The thirty-sixth chapter of Divrei HaYamim II is the chapter that concludes the entire book, and with it concludes the entire Tanach. In this brief chapter, the final four kings of the House of David pass before us - Yehoachaz, Yehoyakim, Yehoyachin, and Tzidkiyahu - along with the destruction of the Temple, the exile, and finally the tidings of the first year of Cyrus. The Malbim notes at the very beginning of the chapter that most of what appears here is taken from what was already stated in the Book of Melachim, Chapter 23.
וַיִּקְחוּ עַם־הָאָרֶץ אֶת־יְהוֹאָחָז בֶּן־יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וַיַּמְלִיכֻהוּ תַחַת־אָבִיו בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - Then the people of the land took Yehoachaz the son of Yoshiyahu, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
Following the passing of Yoshiyahu, they coronated Yehoachaz, even though Yehoyakim was his older brother. The commentary attributed to Rashi notes that Elyakim (who is Yehoyakim) was older than him by twenty-one months, nearly two years, and yet the people of the land took Yehoachaz and crowned him king.
בֶּן־שָׁלוֹשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה יוֹאָחָז בְּמׇלְכוֹ וּשְׁלֹשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ וַיְסִירֵהוּ מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וַיַּעֲנֹשׁ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ מֵאָה כִכַּר־כֶּסֶף וְכִכַּר זָהָב׃ - Yoachaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
In II Melachim, Chapter 23, it is explained: "Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him at Rivlah in the land of Chamat," and from there he deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem. "And fined the land a hundred talents of silver" - this does not refer to corporal punishment, but rather that he demanded a tribute from them: he imposed a levy of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold upon them.
וַיַּמְלֵךְ מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם אֶת־אֶלְיָקִים אָחִיו עַל־יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וַיַּסֵּב אֶת־שְׁמוֹ יְהוֹיָקִים וְאֶת־יוֹאָחָז אָחִיו לָקַח נְכוֹ וַיְבִיאֵהוּ מִצְרָיְמָה׃ - And the king of Egypt made Elyakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Yehoyakim; and Necho took Yoachaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.
Pharaoh Necho coronated Elyakim, the older brother, and changed his name to Yehoyakim. Such was the practice of kings and rulers, who would give names to their servants as they pleased. We find many examples of this: Pharaoh called Yosef "Tzafenat Pane'ach"; the Hebrew midwives "Shifrah and Pu'ah" - these were the names Pharaoh gave them; Nevuchadnetzar changed the names of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah to Shadrakh, Meishakh, and Aveid-Nego, and Daniel's name he changed to Belteshatzar, "after the name of my god," for his idol was named Belshatzar, and he called Daniel Belteshatzar with the letter tet. So too, "And Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua."
The purpose of changing a name is to demonstrate absolute dominion. A name is a person's most intimate possession, and interestingly, it is also the thing the person uses least, while others use it far more. If someone were to come and dictate your name, you would tell him: Do not decide what I am called; this is my most private matter. Therefore, when a king demanded absolute loyalty from his subjects, he demonstrated that he had control even over their name: even your name is not your own, I assign you a different name, and thus you are entirely under my control.
There is an additional aspect to changing a name: it alters a person's essence to a certain degree. That is why Rav Chaim Kanievsky would always instruct people with an improper name to change it. For example, a name like "Mattan" - what good can come of it? Someone who comes to undermine the rabbinate; change it to "Natan." Natan was a prophet, whereas Mattan was a priest of Baal. There are negative names and there are positive names, and the moment you change the name to something positive, you transform the essence into a positive one.
בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה יְהוֹיָקִים בְּמׇלְכוֹ וְאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָיו׃ עָלָיו עָלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיַּאַסְרֵהוּ בַּנְחֻשְׁתַּיִם לְהֹלִיכוֹ בָּבֶלָה׃ - Yehoyakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Yerushalayim; and he did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem his God. Against him came up Nevuchadnezzar king of Bavel, and bound him in copper fetters to carry him to Bavel.
