Chapter 35 of Divrei HaYamim II details the great Pesach offering that King Yoshiyahu celebrated together with all his people. After the previous chapter described the renewal of the covenant and the eradication of idolatry, this chapter arrives to detail the order of the service: stationing the Kohanim and Levites at their watches, the hiding away of the Aron, donating the Pesach offerings from the property of the king and the officers, the procedure for the slaughter and sprinkling of the blood, the preparation and cooking, and finally the monumental testimony: "No Pesach like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Shmuel the prophet."
וַיַּעַשׂ יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם פֶּסַח לַיהֹוָה וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ הַפֶּסַח בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן׃ - Yoshiyahu kept a Pesach to Hashem in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Pesach offering on the fourteenth day of the first month.
Why does Scripture need to emphasize, "Yoshiyahu kept a Pesach to Hashem in Jerusalem"? Because all the wicked kings of Yehudah did not offer the Pesach according to its proper halachic law; therefore, the verse comes to inform us that Yoshiyahu renewed and reinforced the observance of the Korban Pesach.
And why did it need to emphasize, "on the fourteenth day of the first month" - does Pesach have any other date? The Metzudat David explains: Regarding Chizkiyahu, it was stated that he celebrated Pesach in the second month (as we have already cited two explanations for that), and therefore here Scripture emphasizes that this Pesach was observed according to its proper regulation, in the first month.
וַיַּעֲמֵד הַכֹּהֲנִים עַל־מִשְׁמְרוֹתָם וַיְחַזְּקֵם לַעֲבוֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - He stationed the Kohanim at their posts, and encouraged them for the service of the House of Hashem.
Yoshiyahu stationed each Kohen at his watch, urging and encouraging them to perform the service of the House of Hashem properly and fittingly.
וַיֹּאמֶר לַלְוִיִּם הַמְּבִינִים לְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל הַקְּדוֹשִׁים לַיהֹוָה תְּנוּ אֶת־אֲרוֹן־הַקֹּדֶשׁ בַּבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה שְׁלֹמֹה בֶן־דָּוִיד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵין־לָכֶם מַשָּׂא בַּכָּתֵף עַתָּה עִבְדוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְאֵת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to Hashem: "Place the holy Ark into the House that Shlomo son of David, king of Israel, built; you have no more burden upon your shoulders. Now serve Hashem your God and His people Israel."
"The Levites who taught" - the intention here, as Metzudat David explains, is to the Kohanim of the tribe of Levi, who teach understanding and Torah to the people of Israel.
"Place the holy Ark in the House that Solomon built" - where had the Ark been until now, that it needed to be placed there now? Radak writes that perhaps Menashe had removed it from there when he introduced the idol into the House of God; yet he wonders greatly about this: Menashe, after all, repented toward the end of his days and removed the image from the House of the Lord - it would stand to reason that he would have returned the Ark to its place then.
Rather, there is the explanation of Chazal: Yoshiyahu commanded to hide the Ark so that it would not go into exile with the exiles. There was a stone in the Holy of Holies, in its western part, upon which the Ark rested, and before it were the jar of manna and the staff of Aharon. When Solomon built the Temple, he knew that it was destined to be destroyed, so he built a place within it to conceal the Ark down below in deep, winding hidden chambers - underground tunnels - so that if they should, Heaven forbid, have to go into exile, they could hide the Ark there. That stone served as a cover for that place. Yoshiyahu gave the command, and they hid the Ark in that very place that Solomon had built, as it is said, "Place the holy Ark," and they hid alongside it the staff of Aharon, the jar of manna, and the anointing oil.
According to this, "in the House that Solomon built" does not refer to the Temple proper, but rather to the tunnels within the House that Solomon built. The Ark was already there; Yoshiyahu merely commanded that it be concealed in the underground chambers, lest a situation arise in which the enemies plunder it, or they are forced to go into exile with it - which is not fitting for the honor of the Ark of the House of the Lord - or that if they were to go into exile with it, the nations would come and capture it.
What did the king mean when he said, "You have no burden on your shoulders"? The Malbim explains: you do not have a burden on your shoulders as was the case in the wilderness, where the service of the Levites was that "the service of the sanctuary was upon them; they carried it on the shoulder." Now you have no burden on your shoulders; rather, all you must do is serve the Lord and His people in the Temple service. At first glance, this is puzzling: did this change take place only today? After all, ever since they entered the Land, they no longer carried it on their shoulders!
