated the year unlawfully, or for shifting them to Pesach Sheni - for only a portion of the congregation shifts to Pesach Sheni, not the entire congregation, yet he went and shifted the entire congregation to Pesach Sheni. If so, Chazal seemingly contradict the plain reading of the verses, according to which he prayed on behalf of the congregation for having sacrificed in ritual impurity.
The Malbim resolves this: in truth, both explanations are one and the same. For if everyone had purified themselves, he would not have needed to pray for himself for intercalating on account of impurity, because there would not have been an issue of impurity at all. The entire prohibition is that "we do not intercalate the year on account of impurity," and here there was an issue of impurity. As for the intercalation itself, after the fact (bedi'avad), if they intercalated on account of impurity, the action stands: "if he intercalated, the year is intercalated"; likewise, if he intercalated on the thirtieth day of Adar, it is intercalated and sanctified, as Rav Nachman states there. If so, from that perspective there was no need for prayer, as implied by the Baraita: if they intercalated it on account of impurity, Rabbi Shimon says it is intercalated. Why, then, did he plead for mercy? For himself - because he intercalated Nisan in Nisan, and Nisan may not be intercalated, which is a forbidden act. For this he sought mercy for himself. Thus, it aligns with what Chazal said, that he sought mercy for intercalating the year or for shifting them to Pesach Sheni.
The Malbim cites the Rambam, who writes in Hilchot Bi'at Mikdash both reasons: that he sought mercy for intercalating on account of impurity, and for intercalating on the thirtieth day of Adar, which was already fit to be Nisan - for neither reason is justified, as we do not intercalate on account of impurity, nor do we intercalate on a day already fit to be Nisan. The Kesef Mishneh asks: since bedi'avad the year is intercalated, why did he need to seek mercy for himself? He answers: because ultimately the matter was revealed retrospectively - you intercalated on account of impurity, why? So that they would have enough time to purify themselves; yet in the end they still performed the Pesach in impurity, so what was gained? The entire reason you took an improper measure, intercalating on account of impurity, was so they would be pure, and yet in the end, during the intercalated time, they performed the Pesach in impurity. It turned out that nothing was gained from it, and it was revealed retroactively that he intercalated unlawfully without any benefit - therefore, he needed to pray for himself as well.
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּמְצְאִים בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם אֶת חַג הַמַּצּוֹת שִׁבְעַת יָמִים בְּשִׂמְחָה גְדוֹלָה וּמְהַלְלִים לַיהוָה יוֹם בְּיוֹם הַלְוִיִּם וְהַכֹּהֲנִים בִּכְלֵי עֹז לַיהוָה׃ - And the Children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Matzot for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, with instruments of might to the Lord.
The people of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Matzot for seven days with great joy, and in addition, the Levites and priests praised Hashem day by day with instruments of might. "Instruments of might" refers to the trumpets, and the Malbim explains that this is the law - to blow the trumpets over the sacrifices during the festivals, while the Levites sing. Radak interprets "with instruments of might" along the lines of the verse regarding David, "dancing with all his might," meaning dancing and rejoicing in honor of the Creator, blessed be He.
וַיְדַבֵּר יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ עַל לֵב כָּל הַלְוִיִּם הַמַּשְׂכִּילִים שֵׂכֶל טוֹב לַיהוָה וַיֹּאכְלוּ אֶת הַמּוֹעֵד שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים מְזַבְּחִים זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִים וּמִתְוַדִּים לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם׃ - And Chizkiyahu spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who were well-skilled in the service of the Lord, and they ate the festival offerings throughout the seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and confessing to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
"And Chizkiyahu spoke to the heart" - Metzudat David explains: words acceptable to the heart, to instill love of Hashem into their hearts; and "good understanding for Hashem" refers to words that inspire divine service. Pseudo-Rashi explains that "who showed good understanding" refers to the craft of song, for the craft of song is called understanding (haskalah), as it is written, "And they cast lots, ward against ward, small as well as great, teacher with student" - "teacher" (mevin) means one who has understanding (maskil), and all of them knew how to sing to Hashem. Chizkiyahu came and spoke words of comfort and encouragement to their hearts, so that they would continue and strengthen themselves to sing to Hashem with fine skill.