Why did Nevuchadnezzar march against him rather than Pharaoh? The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: Pharaoh was no longer able to leave his land, as it is written, "And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore," because the king of Bavel had conquered everything belonging to Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River. Nevuchadnezzar had defeated Pharaoh in the fourth year at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, as stated explicitly in the Book of Yirmiyahu. Nevuchadnezzar therefore marched against Yehoyakim to carry him to Bavel. In practice, however, Yehoyakim died on the way, and they cast out his carcass, which is what was prophesied of him: "With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Yerushalayim." And where is the burial of a donkey? In the belly of dogs - when a donkey dies, dogs come and consume its carcass. Notice the wording of the verse: "to carry him to Bavel" - his intention was to take him there, but in the end he never arrived. This is also precise in II Melachim 24: "And Yehoyakim slept with his fathers," but it does not say, "and they buried him."
The Radak cites from the Book of Daniel: "And the Lord delivered Yehoyakim king of Yehudah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the House of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar." According to this, Nevuchadnezzar carried him to Bavel along with the vessels, and afterward restored him to Yerushalayim. About eleven years later he rebelled again, at which point raiding bands seized him and he died at their hands on the way. Through this, the Radak resolves a difficulty, for we have about ten years during which we do not know what occurred; rather, he was restored to his kingdom, and then rebelled again and was taken again, and the interval between these events was about eleven years.
וּמִכְּלֵי בֵּית יְהֹוָה הֵבִיא נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר לְבָבֶל וַיִּתְּנֵם בְּהֵיכָלוֹ בְּבָבֶל׃ - Nevuchadnezzar also brought some of the vessels of the House of Hashem to Bavel, and placed them in his temple in Bavel.
"In his temple" - the Malbim explains that this refers to his pagan shrine. Metzudat David, however, explains that it refers to his royal palace, not necessarily a house of idol worship.
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יְהוֹיָקִים וְתֹעֲבֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה וְהַנִּמְצָא עָלָיו הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה וַיִּמְלֹךְ יְהוֹיָכִין בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ - Now the rest of the acts of Yehoyakim, the abominations that he committed, and what was found on him, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Yehudah; and Yehoyachin his son reigned in his place.
"The Book of the Kings of Israel and Yehudah" - the Radak explains that this refers to the Book of Yirmiyahu, where his abominations are recorded: "Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness," etc. In the Book of Melachim, by contrast, his abominations are not specified; it merely states, "And he did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem."
Regarding "and what was found on him," the commentary attributed to Rashi cites that this refers to a tattoo. But the Malbim explains from his own perspective: everything that was found recorded about him in books - that is, the accounts documented by contemporary historians - is written in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
And so the Gemara expounds in Sanhedrin 103b: Rav said to Rabbah bar Mari, why did they not include Yehoyakim among the kings who have no share in the World to Come? Because it is written: "Now the rest of the acts of Yehoyakim, and the abominations that he committed, and what was found on him." What is meant by "and what was found on him"? Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar disagree: one said that he engraved the name of an idol on his flesh, and one said that he engraved the Name of Heaven on his flesh. If he engraved the name of an idol, it was, so to speak, to glorify the idol, so that all the children born to him would be dedicated to it from the start. And if he engraved the Name of Heaven, he did so by way of contempt and desecration.
Midrash Vayikra Rabbah (Parashas Metzora 19): When Nebuchadnezzar came up to destroy Jerusalem, he encamped at Daphne of Antioch. The Great Sanhedrin went down to meet him and asked: Has the time arrived for this House to be destroyed? He said to them: No, but Yehoyakim king of Judah has rebelled against me; hand him over to me and I will leave. They went and told Yehoyakim: Nebuchadnezzar is demanding you. He said to them: Is this how one acts? Does one set aside one life for another? You are under threat, and to save yourselves you would hand me over to this wicked king? Is it not written, "You shall not hand over a slave to his master"? They said to him: Did your ancestor not do so to Sheva ben Bichri - "Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall"?
And this is indeed the halachah: when a non-Jewish nation demands, "Hand over one of you and we will kill him," if that person is innocent - an ordinary person - they must not hand him over, for one does not set aside one life for another. Likewise, if they said, "Hand over one of your women and we will defile her," if she is an honorable woman they must not hand her over; even if they threaten that otherwise they will defile all of them or kill them all, they still must not hand anyone over. But if he is liable to the death penalty like Sheva ben Bichri, in such a case they may hand him over.
Since he would not listen to them, they lowered him over the wall to deliver him to Nebuchadnezzar. And how did they lower him? Rabbi Eliezer says: They lowered him alive, as it is stated, "And they put him in a cage with hooks [bachochim]" - reading bachochim as bechayim, alive. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman says: They lowered him dead, as it is stated, "So that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: I can uphold the words of both - they lowered him alive, but he was delicate and died in their hands; initially, when they began lowering him, he was still alive, but because he was so delicate, he died in the process of being lowered.
