The arrogance of Yarovam was the cause of his downfall, despite his initial greatness in Torah learning. As a king who was not a descendant of David, Yarovam would have to stand in the Temple Courtyard, while the king who was a true descendant would sit. Yarovam preferred to stop his subjects from pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and established two golden calves for worship instead. Any time a punishment comes to the nation of Israel, it contains a small measure of the punishment for the first Golden Calf; after Yarovam, there were two more.
Rav Ashi ended his lecture on the three kings with “Tomorrow we will continue with our colleagues.” Menasheh came to him in a dream and asked, “You call us colleagues? Which place on the bread do you bless?” Rav Ashi did not know. “The one that is baked first,” - said Menasheh. “Then why did you worship idols?” - asked Rav Ashi. “If you were in our generation, you would run to worship them yourself,” said Menasheh. In the morning, Rav Ashi started with “Let us return to the three kings, our teachers.”
Art: Russian School - Three Jewish men sharing an evening drink
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