Chapter 38 of Yeshayahu recounts the story of King Chizkiyahu's illness, his prayer, and the addition of fifteen years to his life. Rashi notes that these events occurred "in those days" - three days before the downfall of Sancheriv; and the prayer itself took place on the very day of Sancheriv's fall, which was the first day of Pesach. This entire account is also recounted in II Kings Chapter 20 and in Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles), and "the words of Torah are impoverished in one place and rich in another": certain details are explained more fully here, while others are clarified more there.
בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם חָלָה חִזְקִיָּהוּ לָמוּת וַיָּבוֹא אֵלָיו יְשַׁעְיָהוּ בֶן־אָמוֹץ הַנָּבִיא וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה צַו לְבֵיתֶךָ כִּי מֵת אַתָּה וְלֹא תִחְיֶה׃ - In those days Chizkiyahu became ill to the point of death, and Yeshayahu son of Amotz the prophet came to him and said to him: "So said Hashem: Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live."
The Gemara in Masechet Berachot (10a) asks: What is the meaning of "for you shall die and not live"? After all, someone who dies does not live, so why the repetition? Rather: "You shall die" in this world, "and not live" in the World to Come. Both in this world and in the World to Come.
The Gemara asks: "Why all this?" For what sin was such a severe decree issued, given that Chizkiyahu was a righteous king? The prophet told him: Because you did not engage in procreation. Chizkiyahu replied: Did I refrain for no reason? I foresaw through Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration) that unworthy sons would emerge from me - Menashe and Ravshakeh. Ravshakeh indeed died in his childhood, but Menashe survived. Chizkiyahu reasoned: It is better that such sons, who will anger the Creator of the world, should not come into the world at all.
Yeshayahu said to him: "Why do you meddle in the secrets of the Merciful One?" - what have you to do with the hidden calculations of Heaven? "What you are commanded, you were required to do" - you are commanded to procreate, so engage in procreation; "and whatever is pleasing before the Holy One, blessed be He, let Him do" - and what is pleasing before Him, blessed be He, He will do. What comes from you is His reckoning.
Here a question arises: Chizkiyahu possessed Ruach HaKodesh, for he foresaw who would descend from him. How, then, did he not know that Menashe was destined to repent? The answer is that the level of teshuvah is higher than the level of Ruach HaKodesh, and it cannot be perceived through Ruach HaKodesh. Because of the sublime greatness of teshuvah, it is invisible to such prophetic vision. For this very reason, Korach was also mistaken: he saw that Shmuel was destined to descend from him and was certain he would prevail, unable to perceive through Ruach HaKodesh that his sons would be the ones to repent and survive.
Chizkiyahu said to him: "Now give me your daughter; perhaps my merit and your merit will combine so that worthy sons will emerge from me." Yeshayahu replied: The decree against you has already been sealed. Meaning: I did not come to make deals or negotiate arrangements; I came to deliver a decree, and do not think there is any point in trying to overturn it.
To this, Chizkiyahu gave the timeless response: "Son of Amotz, finish your prophecy and leave! Thus I have received a tradition from the house of my ancestor - even if a sharp sword rests upon a person's neck, he should not hold himself back from mercy." This is the tradition received from the house of King David. "A sword resting on his neck" means that only the slightest pressure is needed to sever the neck - yet even then, the situation is still suspended in the balance, and one can still plead for mercy. And it was also stated that Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar both said: Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person's neck, he should not hold himself back from mercy.
Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz asks a profound question: Where have we ever heard that a person who did not engage in procreation is punished with "you shall die in this world and not live in the World to Come"? After all, this is the neglect of a positive commandment, "be fruitful and multiply"; it carries no lashes, no karet (spiritual excision), and no death penalty. Nor is there any unique obligation upon a king more than any other person - procreation was commanded to every person, and according to some opinions, even to Gentiles. How, then, could he be condemned to death both in this world and in the World to Come?
Indeed, there is an opinion in the teachings of the holy Ari that one who did not engage in procreation has, as it were, rectified nothing, and that entire incarnation is rendered completely void. However, one should know that this was said only regarding a soul present here for the very first time, which has never engaged in procreation. Yet we have already been in this world hundreds of times, and without doubt, in some past incarnation every person has already fulfilled this mitzvah, and therefore this does not apply to him.
