Inspirational Moment

We learn in Nevi’im (Melachim II) that during the time that Chizkiyahu, the son of Achaz, reigned over Yehudah he merited two great miracles.

When Chizkiyahu began to take back the lands that had been seized under his father’s rule, Sancheriv the King of Ashur, initiated an attack against the kingdom of Yehudah. Upon hearing this news, Chizkiyahu tore kriyah and proceeded to the Bais HaMikdash

We learn in Nevi’im (Melachim II) that during the time that Chizkiyahu, the son of Achaz, reigned over Yehudah he merited two great miracles.

When Chizkiyahu began to take back the lands that had been seized under his father’s rule, Sancheriv the King of Ashur, initiated an attack against the kingdom of Yehudah. Upon hearing this news, Chizkiyahu tore kriyah and proceeded to the Bais HaMikdash to be mispallel. Hashem Yisborach heard his tefillos and that night a great miracle happened. The malach Hashem killed 185,000 of Sancheriv’s men.

Shortly thereafter, the pasuk says (Melachim II, 20:1) that Chizkiyahu was deathly ill and Yeshayahu informed him that his time had arrived to depart from this world. When Chizkiyahu heard this, “he turned his face to the wall and he prayed to Hashem.” He had a miraculous recovery and lived for an additional fifteen years.

Our sages tell us, however, that Chizkiyahu was faulted for not singing shirah to Hashem for these miracles.

The gemara in Sanhedrin (94) relates that Hashem wanted to bring the final geulah (redemption) with Chizkiyahu as the moshiach and Sancheriv as Gog and Magog. Since Chizkiyahu failed to say shirah this plan was abandoned.

The Sfas Emes cites in the name of the Chidushei HaRim that there was a very simple reason Chizkiyahu neglected to say shirah. The supremacy of Hashem was so evident and clear to Chizkiyahu that he didn’t need a miracle to appreciate the greatness of Hashem. The sovereignty of Hashem was manifest in the everyday world, and therefore Chizkiyahu did not feel compelled to immediately rejoice with song. In fact, Mefarshim reveal that he actually did say shirah the following morning. Nevertheless, Moshiach did not come, and the Milchemes Gog U’Magog did not take place.

The Iyunim on Mesilas Yesharim, composed by Rabbi Chaim Luzatto (1707-1746) explains that zerizus, zealousness, is the middah of coercing the nature of laziness to change.

The Bereishis Rabbah cites an interesting medrash that the Ribono Shel Olam had to remind Yaakov that he had forgotten to fulfill his neder. And then He said, “If you do not discharge your neder then you are like Eisav.”

The Nachlas Eliezer finds such a comparison difficult to understand. Eisav annulled his promise; Yaakov, however, merely deferred the fulfillment of his neder but he had every intention of bringing the korban that he had promised.

He quotes the Shaar Cheshbon Hanefesh which states that every individual will be held accountable for his actions according to his awareness and knowledge. Therefore, Yaakov who was a tzaddik was more liable for his delay in fulfilling his neder.

The insight here is profound. When a person is negligent in the fulfillment of one mitzvah – even if he is fervent about the fulfillment of all the other mitzvos – it is possible that the Hashgacha will consider him at fault.

How careful we have to be, in our own lives, not to be remiss in the performance of the mitzvos and to be zerizim in the fulfillment of the Will of Hashem.

One Taanis Esther the Vilna Gaon was walking on the road, far from a Jewish community. When he realized that that hearing the megillah that evening b’tzibbur would be a huge challenge, he was deeply distressed. He was heartened, therefore, to see a wagon loaded with pots and dishes coming down the road. The Gaon begged the driver to take him along in his wagon to the closest Jewish community so that he could listen to the laining of the megillah in shul. He climbed up on top of the wagon, with the pots underneath, and they continued on their journey. Suddenly, the wagon tipped over and then crashed to the ground. The Gaon who had been perched on top of the wagon fell off and was injured, and the dishes, understandably, broke.

The wagon driver, upset that the Vilna Gaon had not helped keep the wagon upright, angrily attacked the Gaon. The Gaon fearing for his life, forgot about his injuries, picked himself up and ran as quickly as possible towards the village ahead so that he could get there for the reading of the megillah. By the time he reached the village, however, it was late and the tefillas tzibbur had already concluded.

The Gaon tried to gather ten people so he could read the megillah, but he was not successful. He then hired ten individuals, paying them two gold pieces each, so that they would join him as he read the megillah. Once the Gaon started reading the megillah, the people slowly disappeared as they had already received their remuneration. The Gaon expended every possible effort with great mesiras nefesh to be able to read the megillah b’tzibbur but he ultimately had to read the megillah to himself.

For the remainder of his life, the Vilna Gaon expressed great tzaar that he had missed megillah b’tzibbur that year. Although he only recounted this story occasionally, every time he did he would cry uncontrollably about this lapse.