Bellows Family. Megillat Esther 1-4

Transcription

1 Bellows Family MATAN AL HAPEREK The Six-Year Online Weekly Tanakh Learning Program The Structure of the Megillah and its Meaning Only after finishing reading the Megillah do we retrospectively understand the significance of all the stories and events which are told in the chapters of the Megillah. Only after seeing the full picture from the third to the twelfth year of the king Achashverosh do all the details form a complete mosaic, and the contribution of each piece to the final miracle becomes clear. The idea of venahafoch Hu (that everything becomes turned around) is a central motif in the Megillah, as we will see in the learning today. The Megillah can be divided into two opposing sections. The situation described in the second section is a complete contrast with the situation described in the first section. By presenting the facts in this way, the reader is forced to clarify when the reversal takes place, and what is the central point of the Megillah which divides it into two parallel, contrasting sections. (Rabbi M. Sabato) Therefore, we will present the structure of the Megillah and then learn it according to the comparisons between the sections: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. Introduction The kingdom of Achashverosh The two banquets given by Achashverosh (1) Esther comes before the king and hides her Jewish identity (2) Description of Haman s greatness (3) The casting of the lot, giving the signet ring to Haman and the writing of the first letters. Mordechai tears his clothes and fasts with the Jews (3-4:1-3) Esther s first banquet (5) Haman seeks counsel at home from his relatives and his wife Zeresh, who counsel him to hang Mordechai (5:9-14) The king has trouble sleeping the story of the horse (6) Haman seeks counsel at home from his relatives and his wife Zeresh, who tell him that he will fall before Mordechai (7:12-14) Esther s second banquet, Haman is hanged on the tree which he prepared for Mordechai (7) The ring is given to Mordechai, the second letters are written, Mordechai wears the royal clothes. (8) Description of the greatness of the Jews and Mordechai (9:3-11) Esther comes before the king and asks for an additional day in Shushan (9:12-17) The two feasts of the Jews (9:17-32) A description of the kingdom of Achashverosh (10) Director: Dr Navah Cohen Coordinator: Ilana Hadad Content: David Sabato : מתן ירושלים טל. מתן על הפרק. כל הזכויות שמורות 1

2 1. a The Megillah begins with a detailed description of the two banquets given by Achashverosh - for all his ministers and servants (1-4) and for all of the people of Shushan (5-8). What is the reason for these banquets? See the Ibn Ezra: Many say that he made the banquet because according to his calculations he saw that the time had passed and Israel had not been redeemed, and some say because it was a time of peace after wars, and some say because of his marriage to Vashti. Based on the description in the beginning of the perek (1-3), try to decide which of these reasons is correct. What type of culture is reflected in the perek? b The pair of banquets at the beginning of the Megillah is paralleled in the end of the Megillah - two days of Purim which are established by the Jews as a reminder of the miracle. How are the two days of celebration of the Jews different from the celebrations of Achashverosh? Examine the description of the days of celebration closely (9:19,22). To understand the relationship between the two pairs see Rabbi M. Sabato: The people of Shushan had an additional aspect to the decree because they benefited from the banquet of that evil man We find that while the nation of Israel sinned once, the sin of Shushan was double. Therefore, it makes sense that their repentance should be double. And indeed, besides Mordechai s sacrifice in trying to correct the sin of bowing to the idols, we find in the Megillah there is an additional repentance by Shushan alone. Then Esther ordered to reply to Mordecai: "Go, assemble all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, day and night..." (4:15-16) That is to say, while Mordechai attempted to compensate for the sin of all of the Nation of Israel bowing to the idols by not bowing to Haman, the people of Shushan, by fasting, corrected the sin of the banquet. The three day fast of the Jews in Shushan atones for the sin of the seven day banquet which was open to all the people found in Shushan. By fasting, the people of Shushan give strength to Esther who sacrificed herself by approaching the king contrary to the law, to ask for her people. And if Shushan sinned doubly, and repented doubly, they deserve also double the consolation. And this is what Esther says to the king: "If it please the king, let tomorrow too be granted to the Jews to do as today's decree" (9:13) While the Jews of the rest of the king s provinces assembled and protected themselves and had rest from their enemies on the thirteenth of the month of Adar, and they rested on the fourteenth thereof, and made it a day of feasting and joy (9:16-17), Jews who were in Shushan assembled on the thirteenth thereof and on the fourteenth thereof (9:18). This difference was immortalized: Therefore, the Jewish villagers, who live in open towns, make the fourteenth day of the month of Adar [a day of] joy and feasting and a festive day (9:19), while the Jews who live in walled cities (according to the Gemara) celebrate the fifteenth of Adar. 2