And what did Nebuchadnezzar do to him? Rabbi Yehudah says: He took him and paraded him through all the cities of Israel, sat in judgment over him (some explain this term as sitting in judgment, while others explain that it refers to a wooden donkey, as cited in Kesonos Kehunah), executed him, tore open the carcass of a donkey, and placed him inside it, as it is stated, "He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey." Rabbi Nechemyah says: He took him and paraded him through all the cities of Israel, sat in judgment over him and executed him, and cut off olive-sized pieces of his flesh and threw them to the dogs, as it is stated, "He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey" - and where is the burial place of a donkey? In the belly of a dog. Such was the end of this wicked man.
And this is what the prophet rebukes him for, saying, "Now the rest of the acts of Yehoyakim, and his abominations that he did, and what was found upon him." Rabbi Yochanan and three Amora'im debated this: One said that he wore shaatnez (kil'ayim). And why would he wear shaatnez? Out of sheer spite toward the Holy One, blessed be He. Every Jew wears a four-cornered garment to merit an additional mitzvah even though he is not strictly required to seek it out, whereas he deliberately went and wore a garment of shaatnez in order to "merit" an additional sin even though he had no need for it, purely out of defiance.
Another said that he drew over his foreskin. As explained based on the Ben Ish Chai, during circumcision one does not cut any part of the organ itself, as some mistakenly think; rather, one cuts the foreskin that covers and extends over the crown. They pull this skin forward and cut it, and then perform peri'ah, drawing the inner skin back along the shaft where it heals. This is the meaning of "one who draws over his foreskin": he stretches the skin attached along the shaft forward over the crown, and since skin naturally stretches, when pulled repeatedly it recovers the crown, making him appear uncircumcised. The gravity of this act is immense, for such a person shows that he is ashamed of the covenant of Avraham Avinu. It was likewise said of Adam HaRishon that he drew over his foreskin, though there it is not meant literally; rather, some explain that he drew upon himself the spiritual impurity and shell (kelipah) of the foreskin.
Another said: Because a tattoo was found etched into his flesh. Rabbi Yochanan said: Because he cohabited with his mother, his daughter-in-law, and his father's wife - these were his abominations. And Rabbi Yochanan summarized it: Into the doorway through which he emerged, he returned. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Because he left women desolate (biraniyot, meaning barren and desolate ruins), for he would murder their husbands, torment their wives, and confiscate their wealth. Not only did he kill the husband, but he seized his wife and plundered their property. That is what is written, "And he ravaged their widows, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring."
בֶּן־שְׁמוֹנֶה שָׁנִים יְהוֹיָכִין בְּמׇלְכוֹ וּשְׁלֹשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים וַעֲשֶׂרֶת יָמִים מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה׃ - Yehoyachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
In the Book of Melachim it is written, "Yehoyachin was eighteen years old." Radak resolves this discrepancy by explaining that Yehoyakim his father may have designated him king in the very first year of his own reign so that he would succeed him, at which time he was eight years old; by the time the father died, he was already eighteen. Thus, both statements are true: from age eight he was designated for the throne as crown prince, and at age eighteen he actually assumed kingship.
The Malbim writes that he already explained this in Melachim II, chapter 24, where he provides the following explanation: The people of the land had crowned Yoachaz and anointed him, which was why Pharaoh could not easily depose him while in Jerusalem and had to take him to Egypt to remove him from the throne. However, Pharaoh was concerned that once Yoachaz was removed, Yoachaz's sons would claim that the monarchy belonged to them by inheritance from their father. What did he do? He also crowned Yehoyachin to succeed his own father (Yehoyakim), so that Yoachaz's sons would have no claim after their father's demise. Yehoyachin was eight years old at that time. Through this explanation, says the Malbim, the objections raised by Abarbanel are resolved. Consequently, when he actually began to rule on his own, he was already eighteen years old.
וְלִתְשׁוּבַת הַשָּׁנָה שָׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר וַיְבִאֵהוּ בָבֶלָה עִם־כְּלֵי חֶמְדַּת בֵּית־יְהֹוָה וַיַּמְלֵךְ אֶת־צִדְקִיָּהוּ אָחִיו עַל־יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - At the turn of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, along with the precious vessels of the House of Hashem, and made his brother Tzidkiyahu king over Judah and Jerusalem.
