Introduction: The Reign of Yoash - Seven Years in Hiding and Forty Years on the Throne
Chapter 12 of Melachim Bet tells the story of the reign of Yoash king of Yehudah: the child who was saved from Atalyah's sword, grew up in the Temple with Yehoyada the Kohen, ascended to the throne at the age of seven, and repaired the Temple. But the chapter is also a story of decline: what was built solely upon the authority of the teacher, and was not internalized in the heart, collapses the moment the teacher passes on. We will study the chapter in light of the Malbim's commentary, and complete from Divrei HaYamim and from the words of Chazal that which the prophet here only hints at.
(א) בֶּן־שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים יְהוֹאָשׁ בְּמׇלְכוֹ׃
(ב) בִּשְׁנַת־שֶׁבַע לְיֵהוּא מָלַךְ יְהוֹאָשׁ וְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ צִבְיָה מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע׃ - (1) Yoash was seven years old when he became king. (2) In the seventh year of Yehu, Yoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Yerushalayim, and his mother's name was Tzivyah of Be'er Sheva.
In the seventh year of Yehu the reign of Yoash began. When Yehu became king he killed Achazyah, and from that time Yoash was hidden; when he reached the age of seven, he finally became king. He reigned forty years in Yerushalayim, and this is considered a lengthy reign, not a short one. And his mother's name was Tzivyah of Be'er Sheva.
"Whom He Taught" (horahu) and Not "Whom He Instructed" (limdo)
(ג) וַיַּעַשׂ יְהוֹאָשׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה כׇּל־יָמָיו אֲשֶׁר הוֹרָהוּ יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן׃ - (3) And Yoash did what was right in the eyes of Hashem all his days that Yehoyada the Kohen taught him.
The verse appears to contradict itself: on the one hand it implies "all his days," and on the other hand it implies "that Yehoyada the Kohen taught him." Chazal say: all those days that Yehoyada the Kohen taught him, he did what was right in the eyes of Hashem. But the moment Yehoyada the Kohen passed away - his teacher, the one who raised him, the one who was with him in the Holy of Holies for six years - he began to act wickedly.
The Malbim asks: seemingly one could read it differently: "And Yoash did what was right in the eyes of Hashem all his days" - why? "Because Yehoyada the Kohen taught him," for so his teacher instructed him. How do we know to interpret it specifically in the limited sense, that only as long as he taught him did he do what was right? The answer lies in the difference between horaah (showing) and limud (instructing). Horaah means to show you something; limud means that you internalize the matter and know how to do it yourself. It does not say here "whom Yehoyada the Kohen instructed" - which would mean: you taught me and I already know on my own - but rather "taught him" (horahu), meaning he only showed him, and he still does not know it of himself. Therefore, as long as Yehoyada was with him and showing him, he did what was right; but since he had not truly learned the matters and had not internalized them, after his teacher's death he returned to wickedness.
The Full Unfolding: "Then the King Listened to Them"
The matter is explained in greater detail in Divrei HaYamim Bet chapter 24. There it is written: "And after the death of Yehoyada the officers of Yehudah came and bowed down to the king, then the king listened to them." Yehoyada passed away, the officers of Yehudah come and bow down to the king and make him a god, and then the king listened to them. And how did they make him a god? They said to him: a person who enters the Holy of Holies for a single hour is in danger of death. A single moment, a single second - how many Kohanim Gedolim entered and had to be pulled out by a chain. Truly a matter of mortal danger. And you were hidden in it for six years? You are worthy of being a god. "Then the king listened to them" - he accepted their words and said: apparently I am a god, and I did not even know it.
And do not be astonished at this. We have already explained several times that the word "god" in their times did not necessarily refer to the Deity, but rather anyone in whom supernatural powers were found would be called a god. Thus Nevuchadnetzar called Daniel a god and wished to offer sacrifices to him and to bring up pleasing offerings to him, because he saw in him supernatural powers. So too here: "you are a god," meaning there are powers in you that are not natural, you are not an ordinary human being, you are above the level of a human.
The Killing of Zecharyah ben Yehoyada
The verse continues there: "They forsook the House of Hashem, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols, and wrath came upon Yehudah and Yerushalayim for this guilt of theirs" - for this sin of theirs. "He sent prophets among them to bring them back to Hashem, and they testified against them, but they would not listen. Then the spirit of God clothed Zechariah son of Yehoyada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them: Thus says God, why do you transgress the commandments of Hashem so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken Hashem, He has forsaken you." Who was it who rose to rebuke them? Zechariah, the son of Yehoyada, the son of the one who raised Yehoash.