Rather, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz explains: The grievance against Chizkiyahu was not over the mere failure to engage in procreation, but over the reason he gave for it. When asked why he did not engage in it, he answered: I saw through Ruach HaKodesh that wicked sons would descend from me. But what is a servant? A servant fulfills his master's command simply because the master said so, without personal calculations. A servant sent on an errand does not say, "Wait, is it worthwhile to do the master's bidding or not? The master commanded, true, but I think there is a different path" - who asked you to think at all? The moment a servant begins to weigh whether it is worthwhile or not - when there is a Creator of the universe Who deems it worthwhile, and you say that with all due respect you hold a different opinion - with that, the servant has cast off the yoke of his master.
Therefore, the prophet takes him to task and tells him: "Why do you meddle in the secrets of the Merciful One?" - this is the essence of the rebuke. Why are you making Heavenly calculations? Hashem commanded and you are obligated, yet you begin calculating whether what Hashem said is worthwhile this time, and as if, for the sake of the Master of the Universe, it is better not to? Are you seeking to do favors for the Holy One, Blessed be He? What the Holy One, Blessed be He said is the absolute best. And for this, it was decreed: "For you shall die" in this world "and not live" in the World to Come - because through this you cast off the yoke of servitude from your neck.
The Malbim explains a major principle here (as he also explained in Melachim II, Chapter 20): Man faces three enemies, ranging from the most external to the most internal. The outermost enemy is the foe that attacks him from without - the one besieging his city, who comes to wage war against him. The closer enemy consists of the body's forces and physical constitution, that is, the internal battle: one of the bodily organs - the heart, the liver, the lungs, brain activity - weakens and becomes an enemy consuming the body from within; this is illness. And the innermost enemy is the bad character traits, corrupt qualities, and desires in his heart.
Both external enemies converged upon Chizkiyahu at once: on one side was Sancheirev, the outermost enemy, coming to destroy and annihilate; and three days earlier, the closer internal enemy came upon him - bodily illness, to the point that Yeshayahu son of Amotz told him, "You shall die and not live." In order to fight the two external enemies, one must first confront the innermost enemy - the character flaws and desires. When a person overcomes this internal enemy and refines his actions, his soul, and his intellect, both outer enemies are subdued before him automatically: both physical illness and the external foe. Therefore, Chizkiyahu understood what lay upon him: to intensify the internal battle, and thereby overcome the other two enemies.
וַיַּסֵּב חִזְקִיָּהוּ פָּנָיו אֶל־הַקִּיר וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אֶל־יְהֹוָה׃ - "Then Chizkiyahu turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Hashem."
According to its plain meaning: He turned his face to the wall so that members of the household would not disturb him and there would be no distractions, and when a person faces a wall he can pray from the depth of his heart. Chazal expounded: "From the wall" - from the walls of his heart, an inward, genuine cry.
וַיֹּאמַר אָנָּה יְהֹוָה זְכׇר־נָא אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ בֶּאֱמֶת וּבְלֵב שָׁלֵם וְהַטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ עָשִׂיתִי וַיֵּבְךְּ חִזְקִיָּהוּ בְּכִי גָדוֹל׃ - "And he said: 'I beseech You, Hashem, remember now how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done that which is good in Your eyes.' And Chizkiyahu wept bitterly."
"Ana" is an expression of supplication. The Malbim explains that there are three conditions for perfection, corresponding to the three phrases in the verse.
The first condition is perfection of contemplation, the products of the intellect - that a person possess complete faith in Hashem, may He be blessed, that his perspectives be upright, and that he have no distortion in thought or faith. The second condition is perfection of the deed - not merely a deed, but an unblemished deed. A person might give tzedakah for many reasons: because everyone else gave and he feels embarrassed; or because the sight of the pauper pricks his conscience, so he appeases his conscience and finds relief. These are reasons, yet this is not yet perfection of the mitzvah, since he did not give simply because Hashem commanded. Even if he gave because he knows that the reward for charity is great and that charity rescues from death and lengthens life - it is still not perfect, for he acted out of self-interest. Perfection of the deed means acting solely to bring satisfaction to one's Creator, without any slant or ulterior motive. The third condition is perfection of execution - that nothing hinder him from bringing the deed to fruition. There are obstacles and distractions; the bodily faculties of their own accord do not tend to facilitate the performance of mitzvos, and man possesses sluggishness, physical heaviness, and a tendency toward desires. Carrying out the deed properly from beginning to end - that is perfection of execution.