Metzudat David offers an additional explanation: after you now carry the Ark on your shoulders to place it in its designated spot, from now on you will no longer have any labor of carrying on your shoulders, and you will be free for the service of the Lord concerning the sacrifices. That is, you have only this single task right now, and after it there will be no further carrying.
And the commentary attributed to Rashi explains: the king is saying to them, as it were, that you bear no toil of carrying any of the vessels of the House of the Lord on your shoulders, such that you could claim you are unavailable for the service of the Lord because of strenuous labor like that of the wilderness, when the Levites bore the Ark. And since you have no burden on your shoulders, what remains for you? Only to serve the Lord your God and His people Israel, to offer the sacrifices and perform the service properly. This is the preface to his request: you are available, all your time is in your hands, you have no heavy transport labor - therefore, focus now on the service of the Pesach offering. For the service of the Pesach is demanding in its own right: the slaughtering, the flaying, cleaning the innards, and the like - labor that is not simple at all.
וְהָכִינוּ לְבֵית־אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם כְּמַחְלְקוֹתֵיכֶם בִּכְתָב דָּוִיד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבְמִכְתַּב שְׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ׃ - "Prepare yourselves according to your ancestral houses, by your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the document of Solomon his son."
Prepare yourselves, each to his father's house, according to how King David divided the watches, and later in the era of Solomon - you are to serve according to those very divisions.
וְעִמְדוּ בַקֹּדֶשׁ לִפְלֻגּוֹת בֵּית הָאָבוֹת לַאֲחֵיכֶם בְּנֵי הָעָם וַחֲלֻקַּת בֵּית־אָב לַלְוִיִּם׃ - "And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the ancestral houses of your brethren, the people, and the division of an ancestral house for the Levites."
"According to the divisions [liflugot]" - from the root peleg, a division. Stand organized according to your divisions, as the Malbim explains: each ancestral house of Israel would stand, and opposite it an ancestral house of the Levites. That is, stand facing one another, with each ancestral house of the Levites preparing for the corresponding ancestral house of Israel, assisting and aiding them.
וְשַׁחֲטוּ הַפָּסַח וְהִתְקַדְּשׁוּ וְהָכִינוּ לַאֲחֵיכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת כִּדְבַר־יְהֹוָה בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה׃ - And slaughter the Passover offering, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
Slaughter the Pesach offering, and sanctify yourselves - meaning purify yourselves, and also encourage your brethren to purify themselves and offer the sacrifices, to do according to the word of Hashem through Moshe.
וַיָּרֶם יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ לִבְנֵי הָעָם צֹאן כְּבָשִׂים וּבְנֵי־עִזִּים הַכֹּל לַפְּסָחִים לְכׇל־הַנִּמְצָא לְמִסְפַּר שְׁלֹשִׁים אֶלֶף וּבָקָר שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים אֵלֶּה מֵרְכוּשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And Josiah donated to the common people, of the flock, lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand cattle; these were from the king's property.
"Vayarem" means he set aside, as in the biblical term "tarimu." For all the people present, the king set aside small livestock for the Pesach offerings, reaching thirty thousand - sheep and goats. And the cattle, which are not valid for the Pesach offering, were designated for the shalmei chagigah (festival peace-offerings), numbering three thousand.
Notice this remarkable detail: "These were from the king's property." People did not come and each bring his own sheep, as is normally expected for the Pesach offering, where participants register together and each funds it from his own pocket - rather, the king himself financed thirty thousand sheep and goats, and three thousand cattle.
וְשָׂרָיו לִנְדָבָה לָעָם לַכֹּהֲנִים וְלַלְוִיִּם הֵרִימוּ חִלְקִיָּה וּזְכַרְיָהוּ וִיחִיאֵל נְגִידֵי בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים לַכֹּהֲנִים נָתְנוּ לַפְּסָחִים אַלְפַּיִם וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת וּבָקָר שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ - And his officers donated willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites; Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the House of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred, and three hundred cattle.
The officers were the ones who stepped forward willingly among the people to do this work. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel were the overseers - rulers of the House of God - and they provided for the shifts under their supervision. They gave the Kohanim two thousand six hundred Pesach offerings and three hundred cattle - roughly the same one-tenth ratio as that of the king.
וְכׇנַנְיָהוּ וּשְׁמַעְיָהוּ וּנְתַנְאֵל אֶחָיו וַחֲשַׁבְיָהוּ וִיעִיאֵל וְיוֹזָבָד שָׂרֵי הַלְוִיִּם הֵרִימוּ לַלְוִיִּם לַפְּסָחִים חֲמֵשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וּבָקָר חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ - Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand, and five hundred cattle.