"They conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the court of the House of Hashem." The words did not please Yehoash's ears, and he sent to kill the son of the very man who had raised him for seven years. He returned evil for good. "King Yoash did not remember the kindness that Yehoyada his father had done with him, and he killed his son, and as he died he said: May Hashem see and demand an accounting." The last sentence that came from Zechariah's mouth was: Hashem will demand my blood from you.
"At the turn of the year the army of Aram came up against him, and they came to Yehudah and Yerushalayim and destroyed all the officers of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. For the army of Aram came with a small number of men" - "mitzar" means few. And how did so few succeed? "And Hashem delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken Hashem, the God of their fathers, and they carried out judgments against Yoash." This was his punishment from Heaven for turning aside from the way of Hashem.
"When they had departed from him, leaving him with severe wounds, his servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Yehoyada the priest, and they killed him on his bed, and he died, and they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings." He was left lying with severe wounds, and then his servants seized the opportunity to demand of him the blood of Zechariah son of Yehoyada, and they killed him on his bed. And even in his burial he was not granted honor: they buried him in the City of David and not in the tombs of the kings. "And these are the ones who conspired against him: Zavad son of Shimeat the Ammonitess and Yehozavad son of Shimrit the Moabitess."
The Blood Bubbling in the Temple
This is the famous account of Zechariah, a priest and prophet who was killed in the House of Hashem. And this is what we saw afterward, when Nevuzaradan the chief executioner came and slaughtered upon that very stone in the House of Hashem the heads of the Sanhedrins, the sages, and the schoolchildren, hundreds of thousands. That very blood, from that earlier era, was still bubbling. Zechariah's blood: they would wash it, they would wipe it, and whatever they did, the blood would seep up again and bubble; his sin was remembered there in the House of Hashem. When Nevuzaradan saw this he asked what it was, and they told him it was the blood of sheep. He brought sheep's blood and slaughtered, and said to them: this is not the same. Only afterward did he begin to slaughter, and after he had killed hundreds of thousands he said: I have killed the best of them, do you wish that I kill them all? Then the blood rested from its boiling. We see from this what a terrible sin it is to kill the priest of Hashem and the prophet of Hashem in the House of Hashem.
Aharon's Calculation in the Sin of the Golden Calf
From here a wonderful matter in Parashat Ki Tisa becomes understandable. It is written that Aharon rose and made them a god, and the question is asked: what was the problem? After all, the halachah regarding idolatry is that one must let himself be killed rather than transgress. What was the problem with Aharon letting himself be killed to sanctify the Name? They killed Chur, and lesser men than him throughout the generations were killed to sanctify the Name. Rather, Aharon's calculation was this: if I make them a calf, there will be atonement for them; but if they kill me, a priest and prophet will be killed in the House of Hashem, a priest and prophet who rebukes you and you kill him, for that there is no atonement. Aharon was ready to give up his eternity, his entire share in the World to Come, for the sake of Israel: I will make them a molten calf so long as they do not kill me, for if they kill me they will no longer have forgiveness. And indeed we see here for how long a period that blood continued to bubble, until it was finally answered for.
The Dybbuk Who Threw the First Stone
There is an account of a dybbuk that entered the body of a man, about a hundred and fifty years ago, and they brought him before a Rebbe. The Rebbe asked him: for what sin are you here? The dybbuk answered that he had been the first man to throw the stone at Zechariah the prophet, and since then he had already been reincarnated a thousand times and still had no atonement. That righteous man helped him to rectify it, so that he would not need to be reincarnated another time. Understand: a soul that was reincarnated so many times, only because it was the first to throw the stone. What a terrible sin this was, and how many reincarnations and cleansings are needed to rectify it.
The High Places That Were Not Removed
(ד) רַק הַבָּמוֹת לֹא־סָרוּ עוֹד הָעָם מְזַבְּחִים וּמְקַטְּרִים בַּבָּמוֹת׃ - (4) Only the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
As we have explained several times, abolishing the high places was very difficult, since the high places were a means of serving Hashem. There they offered the sacrifices, the vows and the freewill offerings. A high place is an altar right next to the house, very easy and very convenient. In contrast, when I am required to offer in the House of Hashem, if I live in Dimona, for example, I have to devote several days of work, a whole week, to go and offer a sacrifice that I vowed. It is far simpler to take an animal and slaughter it in the courtyard of the house. And there is more: we must remember that in the past the high places were permitted, and for this reason it was sevenfold harder to abolish them. My grandfather and his father offered on the high places, and suddenly they say that from now on it is forbidden. It is hard to let go of that.
