Purim 2011

by Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon 
Founder and Board Chairman, JobKatif

In the middle of Megilat Esther we find the nation of Israel in stress over their lives and Queen Esther dressed in royal clothing about to plead with King Achashverosh to save them in 5:1-3.

Esther finds favor in the king’s eyes and the king promises her up until half of the kingdom. We are now expecting Esther to ask about the Jewish people. However, Esther doesn’t do this. She instead invites the king and Haman to a party.

“And Esther said: ‘If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him” (5:4)

It seems that Esther realized that it was not a good thing to make her request immediately. It is better to be at a party, relaxed and then make her shattering appeal.

But what was Esther trying to pull by inviting Haman, what exactly was up her sleeve? Chazal on Gemarah Migillah 15b give a few explanations. One of the explanations is that Esther wanted Achashverosh to believe that Haman was not a believable person. That Haman himself was chasing after the kingship, and maybe even that there was something romantic between Haman and Esther.

At the party the king says to Esther “What ever you ask for, will be granted to you.”

We again expect Esther to plead for her nation. But again Esther surprises us and does not do this; rather she invites the two men to a second party.

Why does Esther plan for a second party? Why didn’t she make her request when she received such an offer as half the kingdom from Achashverosh?

According the Chazal as we saw, Esther strategically set up things so that when she announced what Haman wanted to do to her people Achashverosh would already be against him.

But I have another explanation. It is very possible that Esther was ready to drop the news at the first party but got scared. The only thing that stopped her from telling the king at that moment was “cold feet.” She realized that Achashverosh would not necessarily be against the person that was second in command to king. This is what Esther hoped would happen but it now seemed a little far fetched. This is why she got cold feet at the first party. But G-d had other plans. If Esther had actually gone ahead with her plan and announced the news in the first party the picture would have been entirely different.

Between the first and second party Haman became angry with Mardochi for not bowing and this is when he prepared the tree to hang him.  That night the king couldn’t sleep and he asked for his diary where he saw that Mardochi saved him from Bigtan and Teresh.

Then Haman is suspiciously found outside of Achashverosh’s room. When the king asks him what should be done for a person that saved the king. Haman suggests that he should be dressed with royal clothing. Acheshvarosh sees that Haman thinks that the king is talking about him and becomes even more suspicious.

With this background Achashverosh enters the second party. When Esther finally tells the king that Haman is the one who is trying to kill the Jewish people this information is taken in with open arms. The king already suspects and has lost trust in Haman since the last party. Now he sees that Haman is plotting not only against the king but also against his beloved queen and her nation.  Achashverosh is now very angry.

How incredible is it that Ester didn’t reveal the sinister plot at the first party. There is no way she could have planned for all those things to unfold between the two parties.

Man plans with only hope of what can happen but G-d arranges everything to occur just so. The Migillah is seen through completely human eyes, everything that occurs is completely natural but if we look closer there are things that happen that can only be from G-d’s hand. Our job is to believe in divine providence and to see how G-d plays a role in everything. We need to pray to Him and know that in the natural, mundane world G-d is there and He is acting. He is the one we need to turn to in times of sorrow and He is the one we need to thank in times of salvation.

Shabbat Shalom and Purim Sameach!