All those mentioned here were officers of the Levites, and they donated five thousand Pesach offerings and five hundred cattle to the Levites. The previous verse addressed the share of the Kohanim, and here Scripture enumerates the share of the Levites. At times Scripture speaks of the Kohanim generally as the children of Levi, or of the Levites as a collective whole, but here it treats the Levites separately and the Kohanim separately. The Malbim summarizes this division: Yoshiyahu set aside the Pesach offerings needed for the people of Israel, the officers donated and gave the Pesach offerings needed for the Kohanim, and the officers of the Levites set aside the Pesach offerings needed for the Levites.
וַתִּכּוֹן הָעֲבוֹדָה וַיַּעַמְדוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים עַל־עׇמְדָם וְהַלְוִיִּם עַל־מַחְלְקוֹתָם כְּמִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - So the service was established, and the kohanim stood at their posts and the Levi'im in their divisions, according to the king's command.
"So the service was established" - the service was set in proper order, as in the phrase "establish it on its base", fit and ready. "And the kohanim stood at their posts" - each watch (mishmar) at its duty, and likewise the Levi'im, each division of Levi'im in its designated section. And all this was in accordance with the king's command, who instructed that each division should stand on its own.
וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ הַפָּסַח וַיִּזְרְקוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים מִיָּדָם וְהַלְוִיִּם מַפְשִׁיטִים׃ - And they slaughtered the Pesach offering, and the kohanim sprinkled the blood from their hand, while the Levi'im flayed them.
The verse does not state who slaughtered, and attributes only the sprinkling of the blood to the kohanim, because as we have previously discussed: from receiving the blood onward is the service of the kohanim, whereas shechitah is valid even by a non-kohen (zar). Therefore, here the slaughtering and flaying were performed by the Levi'im, and the sprinkling - along with the receiving of the blood - by the kohanim. And this is the meaning of "from their hand": the Levi'im slaughtered with their hands, and the kohanim received the blood into a vessel and carried it to the Altar.
There are four services in a sacrifice: shechitah (slaughter), kabbalah (receiving the blood), holachah (conveying the blood), and zerikah (sprinkling). Kabbalah - receiving the blood from the animal's neck. Holachah - conveying it to the Altar. Zerikah - throwing it onto the horn of the Altar or where it is designated: some are placed above the red line (chut hasikra), some below the red line, two applications that are four, or four applications on the four horns - there were several types of blood application on the Altar.
וַיָּסִירוּ הָעֹלָה לְתִתָּם לְמִפְלַגּוֹת לְבֵית־אָבוֹת לִבְנֵי הָעָם לְהַקְרִיב לַיהֹוָה כַּכָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר מֹשֶׁה וְכֵן לַבָּקָר׃ - And they removed the burnt offering to give them according to the divisions of the ancestral houses of the common people, to offer to Hashem, as is written in the Book of Moshe; and so they did with the cattle.
The verse is difficult on its face: what burnt offering (olah) is being referred to, and why did it need to be removed? And how could an olah be given to an ancestral house of the common people - isn't an olah entirely burnt on the Altar? Furthermore, it says "to offer to Hashem", yet it is not the people who offer sacrifices, but the kohanim!
Metzudat David explains, and the Malbim follows this same approach, that the verse addresses each matter on its own, and its clauses are transposed (mesoras). "And they removed the olah" - this refers to the portion of the emurim (sacrificial fats and organs) that goes up (olah) upon the Altar; that is, they removed the emurim. "To give them according to the divisions of the ancestral houses of the common people" - this does not refer back to the olah, but rather to the Pesach offerings, which they gave to the people to eat. "To offer to Hashem" - refers back to the beginning of the verse, to the emurim, which are offered to Hashem. In this way, the verse becomes clear. "And so they did with the cattle" - they did the same with the cattle brought for the festival peace offerings (shalmei chagigah): first they removed the emurim, and then they gave the meat to their owners.
וַיְבַשְּׁלוּ הַפֶּסַח בָּאֵשׁ כַּמִּשְׁפָּט וְהַקֳּדָשִׁים בִּשְּׁלוּ בַּסִּירוֹת וּבַדְּוָדִים וּבַצֵּלָחוֹת וַיָּרִיצוּ לְכׇל־בְּנֵי הָעָם׃ - And they roasted the Pesach offering over the fire according to the ordinance, and the sacred offerings they cooked in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and rushed them to all the common people.