Three Kinds of Money and Two Purposes
(ה) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹאָשׁ אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִים כֹּל כֶּסֶף הַקֳּדָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־יוּבָא בֵית־יְהֹוָה כֶּסֶף עוֹבֵר אִישׁ כֶּסֶף נַפְשׁוֹת עֶרְכּוֹ כׇּל־כֶּסֶף אֲשֶׁר יַעֲלֶה עַל לֶב־אִישׁ לְהָבִיא בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃
(ו) יִקְחוּ לָהֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים אִישׁ מֵאֵת מַכָּרוֹ וְהֵם יְחַזְּקוּ אֶת־בֶּדֶק הַבַּיִת לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יִמָּצֵא שָׁם בָּדֶק׃ - (5) And Yehoash said to the priests: All the money of the holy offerings that is brought to the House of Hashem, the money of anyone who passes among those counted, the money each man is assessed for persons, all the money that any man's heart moves him to bring to the House of Hashem, (6) let the priests take for themselves, each from his acquaintance, and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach is found.
Here we are told of an act that Yehoash performed. Let us recall that the wicked Ataliah made breaches in the House of Hashem, damaged and ruined the Temple, and now it needed to be restored. And in order to restore it, a fundraising campaign was needed. Therefore Yehoash says to the priests: all the money of the holy offerings brought to the House of Hashem, take it to strengthen the repair of the house.
And the verse enumerates three kinds of money. "Money that passes" - this is the half shekel money, "everyone who passes among those counted." "The money each man is assessed for persons" - this is the money of valuations (erchin), when a person says "my valuation is upon me," and there is a fixed valuation in the Torah according to age. And "all the money that any man's heart moves him to bring to the House of Hashem" - these are the vows and freewill offerings that people would donate to the Temple. And Yehoash says to the priests: take the money for yourselves, and take along with it the responsibility to repair the breaches of the house.
The Malbim notes: in Divrei HaYamim the matter appears differently. There it is written: "And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them: Go out to the cities of Yehudah and collect money from all Israel to strengthen the House of your God year by year, and you shall hasten the matter. But the Levites did not hasten. And the king called for Yehoyada the chief and said to him: Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Yehudah and from Jerusalem the levy of Moshe the servant of Hashem and of the congregation of Israel for the Tent of Testimony? For the wicked Ataliahu, her sons broke into the House of God, and also all the holy things of the House of Hashem they used for the Baalim." There it is implied that there was a command to go out to the cities of Yehudah and conduct a fundraising campaign, whereas in our passage it is implied that he only asked the priests to take for themselves the vows, the valuations and the half shekel and to accept the responsibility. Apparently these are two different accounts.
The Malbim resolves this: there were here two purposes and two commands. On one hand Yoash wanted to restore the House of Hashem so that it would be as it was in the days of Shlomo HaMelech in its splendor. For this the ongoing money - vows and freewill offerings, money that passes and valuation money - was not enough, and this is what is mentioned in Divrei HaYamim: "Go out to the cities of Yehudah and collect money from all Israel," a special campaign for the purpose of restoring the Temple. On the other hand there was an additional command: to repair the breaches of the house on an ongoing basis. The "breaches of the house" are the places that have cracks, that which needs constant maintenance. Like a person, lehavdil, who has an apartment: once every two or three years he paints and fills in holes - this is the repair of the house; and once every fifteen years he does a general renovation from the foundation to the rafters. In our passage the reference is to the ongoing upkeep, and for this, says the Malbim, no special campaign was needed: the surplus of the chamber was enough. The "surplus of the chamber" is what remained of what was brought regularly for the purpose of the sacrifices and from the valuation money, and from this they made the ongoing repairs. Whereas in Divrei HaYamim the reference is to the general renovation, and for this they sent priests specially to collect.