"At the turn of the year" - when the sun returns to the very same point in the following year; within that same year it will not return to it, but in the next year it returns precisely to it. That is to say: at that same time the following year. Nebuchadnezzar exiled Yehoyachin to Babylon along with the special precious vessels of the House of Hashem, while leaving the rest of the vessels there until the exile of Tzidkiyahu, at which point he took everything. "His brother Tzidkiyahu" - meaning the brother of Yehoyakim. And in Melachim II it says, "And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place, and changed his name to Tzidkiyahu" - his name was Mattaniah, and Nebuchadnezzar changed it to Tzidkiyahu, as if to say: Hashem will justify the judgment against you if you rebel against me. And so it was: ultimately he rebelled against him and was put to death by him.
בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְמׇלְכוֹ וְאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָיו לֹא נִכְנַע מִלִּפְנֵי יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא מִפִּי יְהֹוָה׃ - Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of Hashem.
Tzidkiyahu was a righteous king, which is why immediately after stating "and he did what was evil," Scripture specifies what his evil consisted of: "he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of Hashem" - before the word of Hashem transmitted through the prophet. Beyond this, he did not commit transgressions; he did not worship idols, nor was he wicked like the kings who preceded him. Jeremiah had said to him, "Thus said Hashem, God of Hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surely surrender..." etc., through "I am anxious about the Jews..." etc., meaning that he should submit to the king of Babylon, yet he did not heed his words.
וְגַם בַּמֶּלֶךְ נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מָרָד אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁבִּיעוֹ בֵּאלֹהִים וַיֶּקֶשׁ אֶת־עׇרְפּוֹ וַיְאַמֵּץ אֶת־לְבָבוֹ מִשּׁוּב אֶל־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God; and he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning to Hashem, God of Israel.
His second sin was that he violated the oath he made to Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear not to rebel against him. It is also recounted that he saw him eating a live hare, and Nebuchadnezzar made him swear not to reveal the matter, yet he went and disclosed that act of cruelty, thereby incurring a death penalty under royal law. Malbim explains: Tzidkiyahu's sins were that he did not heed the prophet's words and that he violated the oath, and to these were added the sins of that generation. Regarding this, Scripture teaches that the Holy One, Blessed is He, sent prophets day after day, yet they did not listen to them, until there was "no remedy," as they refused to repent under any circumstance. The matter of the oath is stated explicitly in Ezekiel 17: "Say now to the rebellious house..." etc. - that entire passage refers to Yehoyachin and Tzidkiyahu. "And he took its king and its princes and brought them to Babylon" - this refers to Yehoyachin and his faction; "and he took of the royal seed and made a covenant with him" - this refers to Tzidkiyahu, and this was the oath he administered to him.
גַּם כׇּל־שָׂרֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהָעָם הִרְבּוּ לִמְעׇל־מַעַל כְּכֹל תֹּעֲבוֹת הַגּוֹיִם וַיְטַמְּאוּ אֶת־בֵּית יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר הִקְדִּישׁ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - Moreover, all the officers of the Kohanim and the people committed great treachery, following all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the House of Hashem which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.
"The officers of the Kohanim" - these were the prominent Kohanim, whose role was to teach the Torah to the Jewish people, as it says, "according to all that the Kohanim, the Levi'im, shall teach you." Scripture is precise: not ordinary Kohanim, but the officers of the Kohanim. The commentary attributed to Rashi explains that this emphasizes that these were leaders with the standing to protest, and had they protested, the people would have accepted their rebuke. Yet despite all this, they acted with great treachery against Hashem and did not walk in His ways, defiling with their abominations the House that the Holy One, Blessed is He, had sanctified in Jerusalem. And as we have already noted, the role of the Kohanim was to teach Torah: "For the lips of a Kohen should preserve knowledge, and they should seek Torah from his mouth, for he is a messenger of Hashem of Hosts." Therefore, the grievance against them is far greater than the grievance against the rest of the people.