And regarding these three things Chizkiyahu prayed: "That I walked before You in truth" - with absolute truth, without distortion of outlook or intellect. "And with a whole heart" - that all my actions were done for the sake of Heaven, without bias toward self-interest or personal benefit. "And that which is good in Your eyes I have done" - I brought the action to completion, translating thought from potential into actuality; I did not let the evil inclination interrupt me midway, nor did I begin an action without finishing it, but rather performed the entire action in its completeness from beginning to end.
וַיְהִי דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָהוּ לֵאמֹר׃ - And the word of Hashem came to Yeshayahu, saying:
הָלוֹךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי דָּוִד אָבִיךָ שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת־תְּפִלָּתֶךָ רָאִיתִי אֶת־דִּמְעָתֶךָ הִנְנִי יוֹסִף עַל־יָמֶיךָ חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה׃ - Go and say to Chizkiyahu: Thus says Hashem, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your days.
The Malbim explains that two factors converged here, on account of which Hashem saved him. One was merit: the merits he mentioned in his prayer, "I walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and that which is good in Your eyes I have done," awakened his merits on High. This is the meaning of "I have heard your prayer" - the prayer in which you awakened your merits, that is what I heard. The second was "I have seen your tears": through his tears he succeeded in awakening heavenly compassion upon himself, for the gates of tears are never locked.
And if the gates of tears are never locked, why are gates needed at all? A place that is never locked does not require a gate. Rather, the gates are necessary for crocodile tears - there are those who weep insincere tears, tears induced by an onion. For these, there are gates. But for one who weeps genuine tears, the gates of tears are never locked.
This is what the Malbim explains: once the soul was healed and the innermost enemy was removed - those calculations against the Master of the Universe as to why it was better not to bring children into the world - he repented for this and undertook to correct it, and Yeshayahu gave him his daughter as a wife so that he might merit having children and fulfilling the mitzvah of procreation. Once you have fought the internal enemy, the flawed notions that undermine one's servitude to the Master of the Universe (believing that I, too, have an opinion contrary to Hashem's command), and have corrected it, you automatically overcome the two external enemies. As for the more internal of these, the physical illness of the body, the Holy One, Blessed be He, promises him healing.
וּמִכַּף מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר אַצִּילְךָ וְאֵת הָעִיר הַזֹּאת וְגַנּוֹתִי עַל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת׃ - And from the hand of the king of Assyria I will deliver you and this city, and I will defend this city.
And now also the more external and easier enemy: "And from the hand of the king of Assyria I will deliver you" - from the one presently besieging the city; "and I will defend this city" - I will protect it, and it will experience salvation miraculously and through Divine providence.
Regarding "and I will defend this city," it is stated in the Book of Melachim, "For My sake and for the sake of David My servant." Would that generation not have been saved without this? Rather, the generation indeed would have been saved, but the manner in which it was saved was supernatural and miraculous: an angel of Hashem came and struck the camp of Assyria. Could not the Holy One, Blessed be He, have granted strength, might, and valor to Chizkiyahu, so that the few would vanquish the many within the laws of nature? Why was such a miracle performed, where their ears were opened and they heard the song of the Chayos and their souls departed as a result, as explained in the previous lesson? To this the verse responds: as for the rescue itself, you and the people were worthy of it, for Chizkiyahu was a righteous king; but to perform it in such a wondrous manner, that was "for My sake and for the sake of David My servant" - so that His Name would be sanctified in the world, since in the taunts and blasphemies of Ravshakeh and his companions there was desecration of Hashem's Name in the world, and Hashem saw the need to sanctify His Name; and also "for the sake of David My servant" - this is the city of David, and in his merit.
Regarding the fifteen years, there is a dispute among Chazal: does the Holy One, blessed be He, actually add to a person's lifespan, or is there no concept of addition, but rather that the years that had been deducted from him were returned, so that what was originally decreed is what he ultimately receives? According to this latter view, "I will add" means "I will restore" - what was taken away is returned. Naturally, we prefer to rule that the Holy One, blessed be He, truly adds to a person's years; but in any event, Hashem knows the ultimate truth of the matter.