The Priests Failed in Their Duty
(ז) וַיְהִי בִּשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים וְשָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנָה לַמֶּלֶךְ יְהוֹאָשׁ לֹא־חִזְּקוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים אֶת־בֶּדֶק הַבָּיִת׃
(ח) וַיִּקְרָא הַמֶּלֶךְ יְהוֹאָשׁ לִיהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן וְלַכֹּהֲנִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם מַדּוּעַ אֵינְכֶם מְחַזְּקִים אֶת־בֶּדֶק הַבָּיִת וְעַתָּה אַל־תִּקְחוּ־כֶסֶף מֵאֵת מַכָּרֵיכֶם כִּי־לְבֶדֶק הַבַּיִת תִּתְּנֻהוּ׃
(ט) וַיֵּאֹתוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים לְבִלְתִּי קְחַת־כֶּסֶף מֵאֵת הָעָם וּלְבִלְתִּי חַזֵּק אֶת־בֶּדֶק הַבָּיִת׃ - (7) And it was in the twenty third year of King Yehoash that the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. (8) And King Yehoash called for Yehoyada the priest and for the priests and said to them: Why are you not repairing the breaches of the house? Now, do not take money from your acquaintances, but give it over for the breaches of the house. (9) And the priests agreed neither to take money from the people nor to repair the breaches of the house.
The arrangement did not work: the priests would take the money, but they would not carry out the repair of the breaches of the house. The king came and asked: Why are you not repairing the breaches of the house while at the same time taking the money for yourselves? From now on do not take the money, but give it over immediately for the repair of the house. And the priests agreed to the arrangement: not to take the money and not to take the responsibility. From now on whoever wishes will come, and there will be collection boxes and a place into which the money will be put, and all that is gathered there will be designated for repairing the breaches of the house. But when I give you both the money and the responsibility, the matter is not managed properly.
The Malbim says: Yehoash suspected them of taking the money for themselves. And he further explains: during the time that Ataliah reigned, the money did not reach the Temple and the repair of the house, but was diverted to the Baal, for there were priests of the Baal and there was idolatry, as the verse says, "and also all the holy things of the House of Hashem they used for the Baalim." Therefore Yehoash sought to collect retroactively: for five years or ten years you did not bring the half shekel that you were obligated to bring each year, and now let them gather all that was owed until today. This was the campaign we saw in Divrei HaYamim, for which they went around the cities of Yehudah, and its purpose was to gather all that had not been gathered in years past, and thereby to carry out a complete restoration of the breaches of the house.
The Chest with a Hole Bored in It
(י) וַיִּקַּח יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן אֲרוֹן אֶחָד וַיִּקֹּב חֹר בְּדַלְתּוֹ וַיִּתֵּן אֹתוֹ אֵצֶל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִיָּמִין בְּבוֹא־אִישׁ בֵּית יְהֹוָה וְנָתְנוּ־שָׁמָּה הַכֹּהֲנִים שֹׁמְרֵי הַסַּף אֶת־כׇּל־הַכֶּסֶף הַמּוּבָא בֵית־יְהֹוָה׃ - (10) Yehoyada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right as one enters the House of Hashem, and the priests who guarded the threshold would put there all the money that was brought into the House of Hashem.
For the new arrangement they make a chest. The Malbim notes precisely: where did they place it? "Beside the altar, on the right." Yet in Divrei HaYamim it is written, "They made one chest and placed it in the gate of the House of Hashem, outside," implying that they set it outside and not beside the altar. But according to what has been explained there is no difficulty at all: Yoash demanded that they bring what they had not brought in previous years, and these shekalim are called "tiklin atikin" (old shekalim); on the other hand he also requested the shekalim of the current year, and those are "tiklin chadtin" (new shekalim). The Gemara says there were shofar shaped containers in the Beit HaMikdash, chests of sorts into which they placed money, each item according to its purpose. That for the tiklin chadtin stood beside the altar, and that for the tiklin atikin stood outside. It was forbidden to mix between them: from the tiklin chadtin they offered the sacrifices of the year, and from the tiklin atikin they did other things. Therefore two separate chests were needed, so that in each one its own kind would be placed.
Furthermore: there were thirteen chests in the Beit HaMikdash, thirteen shofarot, thirteen places in which they placed the contributions: tiklin chadtin, tiklin atikin, nests, young birds, olot, wood, frankincense. Accordingly the Malbim explains the word "one," which seems superfluous. Today a person says "I bought one chest," but in the language of the prophet it would have sufficed to say "he took a chest and bored a hole in its lid." Rather, by way of allusion: all thirteen chests were called "one," for "echad" (one) equals thirteen in gematria. Since all of them were for the needs of the Beit HaMikdash, the chest is called "one chest," one out of the thirteen. The Radak was forced to explain "a chest belonging to one man," but that is not the intent; rather it refers to one of the thirteen.