3 2. The first and last letters: The idea of reversing the story is clearly revealed from a comparison of the letters of Haman and Mordechai. Both are phrased in the same language, but with a reversal of the names of those attacking and being attacked. See the surprising and innovative commentary of the Ibn Ezra. What is the meaning of the reversal according to him? One must ask why Mordechai wrote that they should kill all the enemies of the Jews, when it would have been enough for them to run away. Know that he was a great sage, and Achashverosh told him, Do what you can to save your nation, for the first letters which Haman wrote were written in my name, and signed with my signet ring and I cannot recall them according to the law of Medes and Persia. Therefore Mordechai had to write the letter this way: Know that the king commanded Haman, who was second to the king, to write in the king s name and gave him his ring to seal it with, that the Jews should kill their enemies on the thirteenth of Adar, and Haman reversed the decree, saying that the Jews should be killed on that day, and when the king found out about this evil plan he hanged him on a tree for trying to harm the Jews against the will of the king. And this letter is witness to the fact that Haman was hanged and the king commanded to write this letter afterward and signed it with his signet ring, and so we see the reversal. Despite the similarity between the two letters, pay attention to the repeated emphasis in the introduction to Mordechai s letter (8:11) and in the description of the implementation of the letter (9:10, 15, 16). 3. The rise of Haman: From his first appearance in the Megillah, Haman continues to rise higher and higher. Follow the stages of his rise in honor and pride: How is Haman described in the first perek (according to Chazal Memuchan is Haman)? What is his status and how does he promote himself? How does Haman himself pave the way to his downfall? In the third perek he continues to rise, reaching the level of second to the king: After these events, King Achashverosh promoted Haman the son of Hammedata the Agagite and advanced him, and placed his seat above all the princes who were with him. (3:1) How does his new status affect his self-image? How does he react to an insult to his honor? In the next stage, Haman turns to the king what is the meaning of the king giving him his signet ring and how does this constitute a further rise in his status? 4. Perek 4 describes the meeting of Mordechai and Esther after the decrees of Haman. It serves as a covert central axis to the plot. During this perek the tension reaches its apex, and here we see the positive turnaround for the Jews. The perek mainly includes a long and complicated 3

4 dialogue between Mordechai and Esther. Through the layers of the discussion we see the process which Esther goes through in the development of her identity, as she is torn between the lavish royal palace which is cut off from the people and her people who are in dire straits. a In the first stage (1-4) the deep gulf between Mordechai and Esther is emphasized. How does the physical and external difference symbolize the difference in their states of mind? Pay attention to the following points: Why did Mordechai come to the gates of the palace dressed in sackcloth? Why does Esther become terrified (vatitchalchal), and what is the state of mind which is reflected by her reaction (4)? Note that this is the only pasuk in the perek in which Esther is called the queen. b In the final stage (13-16), the tension reaches its apex. Why do you think that the scenery (in the form of the maids of Esther and Hatach who were mentioned earlier) disappears? Mordechai reveals here, in the most obvious way in the Megillah, the elements of faith which are found in the story. What elements of faith do we see in the conversation between Mordechai and Esther? c How does Esther hope to overcome the gulf which was revealed in the beginning of the perek? Examine the contrast between the fast days and the many banquets which we find throughout the Megillah. How does this contrast contribute to the many contrasts between the cultures which we find in the Megillah? APPENDIX - The Historical Background to the Megillah and its Relevance The dating of the story of the Megillah is significant to our understanding of the hidden messages in the Megillah. It is clear that Achashverosh is one of the Persian kings from the Achaemenid Empire (or First Persian Empire) which was in the period from BCE (ed. - as we will see below). This empire had ten generations of kings, the first being Koresh (Cyrus) who conquered the Babylonians in 539 BCE. Chazal proposed that the period in which the story of the Megillah took place was before Koresh s declaration and before the rebuilding of the Temple. However, in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer we find the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer that Achashverosh was the fourth of the kings in the Achaemenid dynasty. According to this theory, Achashverosh lived later than the date proposed by Chazal, and he was king when the Second Temple had already been dedicated. Similarly, modern research identifies Achashverosh with Xerxes ( BCE), whose Persian name is very similar to the Hebrew one especially when compared to the way it is written at the end of the megillah: Achshrsh. The Greek historian Herodotus describes the Persian-Achaemenid dynasty vividly. He paints Xerxes as a king awash in lust for women and wine, which would be very appropriate for a description of Achashverosh as we see him in the Megillah. He even says that he lived in Susa (Shushan) in a luxurious palace, and was king 4

5 from India to Ethiopia (mehodu ve ad Kush). An administrative document was found in the Babylonian city of Sippar in which it was reported that in the time of Xerxes there was a high official from the city of Susa who acted as the royal treasurer and his name was Marduka, a name which is clearly related to Mordechai. If Achashverosh was truly Xerxes, then the story of the Megillah took place about 100 years after the destruction of the First Temple, and more importantly, about 30 years after the dedication of the Second Temple. Thus it seems that the people of Shushan, including Mordechai and Esther, were not among the Jews who returned to their land in the time of the return to Zion. While the Jewish population in Israel was fighting for its existence and for the right to rebuild the Temple, the Jews of Shushan were enjoying the Persian king s banquets to which he invited all the inhabitants of the city. As we have mentioned, the situation of those who returned to Israel was very difficult politically, religiously and also economically. While they were fighting for their existence, the Jews of Shushan were flourishing and living extravagantly. In the beginning of the story of the Megillah there is no apparent discrimination against the Jews of Shushan. Rather, we see that they hold choice positions in the Persian government and their daughters can even marry kings. In the midrashim of Chazal the tension between the palace of Achashverosh and the Temple, or if we prefer between the Jews of Shushan and those living in the land of Israel, is portrayed in many places. There are literary connections between the palace of Achashverosh and the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition, the description of the banquet in the king s palace uses imagery which connects the reader to the Temple. It seems that the Temple in Jerusalem must be in the reader s mind as an alternative to the description of the palace in Shushan. The wine-drinking and the vanity of the excessive wealth and dignity are brought as an antithesis to the kingdom of God. From the atmosphere of merriment which is described at the banquets of the king the reader segues to feelings of grief and destruction. The strong colors of the banquet which add splendor to the story in the Megillah suddenly become symbols of crisis for the Jewish nation of memories of the Temple and memory of the Jews of Shushan who enjoyed the king s banquet without helping their brothers who had returned to their land. (Free translation Rabbi Y. Grossman, Megillat Setarim pp.12-21) 5