חזקיהו המלך

King Hezekiah is the king who returned an entire people to the Torah, and almost was the Messiah. He ruled Judah in a hard time, after his father Achaz had brought idolatry into the Temple, and Hezekiah rose and purified the House, removed the high places, and strengthened Torah study until 'they searched from Dan to Beer Sheva and did not find an ignoramus' (Sanhedrin 94b), every child knew the laws of purity and impurity.

In his days Sennacherib king of Assyria, the great conqueror, came up and destroyed all the cities of Judah, and besieged Jerusalem with a mighty army. Hezekiah did not surrender to force but spread the letter of blasphemy before God and prayed, and in one night an angel of God struck the camp of Assyria, 'a hundred and eighty-five thousand' (II Kings 19). Faith defeated the empire.

When Hezekiah fell mortally ill, he prayed and fifteen years were added to him. The Sages say he was worthy to be the Messiah, except that he did not sing a song over the miracle, and so the redemption was deferred. Even a righteous king like him was measured in the fine points of thanksgiving, and in this he stopped a step short of the goal.

What do we learn from him? That a king can return an entire people to the Torah, and that against mighty power, faith and prayer are stronger than any army. Hezekiah teaches that even the great righteous one is measured in the fine details, like singing a song over a miracle, and that redemption depends not only on valor but also on gratitude for the kindness we received.