וְזֶה־לְּךָ הָאוֹת מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה יְהֹוָה אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר׃ - And this shall be the sign for you from Hashem, that Hashem will do this thing which He has spoken:
הִנְנִי מֵשִׁיב אֶת־צֵל הַמַּעֲלוֹת אֲשֶׁר יָרְדָה בְמַעֲלוֹת אָחָז בַּשֶּׁמֶשׁ אֲחֹרַנִּית עֶשֶׂר מַעֲלוֹת וַתָּשׇׁב הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ עֶשֶׂר מַעֲלוֹת בַּמַּעֲלוֹת אֲשֶׁר יָרָדָה׃ - Behold, I will bring back the shadow of the degrees which has gone down on the sundial degrees of Ahaz by the sun, backward ten degrees. So the sun returned ten degrees on the degrees which it had gone down.
The sign was to confirm that he would be healed and fifteen years would be added to his life. In II Kings chapter 20, it is explicitly recounted that Chizkiyahu asked, "What is the sign?" Yeshayahu answered him: What do you prefer, that the shadow advance ten degrees or turn back ten degrees? Chizkiyahu said, "It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; nay, let the shadow return backward ten degrees." Yeshayahu then cried out to Hashem, and He brought the shadow back ten degrees on the degrees of Ahaz.
First, we must understand what maalot are: not temperatures, but steps or degrees. Shir HaMa'alot means a song of the steps, referring to the steps upon which the Levi'im stood when singing in the Beit HaMikdash. King Ahaz had steps constructed that served as a sundial: according to the step reached by the shadow, people knew the hour of the day. For the shadow to move backward meant that the sun was receding backward, while for the shadow to move forward meant that the sun sped along its course at great velocity.
The Malbim wonders: how does it make sense to say, "It is an easy thing for the shadow to go forward ten degrees" rather than backward? After all, both cases involve the exact same supernatural phenomenon - that the sun should move ten hours in a single moment, whether forward or backward - and before the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no difference!
The Radak seeks to explain according to the straightforward meaning: since the sun has a fixed directional orbit, it is simpler for it to continue moving in that same direction - what we call inertia; even if it shifts into high gear and races ahead, that is still simpler than reversing course along its path by ten hours, which runs entirely contrary to its nature and course.
The Malbim also cites the Ralbag, who was deeply troubled by this question and sought to explain that it was not the sun itself that moved, but rather the clouds that transmit the sunlight and through which its light is perceived, and it is easier to direct them backward than forward. Yet the Malbim questions this explanation, especially since it is stated that the ministers of Babylon sent emissaries "to inquire about the wonder that occurred in the land"; according to the Ralbag, the wonder took place merely in the clouds, not in the celestial sphere itself, nor was it a sign performed on the earth.
Therefore, the Malbim offers his own explanation: at that hour, the sun had already progressed through ten hours. An average day consists of twelve hours, especially as this occurred around Pesach - neither midsummer when the days are long, nor midwinter when they are short. If we assume sunset was at six o'clock, the time was then four in the afternoon; the sun had already shone for ten hours, with only two hours remaining. If Chizkiyahu were to ask that the shadow advance ten degrees, the sun itself could only be seen moving two degrees until it set, and the rest of the miracle would be perceived only in the shadow: the orb of the sun would no longer be visible, yet the shadow would have shifted ten degrees in an instant. Regarding this, Chizkiyahu said, "It is an easy thing for the shadow" - meaning there is little apparent wonder in this, and it is seemingly simpler to perform the sign in the shadow rather than in the sun itself.
However, if the sign were performed in the sun: at four o'clock in the afternoon, people could witness the orb of the sun itself retreating ten degrees - ten hours in a single moment - and along with it, the shadow on the wall. This is an incomparably greater sign; beyond the reversal of direction as noted by the Radak, the actual sight of the solar orb traveling backward is a breathtaking miracle. For this reason, Chizkiyahu requested precisely this wonder, rather than having the remaining two hours rapidly shorten with the miracle being discernible primarily in the shadow, where it would not be nearly as evident.