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם עֲלֵיהֶם בְּיַד מַלְאָכָיו הַשְׁכֵּם וְשָׁלוֹחַ כִּי־חָמַל עַל־עַמּוֹ וְעַל־מְעוֹנוֹ׃ - And Hashem, the God of their fathers, sent to them by the hand of His messengers, sending early and often, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
Do not say that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not warn them and brought trouble upon them immediately. Rather, He sent "by the hand of His messengers" - by the hand of His emissaries, the prophets, to warn them to turn back from their evil. And not once a year or once a month, but "rising up early and sending," every single day, rising early in the morning to send to them, and despite this they persisted in their rebellion. And all this "because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place," for Hashem does not desire the death of the wicked, but that he return from his ways and live, and therefore He sends to awaken them to teshuvah. "And on His dwelling place" - this is the Beis HaMikdash. The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: even a mortal king has compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; how much more so the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, having compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
וַיִּהְיוּ מַלְעִבִים בְּמַלְאֲכֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וּבוֹזִים דְּבָרָיו וּמִתַּעְתְּעִים בִּנְבִאָיו עַד עֲלוֹת חֲמַת־יְהֹוָה בְּעַמּוֹ עַד־לְאֵין מַרְפֵּא׃ - "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy."
"The messengers of God" - His emissaries, the prophets. "Mocked" - they degraded them and ridiculed their words; likewise "scoffed" - they disparaged, mocked, and despised the words of the prophets. "Until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy" - until they transgressed so excessively that teshuvah was withheld from them. And why did the verse use the terminology of healing, when it is speaking of sin, and healing seemingly applies to the physical body? The Metzudas David explains: sin is the sickness of the soul. A person who sins is sick in soul, and when he does not do teshuvah - that is "until there was no remedy," for he does not take the medicine for his soul.
The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos (119b) states: Rav Yehudah said, Jerusalem was destroyed only because they disgraced Talmidei Chachamim in it, as it is stated: "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy." What is meant by "until there was no remedy"? Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: Whoever disparages Talmidei Chachamim, there is no remedy for his wound. (The Gemara there lists a whole series of sins, and we are only focusing on what pertains to our verse.)
There was an incident involving a man whose son was a lawyer, who once filed a lawsuit against Rav Nissim Karelitz. He had a din Torah before the beis din, and he was dissatisfied with the ruling, so he went and sued him in secular civil court. Rav Nissim Karelitz was forced to stand there - "and our enemies are judges" - to stand before whom? Before a Sabbath desecrator, Heaven protect us, someone who eats non-kosher food and violates severe prohibitions. In the end, the secular judge tore that lawyer to shreds, giving him his due reprimand merely for having the audacity to file such a lawsuit, while Rav Nissim stated his position and the matter was closed. Two years later, that lawyer had a horrific traffic accident - he was riding a motorcycle when a semi-trailer crushed him; he was literally torn to pieces, scraped off the asphalt with a putty knife, completely unrecognizable.
Rav Nissim Karelitz came to pay a shiva call. The father of that young man began to weep and said: "How much I warned him! I told him, 'You are playing with fire, do not get involved in this' - and he would not listen to me." Then he said to the Rav: "Do you know what surprised me? That Hashem waited for him for two years." These are the words of a grieving father, and they are chilling. The Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a chance for two years: do teshuvah. But a person walks in arrogance: Whom did you drag to court? The Gadol HaDor, hauling him before such a judge? Did you think you would not be held to account? Whoever disparages Talmidei Chachamim has no remedy for his wound.
וַיַּעַל עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת־מֶלֶךְ כַּשְׂדִּים וַיַּהֲרֹג בַּחוּרֵיהֶם בַּחֶרֶב בְּבֵית מִקְדָּשָׁם וְלֹא חָמַל עַל־בָּחוּר וּבְתוּלָה זָקֵן וְיָשֵׁשׁ הַכֹּל נָתַן בְּיָדוֹ׃ - "Therefore He brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or maiden, old man or the infirm; He gave them all into his hand."
The Holy One, blessed be He, brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, a lowly nation, as it is written: "Behold, the land of the Chaldeans - this people was not" - not recognized as a nation at all, not appearing on the historical register, similar to what is said: "They provoked Me with a non-god, they angered Me with their vanities; so I will provoke them with a non-people, with a vile nation I will anger them" - a vile nation that is not even considered a true nation.
