King Hezekiah

King Hezekiah is the level of the head of the Cain-root. For The Sages say that Cain was blamed for his weakness by The Holy One Blessed be He during the days of the Flood. He was rectified and strengthened through the gilgul of Hezekiah.

This is what "Chizkiah/Hezekiah" means: Chazak-Y-H [strengthen Y-H] - for through him the head was strengthened. The root of Cain which is called Y-H/the level of the head, within which is Abba/Y and Imma/H. Isaiah told him, "You will die and not live", (Kings II 20:1) for he thought that he had not yet rectified the level of the head called Y-H. And so he said, "you will not see Y-H".

Hezekiah himself was a seer and saw that his child was to become an idolater. He therefore refrained from marriage. The prophet Isaiah was sent to tell him of pending death, for a person is obligated to do his mitzvah and it is God’s business as to what comes out of it. Hezekiah proposed to then get married. Isaiah told him that it was too late. He retorted, "So did I receive from the house of my great grandfather (King David): ‘Even if a sharp sword is resting on a person’s neck, he should not give up on (evoking God’s) mercy’". He was granted another fifteen years. (Berachot 10a)

Y-H equals fifteen. It is the source of chochma/bina/da’at - the mental faculties. "And the chochma [wisdom] enlivens its owners". (Eccl. 7:12) "They die - but not in chochma (the source of life)". (Hagiga) "You have made them all in chochma". (Ps. 104) In general, a king draws from this source in order to enable him to enliven his kingdom. (Likutei Moharan 56) Hezekiah comes from the head of the Cain/firstborn-root and is so extra regal. The woman affords her husband malchut connection. Hezekiah’s lack of marriage deterred from his kingship, which is his very lifeline. His teshuvah reopened the pipeline and drew him a higher level of life - directly from God. It so was drawn upon his entire kingdom. This rectified the head aspect in all the worlds and paved the way for the Mashiach-tikun. As mentioned, if Hezekiah would have sung to God he would have been Mashiach. For then he would have stepped up the drawing from chochma to keter.

Hence we find that Hezekiah began to rectify the level of the root-head as mentioned, and therefore the name Y-H is alluded to in him. Through Rav Mesharshia the tikun of the head was being completed and therefore he has the letters ShRSh-Y-H [the root Y-H], since the head is called Y-H which is the root of all.

"They (dinim) are all are clarified in chochma." (Zohar) From here we learn that first the leader is fixed and then everything else follows suit.1A good leader can fix everything in the source and so establish a root in reality of rectification for all things.

This is the concept of the tikun haklali [general remedy]. Every possible problem has a specific remedy. Problems are sourced in a prevalence of dinim in the sefirot. Renewing the light of a given sefira rejuvenates and repairs the damage of its dinim. Drawing from chochma, the top of the sefirot is a general, encompassing cure that automatically fixes everything underneath.

So it is with in the self. There is some way to fix specific difficulties. However, it is much higher to elevate the state of mind and thereby repair the source of all problems across the board. This is done through attaining chochma-consciousness.

Chochma is ‘ko'ach-mah’ [the power of nullification]. (Zohar Numbers 220b) The essence of chochma-awareness is nullification. The mind is calmed from external, material stimuli and focused on the inner, transcendental. This is a spiritual high-tech method of solving problems without having to do anything.

Therefore, Hezekiah and Rav Mesharshia are both in the head of the Cain-root, whereas Ezekiel the prophet strengthened Cain on the level of the legs. This is the secret of the verse, "son of man - stand on your legs etc", (Ezekiel 2:1) as mentioned.

Know that ShMVN/Shimon ben Azzai and ShMVN/Shimon ben Zoma are the two names (that come out of the two) Sh/shin’s of Rav MShRShYA/Mesharshia. Therefore Ben Azzai married the daughter of Rabbi Akiva, and even though the two are not from the root mentioned, nevertheless they have great closeness to this root.

These two are clearly related, as indicated here by the Ari.Zl and also, from their juxtaposition in the sayings of the Rabbis. And they are both known as ‘Ben so and so’. They were from the four that ‘ascended to the orchid’2 and there they suffered sister-like damage. Ben Zoma’s soul soared above and didn’t return. Ben Azzai also left - common communication, seeming to have lost sanity.

These were from the most outstanding sages of their generation - yet they were not titled Rabbi. Previously, the secret of Ben Azzai was explained. Azzai comes from the root ‘az’ [brazen]. AZ/az itself is an acronym for Azzai/Zoma. Their quality is holy brazenness. They learned, taught, and stood for raw truth - without need of any title/sanction. So they are both called after Shimon - who is the second son of Leah/bina, and so corresponds to gevura, the second sefira down. Gevura is the source of azut [brazenness].

It was similar with Elijah the prophet. Since he came from the daughters of Putiel (through Pinchas), that is from Jethro who came from Cain - the souls of Nadab and Abihu who were from Cain, became mixed within him. Likewise with respect to Elisha and Jonah Amitai, both of whom had great closeness to this root. (My teacher did not explain any more regarding this proximity.)

However, regarding what is says with respect to Hezekiah, "I said, ‘With my days cut short (b’dimi yomai)’", (Isaiah 38:10) even though he gained fifteen extra years, they came from his (years he was supposed to have lived from the outset). As the Sages say, he did not fulfill the years allotted to him - some were missing. (Yevamot 50a)

The rest of his years were completed through Rav Dimi from Neharde'a, who was the actual gilgul, without a spark from anyone else. This is what Hezekiah said, "I said, "With my days cut short (b’dimi yomai)...deprived of the rest of my years". (Isaiah 38:10) He was talking about Rav Dimi, through whom "I was deprived and completed my days...the rest of my years allotted to me, which I did not complete at first".

[Translation and commentary by Perets Auerbach.]