Yoshiyahu
The Righteous King
3285-3316 (476-445)
When Yoshiyahu’s thoroughly evil grandfather, Menasheh, died after fifty-five years of rule, he was succeeded by his son Amon, who continued his father’s evil practices but ruled for only two years before being assassinated. Sefer Melachim describes how Yoshiyahu succeeded his father at the tender age of eight. He was installed as the king, even though he obviously was unfit to rule at that age, because he was next in the Davidic line. The people of Judea, despite their spiritual shortcomings, zealously honored the Davidic line even after they assassinated a disliked king.
Yoshiyahu is described in Sefer Melachim as beginning to take interest in repairing the Beis HaMikdash already at age of twenty-six. In Sefer Divrei HaYamim (Perek 34), he is described as having begun to take an interest in the proper Torah way at age sixteen, and he began the process of purifying the Beis HaMikdash at age twenty.
In total, the Jewish people had experienced seventy-five years (fifty-five of Menasheh, two of Amon, and eighteen years more until Yoshiyahu matured and was fully committed to HaShem) of rule under monarchs that were, at the very least, not dedicated to Torah law (although Divrei HaYamim records that Menasheh engaged in minimal acts of Teshuvah in the latter years of his rule). Despite this handicap, Yoshiyahu embarked on his program of national reformation (Teshuvah).
Undaunted by the enormity of the challenge, Yoshiyahu set out on his path to national Teshuvah. He encountered, however, a major setback at the early stages of his campaign. He discovered, in his efforts to purify the Beis HaMikdash, a Sefer Torah that was opened to the Tochachah (reprimand) of Sefer Devarim. As explained by the Midrash HaGadol (Devarim 27) and Radak (Melachim Beis 22:11), Yoshiyahu correctly saw this as a bad omen and sought the interpretation of a Navi. Chuldah the prophetess presented a crushing message. Her prophecy was that as a result of Am Yisrael’s intense sinning, HaShem had resolved to destroy the Beis HaMikdash. She noted, however, that since Yoshiyahu had expressed remorse for the evil committed by his predecessors and his people, he would be spared from experiencing this awful event in his lifetime and that he would die a peaceful death.
Reaction to Chuldah’s Prophecy:
Sefer Melachim (Beis 23:1-24) records that Yoshiyahu did not accept this prophecy with equanimity. Instead, he reacted by embarking on a massive campaign of national spiritual renaissance. He gathered all of Am Yisrael and its leaders and demanded that the nation make a solemn commitment (Bris) to dedicate itself wholeheartedly to the service of HaShem. He committed himself to completely eliminating Avodah Zarah from Eretz Yisrael. The Navi records that he eliminated the Avodah Zarah of his grandfather Menasheh as well as the misdirected places of worship (Bamos) of Yarav’am that had stood for hundreds of years that not even Yoshiyahu’s righteous predecessors (other than Chizkiyahu) dared to disturb.
Although it is not recorded here, he took the precaution of hiding away the Ark of the Covenant and the Torah scroll of Moshe that lay with it (together with the flask of the Manna and Aaron's rod) in the underground channels that Shlomo had ingeniously built into the structure of the Temple Mount (see II Chronicles 35:3 and Yoma 52b).
The Jewish people did not really repent. Yoshiyahu was killed in battle. Yirmiyahu cried over his death and dedicated a kinah (#11) recited on Tisha b’Av.
The question is asked why Yoshiyahu sent to Chuldah since the Tzaddik of the Generation was now the prophet Yirmiyahu, who began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Yoshiyahu's reign, five years before the discovery of the scroll. According to some opinions, Yirmiyahu was then absent from Jerusalem on his mission to try to restore the Ten Tribes, some of whom he did indeed succeed in bringing home to the Land of Israel. Others say that Yoshiyahu sent to Chuldah because women are more compassionate (Megilah 14b).