"And they ate the festival" - what did they eat? Radak explains: the festival sacrifices; that is, they ate the festival sacrifices for seven days. The Malbim cites the Rambam, noting that there is a mitzvah to gladden the Levite with festival peace offerings (shalmei simchah) more than anyone else, because the Levite has no portion or inheritance in meat - he does not receive from the sacrifices offered in the Beit HaMikdash, and the foreleg, cheeks, and abomasum belong to the kohanim. Where, then, would the Levite get meat? Therefore, there is a mitzvah to gladden him with shalmei simchah more than all others. Consequently, it says here, "and they ate the festival," directly following "and Chizkiyahu spoke encouragingly to all the Levites," showing that there is a special imperative to gladden the Levites with meat.
And what is "and confessing to the Lord, the God of their fathers"? The Malbim cites Pseudo-Rashi, who explains that this refers to a thanksgiving offering (todah) - that they gave thanks to Hashem for the miracle He performed for them, since a thanksgiving offering is brought for a miracle. Yet here too the Malbim raises a question, just as above: how could they bring a thanksgiving offering on Pesach, given that a todah includes leavened loaves (chametz), and a todah is never offered on Pesach? One would have to say, perforce, that this commentary follows the view that this was Pesach Sheni, in which case there is no difficulty, as on Pesach Sheni chametz and matzah may be with him in the house. But according to what we explained - that this was not Pesach Sheni, but rather the first Pesach with the year having been intercalated - how are we to interpret "mitvadim"? Rather, "mitvadim" does not derive from the todah offering, but from viduy, confession: they confessed their sins. And this is the meaning of "sacrificing peace offerings and confessing to the Lord, the God of their fathers."
וַיִּוָּעֲצוּ כָּל הַקָּהָל לַעֲשׂוֹת שִׁבְעַת יָמִים אֲחֵרִים וַיַּעֲשׂוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים שִׂמְחָה׃ - And the entire assembly took counsel to celebrate another seven days, and they celebrated seven days of rejoicing.
The entire assembly took counsel to add another seven days of rejoicing. The Malbim explains: the first seven days were the joy of the festival, and one may not mix one celebration with another (ein me'arvin simchah b'simchah). Therefore, the celebration of the rededication of the Beit HaMikdash - rejoicing over the fact that they were now returning to perform the avodah before Hashem - was held over seven separate days. And the assembly deliberated and agreed upon this matter.
כִּי חִזְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה הֵרִים לַקָּהָל אֶלֶף פָּרִים וְשִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים צֹאן וְהַשָּׂרִים הֵרִימוּ לַקָּהָל פָּרִים אֶלֶף וְצֹאן עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים וַיִּתְקַדְּשׁוּ כֹהֲנִים לָרֹב׃ - For Chizkiyahu king of Yehudah donated to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the princes donated to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, and kohanim consecrated themselves in abundance.
Chizkiyahu donated from his private flocks to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the princes donated a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. All this explains, says the Metzudat David, where all this meat came from to feed the entire nation. After all, the people were sitting and rejoicing for fourteen full days; if a person does not work, he has nothing to eat. And this was not like today, where one might live off his savings; back then there was no such thing as savings, and people lived hand to mouth. But come and see: Chizkiyahu and the princes provided thousands of cattle and sheep, and the kohanim were numerous; they purified themselves and offered them as shelamim (peace-offerings), and the assembly ate the meat.
וַיִּשְׂמְחוּ כָּל קְהַל יְהוּדָה וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וְכָל הַקָּהָל הַבָּאִים מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְהַגֵּרִים הַבָּאִים מֵאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַיּוֹשְׁבִים בִּיהוּדָה׃ - And all the assembly of Yehudah rejoiced, along with the kohanim and the Levi'im, and the entire assembly that came from Yisrael, and the converts who came from the land of Yisrael, and those who dwelt in Yehudah.