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains that "according to the ordinance" means roasted over fire. Radak notes that we do not find the term bishul (cooking/boiling) applied to roasting anywhere else - everywhere else "bishul" refers specifically to boiling or cooking in liquid, but here it refers to cooking that is roasting, since "bishul" is an overarching term for all forms of culinary preparation by heat, including roasting.
The Malbim, on the other hand, explains: since the flock was for the Pesach offering and the cattle were for the Chagigah offering, they roasted the Pesach over the fire and boiled the Chagigah. According to this, the verse is divided: "And they cooked the Pesach over the fire" - meaning they roasted the Pesach, "and the holy offerings they boiled in pots" - the remaining offerings that required boiling were cooked literally in liquid.
"Sirot" - pots. "Dudim" - cooking vessels, as we find with the sons of Eli, "whenever the fork brought up... he struck it into the pan or kettle," where they would grab meat even before offering the sacrifice. And "tzelachot" - this does not mean the plates we know today, but rather, as Radak explains: sirot, dudim, and tzelachot are all types of cauldrons and pots, and as proven by the plain meaning of the verse which states "and they boiled," these were all cooking vessels.
"And carried them speedily to all the lay people" - the Levites were the ones who rushed and served the portions to all of Israel. Only after they had prepared for all of Israel did the Levites prepare for themselves, and they likewise prepared for the Kohanim, who also lacked the time to prepare for themselves.
וְאַחַר הֵכִינוּ לָהֶם וְלַכֹּהֲנִים כִּי הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן בְּהַעֲלוֹת הָעוֹלָה וְהַחֲלָבִים עַד־לָיְלָה וְהַלְוִיִּם הֵכִינוּ לָהֶם וְלַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן׃ - And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the Kohanim, because the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, were busy offering up the burnt offerings and the fats until nightfall; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon.
After preparing the Pesach offerings for the people, the Levites prepared their own Pesach offerings and those of the Kohanim. The reason was that the Kohanim were preoccupied with offering up the burnt offerings and the sacrificial fats until nightfall, so the Levites prepared for them as well. They likewise prepared for those Levites who could not leave their posts - the singers and the gatekeepers - for whom they also prepared the Pesach offering.
וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִים בְּנֵי־אָסָף עַל־מַעֲמָדָם כְּמִצְוַת דָּוִיד וְאָסָף וְהֵימָן וִידֻתוּן חוֹזֵה הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִים לְשַׁעַר וָשָׁעַר אֵין לָהֶם לָסוּר מֵעַל עֲבֹדָתָם כִּי־אֲחֵיהֶם הַלְוִיִּם הֵכִינוּ לָהֶם׃ - And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were at their station according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the gatekeepers were at every gate; they did not have to depart from their service, for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.
This is what we noted: their Levite brethren also prepared for the gatekeepers, because they could not leave their posts - some were standing to sing and others were standing to guard the gates, and they were forbidden to leave their stations. The singers, the descendants of Asaph, stood at their post according to the commandment of David, who organized them into their divisions. "And Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer" - each and every one of them was a seer to the king, which is why the phrase is stated in the singular.
וַתִּכּוֹן כׇּל־עֲבוֹדַת יְהֹוָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לַעֲשׂוֹת הַפֶּסַח וְהַעֲלוֹת עֹלוֹת עַל מִזְבַּח יְהֹוָה כְּמִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ׃ - So all the service of Hashem was established on that day, to keep the Pesach and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of Hashem, according to the commandment of King Yoshiyahu.
"And all the service of Hashem was established on that day" - everything was carried out with great precision and wonderful order, both regarding the Pesach offering and regarding the burnt-offerings, as explained by the Metzudat David. And the Malbim explains: "To keep the Pesach" - this was for the needs of Israel, "and to offer burnt-offerings" - these are the fats and sacrificial portions that ascend on High and are burned on the altar.
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּמְצְאִים אֶת־הַפֶּסַח בָּעֵת הַהִיא וְאֶת־חַג הַמַּצּוֹת שִׁבְעַת יָמִים׃ - And the children of Israel who were present kept the Pesach at that time, and the Festival of Matzot for seven days.
"The Pesach and the Festival of Matzot" - this includes the fixed daily offerings, the pilgrimage burnt-offerings, and the festival peace-offerings. For the Pesach offering itself is not part of the seven days: it is brought on the fourteenth of Nisan, before the festival, and eaten on Seder night, and in addition to it there are seven days celebrated as the festival of Pesach.