"Who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary" - and through this Hashem repaid them in kind, as the commentary attributed to Rashi notes: you defiled the House of Hashem, therefore right there their young men shall fall by the sword, as it says, "and strike, let your eye not spare..." Furthermore, the commentary attributed to Rashi adds regarding "and had no compassion on young man or maiden, old man or the infirm": it is not the usual conduct of victorious soldiers in war to slaughter the elderly and children; their practice is to kill men of battle, whereas upon youth, maiden, and the elderly, they usually have pity. Even regarding the terrorist who walked through Bnei Brak shooting in every direction, it is told that he saw two little girls and told them to run home - even among human beasts, a shred of restraint sometimes remains. But here, where they slaughtered the elderly and infirm, young men and maidens, it demonstrates just how irreparable their deeds had become. And so too in the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu: "Outside, the sword shall bereave, and terror within the chambers, both young man and maiden, the nursing child with the gray-haired man." And "yashesh" - Radak explains that this means an infirm, very old person.
וְכֹל כְּלֵי בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים הַגְּדֹלִים וְהַקְּטַנִּים וְאֹצְרוֹת בֵּית יְהֹוָה וְאֹצְרוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ וְשָׂרָיו הַכֹּל הֵבִיא בָבֶל׃ - "And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon."
Everything that remained after the exile of Jehoiakim and the exile of Jeconiah - for part of the vessels had already been taken then - the remainder he now brought to Babylon.
וַיִּשְׂרְפוּ אֶת־בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים וַיְנַתְּצוּ אֵת חוֹמַת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְכׇל־אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ שָׂרְפוּ בָאֵשׁ וְכׇל־כְּלֵי מַחֲמַדֶּיהָ לְהַשְׁחִית׃ - And they burned the House of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels.
The burning of the House of God took place on Tisha B'Av. "And destroyed all its precious vessels" - they smashed, ruined, and destroyed them.
וַיֶּגֶל הַשְּׁאֵרִית מִן־הַחֶרֶב אֶל־בָּבֶל וַיִּהְיוּ־לוֹ וּלְבָנָיו לַעֲבָדִים עַד־מְלֹךְ מַלְכוּת פָּרָס׃ - And he exiled the remnant from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia.
"The remnant from the sword" - the surviving captives, those he did not kill, whom he exiled to be servants until the reign of the kingdom of Persia. And why until the kingdom of Persia? The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: because until that time the land had not made up for its sabbaths. We will see this in greater detail shortly, for there were two timelines of exile, and correspondingly two stages of redemption.
לְמַלֹּאות דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה בְּפִי יִרְמְיָהוּ עַד־רָצְתָה הָאָרֶץ אֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתֶיהָ כׇּל־יְמֵי הׇשַּׁמָּה שָׁבָתָה לְמַלֹּאות שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה׃ - To fulfill the word of Hashem by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had satisfied its sabbaths; all the days of its desolation it rested, to fulfill seventy years.
The Malbim explains: There are two distinct time periods here. One is "to fulfill the word of Hashem by the mouth of Jeremiah," which stated that the exile would last seventy years, and the dispute is from where to count them. This is why we find historically that kings erred in the calculation: Belshazzar miscalculated, Ahasuerus miscalculated, bringing out the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash and drinking from them, thinking that seventy years had passed and they were not redeemed, so they would never be redeemed. In reality, the calculation is not simple at all, which is why there was room for error.
The Malbim elaborates: "To fulfill the word of Hashem by the mouth of Jeremiah" - according to this count, seventy years concluded in the days of Cyrus, marking seventy years from the first exile. For the exile occurred in several waves, and the question is from when one begins counting; when counting from the first exile, the count was completed in the days of Cyrus. However, "until the land had satisfied its sabbaths" was fulfilled only in the days of the later Darius, when seventy years were completed from the destruction of the Temple itself. Therefore, there were two stages of remembrance: first they were remembered in the first year of Cyrus, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years from the first exile; afterward, the rebuilding of the Temple was halted because adversaries leveled accusations against them, remaining stalled until the second year of Darius, when they resumed building - thereby fulfilling "until the land had satisfied its sabbaths," seventy years from the Destruction.
As previously explained - and the commentary attributed to Rashi calculates here, as do the Radak and others - the seventy years correspond exactly to the number of Shemitah cycles that were neglected. The Vilna Gaon notes that this can be calculated quite simply: if one tallies the reigns of the wicked kings, knowing from Seder Olam how long each one ruled, it emerges precisely that all the years under wicked kings containing Shemitah cycles that were violated add up to exactly seventy years. For seventy years the land was supposed to have rested and did not; now it would rest for seventy years.
