Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Musar for II Kings 24:14

וְהִגְלָ֣ה אֶת־כָּל־יְ֠רוּשָׁלִַם וְֽאֶת־כָּל־הַשָּׂרִ֞ים וְאֵ֣ת ׀ כָּל־גִּבּוֹרֵ֣י הַחַ֗יִל עשרה [עֲשֶׂ֤רֶת] אֲלָפִים֙ גּוֹלֶ֔ה וְכָל־הֶחָרָ֖שׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּ֑ר לֹ֣א נִשְׁאַ֔ר זוּלַ֖ת דַּלַּ֥ת עַם־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

Shenei Luchot HaBerit

The Torah (19,14) continues with: "Do not curse the deaf." This should be understood in the sense of Kings II 24,14: וכל החרש והמסגר, "all the craftsmen and smiths." In the above mentioned context all the leading people of Jerusalem who could have enabled its continued existence as an independent nation were exiled. Here, too, the Torah means that one should not curse the judges, the leaders, etc., without whom the state could not continue to function properly.
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