In the Torah portion of Vayigash we read that, after Yosef revealed his identity to his brothers, he and his (full) brother Binyamin embraced each other as they cried, as it says,
“And he embraced his brother Binyamin around the neck and wept, and Binyamin wept on his neck.”
Rashi explains that Yosef was crying about the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash (Holy Temples) both of which stood in the portion of Binyamin, while Binyamin was crying over the destruction of Mishkan Shilo which stood in the portion of Yosef. The commentaries add that we find that the word “neck” refers to the Beit Hamikdash and that the plural of “necks” written regarding Binyamin (צַוְּאר ֵ֥י) alludes to two destructions.
This article will focus on the history of the last acting king of Judea, Tzidkiyahu, who reigned during the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash. It is appropriate to learn about him now as the 10th of Tevet (which always falls out around the time of this parsha) is when the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem leading up to its destruction.
Tzidkiyahu
Tzidkiyahu was the third son of king Yoshiyahu. He was appointed king by the Babylonian king Nevuchadnetzar who had taken the previous king, his nephew Yehoyachin, into Babylonian captivity. Tzidkiyahu’s original name was Matanyah, which means “a gift from G-d”, but Nevuchadnetzar changed it to Tzidkiyahu, which means that Tzidkiyahu would accept G-d’s judgment upon himself if he rebelled. (Tzidkiyahu means “G-d is righteous,” denoting the acceptance of punishment and acknowledging G-d’s righteousness despite the suffering.)
Additional Name
The verse says that Yoshiyahu had four sons, the third of whom was Tzidikiyahu and the fourth Shalum. According to the Talmud, however, Tzidikiyahu and Shalum were one and the same. He was the third son of Yoshiyahu (after Yehoyakim and Yehoyachaz) but the fourth descendant to ascend to the throne as he was preceded in that role by his two brothers and his nephew Yehoyachin.
The Talmud says that the additional name Shalum indicates two things:
Complete
Shalum means “complete” to indicate that Tzidkiyahu was a perfect (complete) Tzadik in his own personal behavior though his advisors and subjects were for the most part wicked. The king didn’t rebuke them sufficiently and their actions brought about the destruction.
Although the text says that Tzidkiyahu did “that which was wicked in the eyes of G-d,” this refers to two very specific sins that the verse lists (which had vast repercussions). Firstly, he disobeyed the words of the prophet Yirmiyahu who advised him to surrender to the Babylonians and thus spare the Beit HaMikdash and the remnant of the Jews in Jerusalem. Secondly, Tzidkiyahu broke his promise by leading the rebellion against Nevuchadnetzar after swearing he would not do so.
Another text says that he followed the evil ways of his brother Yehoyakim. This seems to indicate that Tzidkiyahu was very far from perfect since Yehoyakim was an egregious sinner. (As an example, Yehoyakim worshiped idols, burned the scroll of Eicha, consorted with his mother, daughter-in-law and many married women, reversed his circumcision, and murdered many innocent men.) The verse can be understood to mean that the people of Tzidkiyahu’s generation were behaving in a similar manner to Yehoyakim and that Tzidkiyahu didn’t rebuke them. These sins are therefore attributed to him although personally, he was righteous.
Ended
Shalum can also be translated as “ended” alluding to the fact that the Davidic monarchy over the Jewish people ended (for now) with his reign.
His Father
Tzidkiyahu’s father was the righteous king Yoshiyahu. Tzidkiyahu was 10 years old when his father was tragically killed in a battle against the Egyptian king Pharaoh Necho.
His Mother
Tzidkiyahu’s mother was Chamutal the daughter of Yirmiyahu of Livnah. He was thus the full brother of Yehoachaz (who had the same mother), the first of the sons of Yoshiyahu to become king after his tragic death.
Livnah (Chamutal’s birthplace) is a city in the tribe of Yehudah which makes it likely that Chamutal was a member of that tribe. It has been suggested that this gave her son Yehoachaz an edge to become the king before his older brother Yehoyakim whose mother was from a Northern tribe. There is a verse in Yechezkel that can be interpreted to indicate that Chamutal had a hand in the appointment of her sons Yehoyachaz and Tzidkiyahu, as kings.
One of the Eight Princes of Man
The Talmud says that Tzidkiyahu was one of the eight “Princes of Man” whom the prophet Micha predicted would be the saviors of the Jewish people from their enemies in the future era.
One Mitzvah
The Talmud says that Tzidkiyahu did only one mitzvah: he saved the prophet Yirmiyahu from the pit of quicksand. Tosfot explains that although Tzidkiyahu was a complete Tzadik, the only mitzvah that the verse ascribes to him explicitly is that he saved Yirmiyahu from the pit.
Captured, Bereaved, and Blinded
At the time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash Tzidkiyahu was unable to escape the Babylonians despite using the escape tunnel that brought him out of the besieged city of Jerusalem. (He was caught exiting the tunnel by soldiers who were chasing a deer that was passing that spot.) He was brought to Nevuchadnetzar in Rivlah where the Babylonians killed his ten sons in front of his eyes and then blinded him. He was imprisoned in Babylonia where he remained until just before his death (see below).
This had been predicted by both the prophets Yirmiyahu and Chizkiyahu. This punishment was a fulfillment of two prophecies. Yirmiyahu had said, “and you will be brought to Babylon.” Whereas Yechezkel had said, “I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he shall not see it.” These verses could now be understood to mean that he would be brought to Babylonia but that he would be unable not see it due to his blindness.
Seventh of Cheshvan
According to our sages the blinding of Tzidkiyahu took place on the 7th of Cheshvan. It is not clear as to why the Babylonians waited so long to punish him, since the destruction took place nearly three months earlier.
Had Divine Eyes
The Talmud says that Tzidkiuyahu was blessed with “Divine eyes.” This means that he had the power to envision the future and plan accordingly. Unfortunately, instead of using this power to protect the Jewish people (by remaining faithful to Nevuchadnetzar), he misused it. (See note 11 that he saw Nevuchadnetzar eating a live rabbit and swore not to tell but broke his oath.) As such, he was punished with the blinding of his eyes.
The Maharsha explains that Tzidkiyhu had exceptional vision and that he was planning to use his vision to escape in the dark of night via the tunnel he had prepared. Since he was thus misusing his Divine gift (by not obeying the prophet who had instructed him to surrender), he was therefore punished by the loss of those eyes.
The Eyes of the World
The Talmud calls the Beit HaMikdash “the eyes of the world.” As such, it has been suggested that Tzidkiyahu’s punishment of being blinded was appropriate for having caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
Died in Peace and Was Eulogized with Honor
The prophet Jeremiah told King Tzidkiyahu that although he would witness the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and would be exiled to Babylonia, he would die in peace. As it says,
“You will die a peaceful death; and as incense was burned for your ancestors, the earlier kings who preceded you, so they will burn incense for you, and they will lament for you ‘Ah, lord!’ For I Myself have made the promise—declares G-d.”
Rashi explains that Tzidkiyahu was released on the day of Nevuchadnetzar’s death. (Nevuchadentzar’s policy was to never release his captives.) Tzidkiyahu passed away the next day at the age of 58 (approximately) and was given an honorable burial.
Namesake
Although Tzidikiyahu left no live children in this world, his nephew Yehoyachin named one of his children after him.
May we soon experience the rebuilding of the Eyes of the World with the coming of Moshiach when the Tenth of Tevet will be a Holiday!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom Umevorach!
Copyright 2023 by Rabbi Aryeh Citron