וּבִשְׁנַת אַחַת לְכוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס לִכְלוֹת דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה בְּפִי יִרְמְיָהוּ הֵעִיר יְהֹוָה אֶת־רוּחַ כּוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ־פָּרַס וַיַּעֲבֶר־קוֹל בְּכׇל־מַלְכוּתוֹ וְגַם־בְּמִכְתָּב לֵאמֹר׃ - And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of Hashem by the mouth of Jeremiah, Hashem stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he issued a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying:
"To fulfill the word of Hashem by the mouth of Yirmiyahu" - when the time spoken by Hashem through the mouth of Yirmiyahu came to an end, that is, when the seventy years were completed, calculating from the time Nebuchadnezzar first subjugated Yehoyakim. "Hashem stirred up the spirit of Cyrus" - "stirred up" (he'ir) denotes an awakening, and "his spirit" (rucho) means his will, as in "Behold, I will put a spirit in him" - placing within him the desire. "And he made a proclamation" - he issued a herald's proclamation, "and also in writing" - he sent and wrote the decree to more distant places.
כֹּה־אָמַר כּוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס כׇּל־מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ נָתַן לִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהוּא־פָקַד עָלַי לִבְנוֹת־לוֹ בַיִת בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם אֲשֶׁר בִּיהוּדָה מִי־בָכֶם מִכׇּל־עַמּוֹ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָיו עִמּוֹ וְיָעַל׃ - "Thus said Cyrus, king of Persia: Hashem, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a House in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all His people, may Hashem his God be with him, and let him go up."
"All the kingdoms of the earth has Hashem, the God of Heaven, given me" - I rule and reign over all the kingdoms. "And He has charged me to build Him a House in Jerusalem" - where did He command him? Through Yeshayahu, as it is said, "Who says of Cyrus: He is My shepherd," and "Thus said Hashem to His anointed, to Cyrus." We see that through Yeshayahu, a prophecy was conveyed to him that he must rebuild the Beit HaMikdash. "Whoever is among you of all His people" - this was the proclamation across all the provinces: whoever among all the Holy One's people across all the lands will now be stirred and go up to rebuild the House of Hashem in Jerusalem. "And let him go up" - may Hashem be at his aid and assist him so that he can ascend and succeed in fulfilling the command of Hashem, his God.
Here we see that the rebuilding of the Temple came about through the awakening of a gentile king. Granted, there is an opinion in Chazal that Cyrus was of Jewish descent, being the son of Esther, and according to this, the awakening indeed came from Israel; and some say that Cyrus is Darius, and according to this as well, the awakening originated with Israel. Nevertheless, they still required permission and authorization from a gentile empire. Consequently, a foreign element was involved in the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, and this was ultimately what caused it to be destroyed.
The First Temple was also ultimately destroyed, even though King Solomon built it - for who were the craftsmen who came to build it? Tzidonians and Lebanese, they were the ones who came to construct it. And because it was built by gentiles, it too was eventually destroyed. The only holy sanctuary built exclusively by Israel and never destroyed is the Mishkan. Thus it is said, "acacia wood, standing," on which Chazal comment: standing forever and ever, existing eternally. True, its parts were hidden away (nignazu), but they were never destroyed: the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, whereas the Mishkan was concealed.
And this is what the Vilna Gaon teaches: If a synagogue is built entirely from foundation to rooftop by observant Jews - where even the cement is manufactured by Jews, and the blocks, the masonry, and every part of the construction are done not by our cousins but exclusively by kosher Jews - no foreign or distracting thoughts will ever enter a person's mind while praying in that place. That synagogue would be a Holy of Holies, because it was built entirely in holiness and purity.
This is also the underlying point of the Gemara: What did Rabbi Chiyya do to ensure that the Torah would not be forgotten from Israel? He went and spun nets, trapped deer, and so on. Everyone asks: Why did he need to spin nets? Wasn't that a waste of precious time? Just buy them at the market! Rather, the matter had to be rooted in holiness from its very inception. Therefore, he planted flax, harvested it, spun it into nets, and trapped deer with them, until he produced scrolls of the Chumash from which children could learn. That is how one ensures that Torah is not forgotten from Israel: when everything is generated from its root in holiness, it attains eternal endurance. But the moment an element of flaw or foreign intervention enters from the outset, there is no guarantee that it will endure forever. For this reason, it is taught (though there is a dispute concerning this) that the Future Sanctuary will descend fully built of fire, as Rashi cites. The deeper meaning is that because it will descend built of fire, it will never be destroyed; no human hands will have been mixed into it, and it will be entirely a Holy of Holies.