And who are "the converts who came from the land of Yisrael"? Those from among the nations who had converted. We see, then, that at that time converts also came to join the Jewish people.
וַתְּהִי שִׂמְחָה גְדוֹלָה בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם כִּי מִימֵי שְׁלֹמֹה בֶן דָּוִיד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא כָזֹאת בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם׃ - And there was great joy in Yerushalayim, for since the days of Shlomo son of David, king of Yisrael, there was nothing like this in Yerushalayim.
The commentary attributed to Rashi notes: to be sure, if we measure by the number of people, more people presumably came to Yerushalayim in the days of Shlomo; yet such joy had not occurred since the days of Shlomo. Why? Because in Shlomo's time they were still accustomed to the service of Hashem; there had been no interruption, and it was not a novelty to them. But now, those who lived in the region of Shomron had not offered the Pesach sacrifices nor observed anything for hundreds of years, and those in Yehudah, throughout the reign of the wicked Achaz - who locked the doors of the Beit HaMikdash and the Beit Midrash - had not made the pilgrimage, offered sacrifices, or sacrificed the Pesach. Therefore, there was immense joy that they were now privileged to perform what had not been done for hundreds of years. For this reason, the seven days of the Festival of Matzot felt insufficient to them, and they had to add another seven days for the great joy of finally returning to renew the avodah of the House of Hashem.
The Malbim explains "for since the days of Shlomo son of David there was nothing like this" as referring to unity: the era of Shlomo was the last period in which unity still prevailed, when all the tribes ascended to celebrate Pesach in Yerushalayim. Ever since the kingdom divided, even when they celebrated Pesach in Yerushalayim, it was only the portion of Yehudah and Binyamin, and not the region of Shomron.
וַיָּקֻמוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם וַיְבָרְכוּ אֶת הָעָם וַיִּשָּׁמַע בְּקוֹלָם וַתָּבוֹא תְפִלָּתָם לִמְעוֹן קָדְשׁוֹ לַשָּׁמָיִם׃ - Then the kohanim and the Levi'im arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to His holy abode, to heaven.
The Kohanim and the Levi'im arose and blessed the people. The Malbim explains that the clauses of the verse are parallel, the first part corresponding to the second: "And their voice was heard" corresponds to "His holy habitation"; "and their prayer came" corresponds to "to heaven." As it says, "And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel" - through their blessings, the Kohanim cause Hashem's Name to rest upon the people of Israel, so that the Shechinah will be permanently established in His holy habitation, namely the Beit HaMikdash. And regarding everything concerning His holy habitation, where they plead for Hashem to cause His Shechinah to dwell - their voice was heard. Then Hashem placed His Name upon them, "and their prayer came to heaven," and Hashem blessed His people, as it is written, "and I will bless them."
Chizkiyahu's Pesach was held under great pressure and not according to the full purity of the Sanctuary: the Kohanim were slow to sanctify themselves and were humiliated, most of the congregation was ritually impure, the Levi'im slaughtered and handed over the blood while the Kohanim sprinkled it, and the Pesach offering was eaten in a state of impurity, "not as written." Yet despite this, Hashem listened to Chizkiyahu and healed the people, for "everyone had set his heart to seek God" - for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not look at physical shortcomings, but at the prepared heart. Chizkiyahu also pleaded for mercy for himself, for intercalating the year inappropriately, and the people were not deprived of rejoicing: seven days of the festival followed by another seven days celebrating the renewal of the Temple service, abundant meat provided by the king and the princes, converts joining in, and joy such as had not been seen since the days of Shlomo - the joy of returning to the service of Hashem after centuries of interruption, sealed with the Kohanim's blessing and a prayer that ascended to His holy habitation in heaven.