Counting the Money
(יא) וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹתָם כִּי־רַב הַכֶּסֶף בָּאָרוֹן וַיַּעַל סֹפֵר הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל וַיָּצֻרוּ וַיִּמְנוּ אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף הַנִּמְצָא בֵית־יְהֹוָה׃ - (11) And it was, when they saw that the money in the chest was much, that the king's scribe and the High Priest went up, and they bundled and counted the money that was found in the House of Hashem.
Which money is being discussed? The money of the chamber contribution, the ongoing income of that year. After they used it for olot, for the daily offerings and for the everyday sacrifices, the surplus they took for the repair of the House. The counting was done by the king's scribe and the High Priest, who verified that all the money in its entirety went out for the repair of the House and for the necessary matters, and did not reach improper uses.
In Divrei HaYamim it is written, "And it was, at the time the chest was brought to the king's officers by the hand of the Levites." The Malbim says: the chest there is the chest of the tiklin atikin, which was entirely designated for the repair of the House. But here we are dealing with a chest designated for the sacrifices, and only the surplus was used for the repair of the House. For the tiklin atikin would not be used for sacrifices, since they were from previous years, and one cannot offer sacrifices retroactively. Therefore here the wording is "to strengthen the repair of the House," the ongoing upkeep alone; while in Divrei HaYamim the wording is "to renew the repair of the House," for there they gathered money for the general renovation.
To the Woodworkers and the Builders
(יב) וְנָתְנוּ אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף הַמְתֻכָּן עַל־יְדֵי עֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה הַמֻּפְקָדִים בֵּית יְהֹוָה וַיּוֹצִיאֻהוּ לְחָרָשֵׁי הָעֵץ וְלַבֹּנִים הָעֹשִׂים בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃
(יג) וְלַגֹּדְרִים וּלְחֹצְבֵי הָאֶבֶן וְלִקְנוֹת עֵצִים וְאַבְנֵי מַחְצֵב לְחַזֵּק אֶת־בֶּדֶק בֵּית־יְהֹוָה וּלְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵא עַל־הַבַּיִת לְחׇזְקָה׃ - (12) They gave the counted money into the hands of those who did the work, who were appointed over the House of Hashem, and they paid it out to the woodworkers and the builders who worked on the House of Hashem, (13) and to the wall builders and the stonecutters, and to buy wood and hewn stone to strengthen the repair of the House of Hashem, and for all that was laid out for the House to strengthen it.
The wall builders are those who build the wall. The stonecutters are those who prepare the bricks; they did not cast bricks in the manner done today, but split whole stones, like the stones of Jerusalem. The wall builders built with what the stonecutters had cut. "And to buy wood and hewn stone": they also needed wood, for they would lay rows of stones and rows of wood alternately, and for this expert craftsmen were required who knew how to cut the wood and build with it.
From What the Service Vessels Are Not Bought
(יד) אַךְ לֹא יֵעָשֶׂה בֵּית יְהֹוָה סִפּוֹת כֶּסֶף מְזַמְּרוֹת מִזְרָקוֹת חֲצֹצְרוֹת כׇּל־כְּלִי זָהָב וּכְלִי־כָסֶף מִן־הַכֶּסֶף הַמּוּבָא בֵית־יְהֹוָה׃
(טו) כִּי־לְעֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה יִתְּנֻהוּ וְחִזְּקוּ־בוֹ אֶת־בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - (14) But there were not made for the House of Hashem silver basins, snuffers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold or vessels of silver, from the money that was brought into the House of Hashem. (15) For they gave it to those who did the work, and with it they strengthened the House of Hashem.
This money was not used to make silver basins, snuffers, and sprinkling bowls. These items were either musical instruments or vessels for the Temple service: the sprinkling bowl is the vessel with which the blood was cast upon the altar, and the trumpets are musical instruments. The Malbim says that this does not contradict the account in Divrei HaYamim, for there the reference is not to the surplus of the chamber but to the general reinforcement and general renovation, and from that money it was indeed permitted to buy silver basins, snuffers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, and every vessel of gold. Here, however, the reference is to the ongoing money, the surplus of the chamber, and from the surplus of the chamber they did not buy trumpets or vessels of silver and gold, for that was not their purpose. And so the Rambam rules in chapter 4 of Hilchot Shekalim, that the service vessels come from the surplus of the libations and not from the terumat halishkah.
"For They Deal Faithfully"
(טז) וְלֹא יְחַשְּׁבוּ אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר יִתְּנוּ אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף עַל־יָדָם לָתֵת לְעֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה כִּי בֶאֱמֻנָה הֵם עֹשִׂים׃ - And they did not hold a reckoning with the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully.