וְלֹא־נַעֲשָׂה פֶסַח כָּמֹהוּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל מִימֵי שְׁמוּאֵל הַנָּבִיא וְכׇל־מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־עָשׂוּ כַּפֶּסַח אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וְכׇל־יְהוּדָה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּמְצָא וְיוֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - And no Pesach like it had been kept in Israel from the days of Shmuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Pesach as Yoshiyahu kept, with the Kohanim, the Levi'im, all Yehudah, the Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
Why does it say here "from the days of Shmuel the prophet," while in Kings it says "from the days of the Judges"? The Radak explains: Because Shmuel was a judge, when you say "from the days of Shmuel the prophet," you inherently mean the days of the Judges.
Here all the commentators confront a major difficulty: How can it be said that no Pesach like it had ever been kept? After all, there were great and righteous kings - the reign of David, the reign of Shlomo, and others - who certainly kept the Pesach in its proper manner! Especially considering that by this point, a significant portion of the Jewish people was no longer living in the Land.
The Radak explains: The meaning is that no Pesach like it had been kept where all of Israel were of one wholehearted devotion to serve Hashem. This is also described regarding that era in the Book of Shmuel: "And all the house of Israel yearned after Hashem," and "the children of Israel put away the Ba'alim." Even during the Pesach that Chizkiyahu made, many of Israel were not there; moreover, they mocked the couriers Chizkiyahu sent. We have already seen earlier that Chizkiyahu sent couriers to convince the people to come and offer the Pesach sacrifice, but not a few were so accustomed to idolatry that they despised the service of Hashem and ridiculed them. Furthermore, many of those who were in Yerushalayim were ritually impure and ate the Pesach offering in impurity. Thus, even in the days of Chizkiyahu, the Pesach did not achieve the perfection of this one, where they were on a higher level and acted with a whole heart to serve Hashem.
The Malbim cites two reasons in the name of the Abarbanel: First, that in earlier times sacrifices were consistently offered on high places (bamot), but nothing had ever been done like at this time, when all idolatry was abolished and all the bamot were eliminated. Second, that all of Israel who were present in the Land of Israel at that time gathered for it. In this respect, no Pesach possessed the distinction of this one.
The commentary attributed to Rashi likewise wonders: How is it possible that a Pesach like this was not kept throughout all the days of the Judges, in the days of Shmuel the Seer, and during the reigns of David and Shlomo, when Israel dwelt upon their land tranquil and secure, having only one king - for one cannot claim they were divided, as the kingdom had not yet split in David's time - and their hearts were directed toward Heaven? Rather, this is the solution, as solved by Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Meshullam ztz"l: No Pesach like it had ever been kept where the king and the ministers provided animals for the Pesach offerings in full sufficiency and cattle for festival peace-offerings, commanding the Levi'im to prepare them and send to every single man according to what he eats. In this respect, there had never been another Pesach like it: the king funded from his own pocket all the Pesach offerings for the entire nation, the king and ministers also provided animals for the festival peace-offerings, and he instructed the Levi'im to prepare and deliver to each individual. Such a thing had never occurred before - for previously, each person would bring from his own means, buying his own lamb and his own cattle. Here, the king funded everything, and such a Pesach truly had never happened before.
Chapter 35 opens with the great Pesach of Yoshiyahu: a Pesach observed in its proper time and according to its prescribed law, on the fourteenth of the first month, with the Kohanim at their watches and the Levi'im in their divisions. Yoshiyahu commands that the Aron be hidden away in the subterranean vaults prepared by Shlomo, and informs the Levi'im that henceforth there is no burden upon their shoulders, so that all their energies are free for the service of Hashem and the work of the Pesach. The king contributes from his own property thirty thousand sheep and goats and three thousand cattle; the ministers contribute for the Kohanim, and the officers of the Levi'im for the Levi'im. All the orders of the service - slaughtering, sprinkling the blood, flaying, removing the sacrificial portions (eimurim), roasting, and cooking - are properly carried out, to the point that the Levi'im even prepare portions for the Kohanim, the singers, and the gatekeepers who cannot leave their posts. Finally, Scripture testifies that no Pesach like it had been celebrated since the days of Shmuel the Prophet: with the wholehearted devotion of all Israel, free of bamot and free of idolatry, and through the generosity of a king and ministers who sponsored the sacrifices of the entire nation - something that had never occurred before.