{"id":64123,"date":"2019-10-06T17:58:21","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T14:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64123"},"modified":"2023-05-04T16:43:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T13:43:02","slug":"ahaz-destroyer-of-judaism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ahaz-destroyer-of-judaism\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahaz: Destroyer of Judaism"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[667,363],"acf":{"old_id":"64123","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33692,"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"To hear the rabbis tell it, he was one of the worst\u2026\r\n\r\n","content":"

The biblical depiction limits Ahaz’s offenses to the sphere of idolatry and the Temple; the sages, however, spread the net farther afield:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz.” This may be compared to the son of a king against whom his tutor plotted, desiring to kill him. He said to himself, “If I slay him now, my life will be forfeited to the king. Rather, I will withdraw his wet-nurse from him and he will die of himself.” Ahaz…reasoned thus to himself: <\/span>
\n<\/span>“If there are no children, there will be no students; <\/span>
\n<\/span>if there are no students, there will be no scholars; <\/span>
\n<\/span>if there are no scholars, there will be no elders; <\/span>
\n<\/span>if there are no elders, there will be no prophets; <\/span>
\n<\/span>and if there are no prophets, the Holy One Blessed be He will not cause His Shekhina to rest upon them” …. <\/span>
\n<\/span>R. Hunia said in R. Eleazer’s name: “Why was he called Ahaz? Because he closed (<\/span>ahaz<\/span><\/i>) the synagogue and houses of study.” (Genesis Rabba 42:3)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The above passage paints Ahaz as intent on destroying Judaism. This midrash is intriguing, but where do the sages see this in the biblical story? How might the notion that Ahaz seeks to eliminate God’s presence by denying a religious education to schoolchildren be understood within the storyline of Kings? The midrash might be suggesting that Ahaz made Assyrian norms and fashions so attractive, so desirable, that the younger generation found Judaism dull and outdated. With Assyria as a superior military and economic power \u2014 the national patron \u2014 and with the adoption of Assyrian culture at every level \u2014 “altars on every hill and under every tree” \u2014 pagan alternatives seemed far more enticing for the average person than worship of God. Schools taught Assyrian myths, history, and literature rather than the parochial Judahite lore. In this way Ahaz eroded loyalty to God at the popular level. The effect of such a shift would certainly have been devastating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Ahaz, Assyria is a source of strength and enlightenment; he is attracted to everything Assyrian. This attitude seeps into the public sphere as idolatrous worship becomes the norm and the Temple is transformed into an Assyrian shrine. The story of Ahaz underscores the powerful impact of strategic and political alliances in the cultural and religious realm. Ahaz’s military pact with Assyria significantly altered the cultural texture of society. In consequence, he may be seen as one of the most damaging kings of Judah that we have yet encountered in the book of Kings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alex Israel, II Kings: In a Whirlwind,<\/em> Maggid Books, 2019, King Ahaz: Religious Capitulation\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":63310,"id":63310,"title":"Alex Israel - 2_kings_cover","filename":"Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-hairy-prophet\/alex-israel-2_kings_cover\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"alex-israel-2_kings_cover","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":63117,"date":"2019-09-23 13:43:41","modified":"2019-09-23 13:53:01","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1711,"height":1821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-282x300.jpg","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-768x817.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":817,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-962x1024.jpg","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1443,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1711,"2048x2048-height":1821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-1128x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1128,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-395x420.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Excerpts from: II Kings - 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