The administrators and treasurers did not make an accounting with the officers, those men who distributed the wages and saw to it that each one received what was due to him. They did not check how much you gave and how much remained. Why? "For they deal faithfully" - from the outset honest men were appointed, men with whom one does not come to suspicion. From here Chazal said that one does not make a reckoning with the collectors of charity: when men are appointed over charity, honest men are appointed, not those with whom you will later need to make an accounting and track every shekel.
And this is what we saw with Moshe Rabbeinu: "These are the accounts of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony." Why were accounts of the Mishkan needed? Because they wanted an accounting: tell us exactly what the expenses were and what the income was. And on the face of it this is a tremendous wonder: after all, the people of Israel also gave to the calf, and there they did not come and say, give us an accounting, how did such a small calf come out of so much money? There they had no doubts and asked no questions.
And so it is to this day: for all the calves - for theaters, for courts, for universities - there are no investigations and no questions, and they do not even allow you to ask. But with us there are so many forms and programs; ask any institution director: every quarter you must submit a report, to whom you brought income and to whom you paid out from the kollel, and at that very moment to report online. And woe unto you if they find something - they dock you retroactively. The directors of the institutions and nonprofits are truly wretched, they need clerks to sit and constantly update, because over the smallest thing they disqualify and a whole mess is created. Yet at the university they do not even allow you to know where the money goes; and when people asked that there be at least transparency, they answered that this harms higher education: we have economic expertise, we know where the money is supposed to reach, do not interfere. From the calves no accounting is demanded - soccer, dance, films, whatever you like. Only when it comes to Torah, suddenly they investigate where every shekel went.
And I saw an explanation of this that is, on the contrary, a defense of the people of Israel: when a person gives to the calf, he knows that nothing will come of it for him but Gehinnom. So he gives, and if the money does not reach its destination - all the better, fewer sins. But when he gives a shekel to charity, he immediately wants to know exactly where it arrived, for this is the World to Come and from this one receives reward, and therefore he wants every shekel to reach its destination.
Guilt Money and Sin Money - Provision for the Altar
(יז) כֶּסֶף אָשָׁם וְכֶסֶף חַטָּאוֹת לֹא יוּבָא בֵּית יְהֹוָה לַכֹּהֲנִים יִהְיוּ׃ - Money for guilt offerings and money for sin offerings was not brought into the House of Hashem; it belonged to the kohanim.
A person who set aside money for the need of a sin offering or a guilt offering and bought an animal, and found a saving: he set aside two thousand shekels and bought an animal for one thousand eight hundred, and two hundred remained to him. What shall he do with the money? He cannot return it to his pocket, since he set aside the money. The pasuk says: "It was not brought into the House of Hashem" - it does not go to the maintenance of the Temple - "it belonged to the kohanim." And here too the intention is not to their pocket, but with it burnt offerings are bought for the provision of the altar. And what is the provision of the altar? That the altar should not be desolate. There was never a situation in which the offerings upon the altar would come to an end, but rather one always offers. And even if it happened that no one came to bring an offering, the kohanim would buy from that fund special offerings, and this is the provision of the altar, and they offer them as a burnt offering. And in a burnt offering the hide belongs to the kohanim. And the Gemara in Masechet Temurah says that this is a derashah that Yehoyada the kohen expounded from this very pasuk of ours: whatever comes from the surplus of a sin offering and from the surplus of a guilt offering, burnt offerings shall be bought with it.
Chazael Comes Up Against Yerushalayim
(יח) אָז יַעֲלֶה חֲזָאֵל מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם וַיִּלָּחֶם עַל־גַּת וַיִּלְכְּדָהּ וַיָּשֶׂם חֲזָאֵל פָּנָיו לַעֲלוֹת עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃
(יט) וַיִּקַּח יְהוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה אֵת כׇּל־הַקֳּדָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־הִקְדִּישׁוּ יְהוֹשָׁפָט וִיהוֹרָם וַאֲחַזְיָהוּ אֲבֹתָיו מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה וְאֶת־קֳדָשָׁיו וְאֵת כׇּל־הַזָּהָב הַנִּמְצָא בְּאֹצְרוֹת בֵּית־יְהֹוָה וּבֵית הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיִּשְׁלַח לַחֲזָאֵל מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם וַיַּעַל מֵעַל יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - (18) Then Chazael king of Aram came up and fought against Gat and captured it, and Chazael set his face to come up against Yerushalayim. (19) And Yehoash king of Yehudah took all the sacred things that Yehoshafat, Yehoram, and Achazyahu his fathers, the kings of Yehudah, had consecrated, and his own sacred things, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the House of Hashem and of the king's house, and he sent it to Chazael king of Aram, and he went up from Yerushalayim.