The Malbim explains that the primary purpose of this sign and wonder was not for Chizkiyahu himself, but for the Ten Tribes who had been exiled (and there is an opinion in Chazal that the Ten Tribes eventually returned). The Holy One, blessed be He, wanted those exiles not to lose their faith; when they would see that Hashem performs signs and wonders in the land and that the sun turns back ten degrees, their hearts would be strengthened. Indeed, we see that the entire world heard about this, and emissaries even came to visit Chizkiyahu to honor and exalt him for the miracle performed on his behalf. For this Chizkiyahu was later held accountable, when he welcomed the envoys of Babylon into his palace and showed them his treasure house. Part of the retribution, explains the Malbim, was because he appropriated the miracle to himself, whereas the miracle was not primarily intended for him, but rather to strengthen the hearts of the exiles in the land of Assyria, in Egypt, in Chalach, in Chavor, and by the Gozan River - those who had already despaired of redemption - to show them that the Holy One, blessed be He, still performs signs and wonders in the land. After all, for Chizkiyahu himself, Hashem could have performed a simple, local miracle, like dew upon the fleece, a miracle within his own home, and that would have sufficed. Why perform a miracle known to all the inhabitants of the world?
The Malbim's entire explanation is precisely anchored in the wording of the verse: "Behold, I will bring back the shadow of the degrees... on the sundial backward ten degrees. So the sun returned ten degrees" - I will not merely turn back the shadow, but I will reverse the orb of the sun itself, and then people will see the sun itself moving ten degrees backward.
And what is the meaning of "which has gone down on the sundial of Achaz"? The commentators explain that when Achaz died, ten hours of daylight still remained until sunset, and there was a concern that they would hold a dignified state funeral for him, with trumpets and salutes of honor. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not want such a wicked man to receive such honor. What did He do? He caused the sun to set - after only two hours of daylight, sunset arrived, and ten hours were lost from that day. And where were they repaid? Here, in the days of Chizkiyahu, so that there would be no future anomaly or question about a missing day on the calendar. This is the meaning of "Behold, I will bring back the shadow of the degrees, which has gone down on the sundial of Achaz": the hours that were lost when the sun set early at the burial of Achaz, I am now restoring, and you will receive ten additional hours of daylight.
Where else do we find the restoration of hours that were cut short? By Yaakov Avinu: "He arrived at the place and lodged there, for the sun had set" - the sun set prematurely; and later it says, "And the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel," and that sunrise occurred to make up for the premature setting of the sun earlier.
מִכְתָּב לְחִזְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה בַּחֲלֹתוֹ וַיְחִי מֵחׇלְיוֹ׃ - A writing of Chizkiyahu king of Yehudah, when he had been sick and recovered from his sickness.
Targum Yonatan explains: "A letter of thanksgiving for the miracle that was done for Chizkiyahu." Chizkiyahu wished to thank, praise, and laud the Creator for the miracle performed on his behalf; he therefore wrote this thanksgiving to serve as a lasting memorial to the lovingkindness Hashem showed him by adding to his days. And "and he lived [recovered] from his sickness" means that he was healed of his illness, as in "until they recovered" (ad chayotam); do not think that "vayechi" implies he had already died, but rather like "chayetah ha-makah" - that the wound healed.
From here we learn a practice recorded in the holy books: when a miracle happens to a person, it is worthy and right to record the matter in a book. Write down the miracle; write an account detailing what was done for you. Why? So that from time to time you can review it and remember Hashem's kindness toward you. For we are prone to forget the miracles Hashem has performed for us, the salvations, and all the things He bestowed upon us beyond the natural order. When a person records these things and reviews them periodically, it serves as the finest mussar book. The Pele Yoetz likewise recommends this: by writing down the salvations and kindnesses of Hashem, one will continually thank Hashem and praise the Creator for the miracles and wonders He performed for him. The source for this is right here: "A writing of Chizkiyahu king of Yehudah, when he had been sick and recovered from his sickness" - because he was healed of his illness, he sat and composed a song of praise, laudation, and thanksgiving to Hashem, may He be blessed.
Chizkiyahu faced two external enemies - Sancheiriv besieging Jerusalem and a bodily illness through which death had been decreed upon him - and understood that the way to overcome them was by defeating the innermost enemy: the calculations he had made against the command of his Creator. The claim against him was not merely regarding the neglect of procreation, but regarding "Why do you meddle in the secrets of the Merciful One?" - a servant making calculations instead of obeying. He turned his face to the wall, from the walls of his heart, and prayed with three perfections: truth in contemplation, a whole heart in intention, and the complete execution of the deed. In the merit of prayer and tears he was answered - fifteen years, rescue from the hand of Assyria, and the sign of the sun turning back ten degrees, those very ten hours taken away at the burial of Achaz. And when he was healed, he sat and wrote a letter of thanksgiving - an eternal lesson that a person must never lose the memory of his miracles, and that even if a sharp sword rests upon one's neck, one should never despair of mercy.