Melachim 2 – Lesson 11 – Plague of Lions – Chizkiyahu Melech Yehudah – The Copper Snake – Chukas – The Miraculous Defeat of the Assyrian Army – Speaker: Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld ז”ל. This Shiur was recorded on 1975-02-17.
04:56 – As a result of idol worship in the Land of Israel, Hashem sent a plague of lions. Reference to Chulin 13 concerning the status of non-Jews who observe mitzvos.
07:96 – Sancherev, king of Assyria, set out to conquer Jerusalem. He surrounded the city and demanded surrender.
08:51 – Overview of the life of Chizkiyahu Melech Yehudah, a direct descendant of King David. He was the son of Achaz, but unlike his father, he turned away from idol worship. He became king of at the age of 25 and ruled until his passing at the age of 54, accomplishing many great things.
10:04 – Chizkiyahu HaMelech’s first act as king was to eliminate idolatry from Am Yisrael.
*10:58 – The deeper meanings of the copper snake constructed by Moshe Rabbeinu (Parshas Chukas). Rebbe Nachman: don’t blame the agent of punishment – blame the sins.
15:02 – This copper snake had been safeguarded since the time of Moshe Rabbeinu, but when people began to worship it, Chizkiyahu HaMelech had it completely destroyed.
16:26 – Chizkiyahu HaMelech decreed that every Jew had to study Torah. As a result of his enforced decree, during his reign every Jewish man, woman, and child knew the entire and Written and Oral Torah.
19:25 – The generation of Chizkiyahu HaMelech was so pure that a controversy arose in heaven. Hashem wanted to pronounce Chizkiyahu as Moshiach, but instead decided to wait.
20:31 – Ohr is b’gematria Raz – Aramaic for “secret”. Zohar HaKodesh: the generation of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai z”l matched that of Chiziyahu HaMelech.
21:39 – During the confrontation between the people of Jerusalem and the overwhelming military power of Assyria, the representatives of Jerusalem were Elyakim, Yoach and Shevna the Scribe.
26:16 – Chizkiyahu HaMelech informed the prophet Yishayahu about the Assyrian general’s blasphemous disrespect of Hashem. The rebellion of Shevna against Chizkiyahu HaMelech was punished by Hashem through a supernatural “iron curtain” that isolated him from his followers and left him prey to the enemy.
30:00 – Ravshakeh, general of the Assyrian army, reported to King Sancherev that Jerusalem refused to surrender. Chizkiyahu HaMelech turned to Hashem in tefilah (prayer).
32:08 – Yishayahu HaNavi revealed Hashem’s response to the tefilos: “not one arrow of Assyria will reach Yerushalayim”.
32:33 – The army of Sancherev approached Yerushalayim to attack it. This army was so vast that it had 185 thousand generals – all were overly confident and instead of attacking at once, they encamped on the hills surrounding the city. During the night, Hashem unleashed His anger against the attackers through a plague. When morning came, not one soldier was alive. The only survivor was King Sancherev, who fled back to Ninveh, the capital city of Assyria. There, he promised to sacrifice his sons to his idol, but his sons discovered their father’s intention and killed him instead.
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