When was this "then"? After the death of Yehoyada, and after Yoash had made himself into a god. In Divrei HaYamim it is written that after the death of Yehoyada, Yoash did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem, and there occurred the sin of killing Zecharyah ben Yehoyada, who was both a prophet and a kohen, and they killed him for rebuking them. As a consequence of this it was brought about from Heaven that Chazael came and set his face toward Yerushalayim.
And when Yoash saw that the calamity was closing in on him, he took all that his forefathers had saved and dedicated, Yehoshafat, Yehoram and Achazyah the kings of Yehudah, and all the gold in the treasuries of the House of Hashem and the king's house, and all that he himself had gathered through a collection, and he sent everything to Chazael king of Aram. And Chazael, because of the great bribe he received, withdrew from Yerushalayim.
A Great Lesson: Tools That Go Unused Are Taken Away
From here emerges a great lesson, one that the masters of mussar mention in many contexts, and here we see it clearly. From Heaven a person is given tools, and those tools are meant to serve him in the service of Hashem. As long as he uses them for the service of Hashem, on the contrary, "open wide your mouth and I will fill it," more and more tools are bestowed upon him. But when a person does not use the tools given to him, Heaven forbid, they are taken from him; those very powers and gifts that were given to him to make use of, when he does not make use of them, are taken back.
I read about an elderly Jew, an immense Torah scholar who had the entire Shas in his head, tremendously diligent and toiling in Torah in a wondrous way. At the end of his days he became blind. He told this to one of the great Torah leaders, and I believe it was Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. He went to a doctor to be examined, a short while after he had gone blind, and the doctor asked him: When did you lose your sight? He answered: Two weeks ago, gradually the light of my eyes weakened. The doctor said to him: I am not surprised that you went blind, I am surprised that you saw for the last ten years. With the condition in your eye sockets, you should have lost your sight at least ten years ago.
And that Torah scholar said: I know why this happened to me. All my days I studied with diligence and with great toil. At a certain point I said to myself: You are already old, and thank God you have gone through the entire Torah, why do you need so much toil and exertion and to produce novel insights? Let us learn a bit gently, calmly, review what we have learned, ease the intensity, learning as in the intersession rather than at the start of the term. And within a short time from when I made that decision and began to behave this way, the light of my eyes was taken from me. And then they showed me from Heaven: From where did you think you had the light of your eyes? From the fact that you studied Torah with diligence, and therefore it was left to you. And the moment you decided that you did not need the tools, give them back.
And this is exactly what we see here. Yoash had great success, he strengthened the repair of the House of Hashem and did wonderful things. But the moment he began to stray from the way of Hashem, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: What have you to do with the repair of the House of Hashem? What have you to do with the Beit HaMikdash? Give it back. All the sacred items, all the silver and all the gold, all of it he was forced to send to Chazael king of Aram as a bribe, so that he would withdraw from Yerushalayim.
"And the Rest of the Acts of Yoash"
(כ) וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יוֹאָשׁ וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הֲלוֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה׃ - (20) And the rest of the acts of Yoash and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Yehudah?
"The rest of the acts of Yoash" is all that was not mentioned here: that Zecharyah ben Yehoyada rebuked them and they killed him in the courtyard of the House of Hashem, as well as the matter of the blood that kept seething within the Beit HaMikdash. All this was known and famous in his days, and the blood of Zecharyah that kept seething and bubbling up was known to all, and therefore the prophet saw no need to write it. The verse tells you: You want history? Go to Sefer Divrei HaYamim and there you will read history. But here we are learning the lessons and the mussar to be derived from the lives of those kings.
The Gemara in Gittin on the Blood of Zecharyah
Rabbi Chiya bar Avin said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah: A certain old man from among the people of Yerushalayim told me, in this valley Nevuzaradan the chief executioner killed two hundred and eleven ribo, and a ribo is ten thousand. And in Yerushalayim he killed ninety four ribo upon one stone, until their blood flowed and touched the blood of Zecharyah, to fulfill what is said, "and blood touched blood." Three million people.
He found the blood of Zechariah, which was seething and bubbling up. He asked: What is this? They told him: It is the blood of sacrifices that was spilled. He brought sacrificial blood, but it did not resemble it. He said to them: If you tell me the truth, good, and if not, I will comb your flesh with iron combs. They said to him: What shall we tell you? There was a prophet among us who used to rebuke us with matters of Heaven, and we rose up against him and killed him, and for many years now his blood has not settled. He said to them: I will appease it. He brought the Great Sanhedrin and the Lesser Sanhedrin and killed them there, but it did not settle. He killed young men and maidens over it, but it did not settle. He brought schoolchildren and killed them over it, but it did not settle. He said to it: Zechariah, Zechariah, I have destroyed the best among them, would it please you that I destroy them all? As soon as he said this to it, it settled.
At that moment he contemplated repentance in his heart. He said: If for one soul it was like this - they killed one man and see how much punishment was demanded and how many were killed over the bier of Zechariah - then I, who killed all these people, how much more so. He fled, that is, he ran away, and he sent a will detailing what should be done with his property, and he converted. This is what is said: "I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered" - "I have set her blood" refers to the blood of Zechariah, "upon the bare rock" meaning upon smooth ground so that the blood would not be absorbed into the earth, "that it should not be covered" so that it would not be concealed, and this is "O earth, do not cover my blood," that this blood would be claimed and demanded.
The end of Yoash: the ungrateful are punished through the ungrateful
(כא) וַיָּקֻמוּ עֲבָדָיו וַיִּקְשְׁרוּ־קָשֶׁר וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־יוֹאָשׁ בֵּית מִלֹּא הַיֹּרֵד סִלָּא׃
(כב) וְיוֹזָכָר בֶּן־שִׁמְעָת וִיהוֹזָבָד בֶּן־שֹׁמֵר עֲבָדָיו הִכֻּהוּ וַיָּמֹת וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ עִם־אֲבֹתָיו בְּעִיר דָּוִד וַיִּמְלֹךְ אֲמַצְיָה בְנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ - (21) His servants rose up and formed a conspiracy and struck down Yoash at Beit Millo, on the way down to Silla. (22) It was Yozachar son of Shimat and Yehozavad son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, and he died. They buried him with his fathers in the City of David, and Amatzyah his son reigned in his place.
His servants rise up and conspire against him. In Divrei HaYamim the matter is stated more explicitly: they rose up against him "because of the blood of the sons of Yehoyada the priest," and they killed him on his bed while he lay on his sickbed. Divrei HaYamim also details their lineage: the son of Shimat the Ammonite and the son of Shimrit the Moabite. And why did Scripture specify this? This is a tremendous question: when it comes to describe his killing, what does it matter to me what their names were, or exactly who hired them? And especially since both were of Ammonite and Moabite origin - it would have been enough to say that they conspired against him and killed him.
Rather, our Sages say: this teaches you that the Holy One, blessed be He, punished him through people like himself. And what is unique about the Ammonites and Moabites? That they are ungrateful. They denied the kindness of Avraham Avinu: how he fought on behalf of Lot, went to rescue him and risked his life, and what was their gratitude? They went and hired Bilam to curse them. Such ungrateful people were they. Let the ungrateful Ammonites and Moabites come and punish Yoash, who denied the kindness of Yehoyada. Yehoyada saved you, Yoash being seven years old when he began to reign, raised you for six years in the Holy of Holies and taught you Torah - and you go and murder his son? Could such a thing enter the mind? Therefore the descendants of ungrateful people came and punished the man who was himself ungrateful.
And finally: here it is written "they buried him with his fathers in the City of David," and it does not say "in the tombs of the kings," to teach us that they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings, for there they buried only righteous kings.
In summary:
Chapter 12 opens with the praise of Yehoash - "Yehoash did what was right in the eyes of Hashem all his days" - and ends with a degrading death and a burial that is not in the tombs of the kings. The entire axis hinges on one word: "instructed him" and not "taught him." Righteousness that leans only on the presence of the teacher and is not internalized in the heart collapses the moment the teacher departs. Yehoash, who grew up in the Holy of Holies and restored the repair of the Temple to its glory, accepted the flattery of the officials, turned wicked, and killed Zechariah son of Yehoyada, the son of his rescuer and the one who raised him - blood that bubbled for hundreds of years until it was demanded in the days of Nevuzaradan. From here come two great lessons: the tools that a person is given from Heaven were given to him for the service of Hashem, and when he does not use them they are taken from him - just as all the treasures of the Temple that he had gathered were sent as a bribe to Chazael; and ingratitude is punished specifically at the hands of the ungrateful. On the other hand, we also gained here an illuminating principle: "for they act in good faith" - that one does not audit charity collectors, because honest people are chosen from the outset.