“And Mordechai told him all that had befallen him, and the full account of the silver that Haman had proposed to weigh out into the king's treasuries on the Jews' account, to cause them to perish. And the copy of the writ of the decree that was given in Shushan he gave him, to show Esther and to tell her, and to order her to come before the king to beseech him and to beg him for her people.” (Meggilat Esther 4:7-8)
Meggilat Esther narrates the efforts of Haman to
destroy the Jewish people and the response of Mordechai and Esther to this
threat. Haman slanders the Jewish
people to the king, Achashverosh. He
tells the king that the Jewish people adhere to their own standards and
laws. They are not faithful the king
and do not obey his directives. He
urges the king to decree the destruction of the Jewish people. He offers to deliver to the king’s treasury
ten-thousand silver talents in exchange for the king’s acquiescence to his
advice. Achashverosh accepts Haman’s
offer and advice. He authorizes Haman
to write and promulgate an appropriate decree in his name regarding the
Jews. Haman selects the thirteenth day
of Adar as the day for the destruction of the Jewish people throughout the
kingdom. He writes the decree announcing
this plan and distributes it throughout the kingdom.
Mordecahai appeals to Esther to intercede with the
king. He communicates with a messenger
sent by Esther. Our pesukim records
Mordechai’s message to Esther.
Mordechai’s description of the events leading to Haman’s decree is
interesting. Mordechai tells Esther
that Haman has placed a sum of silver into the king’s treasury in order to
procure the right to destroy the Jews.
But he makes no mention of Haman’s slander of the Jews to
Achashverosh. This is an odd
omission. Mordechai is appealing to
Esther to intercede with the king. In
order to be successful, she will require the best possible intelligence
regarding the king’s motives for handing over to Haman the fate of the Jewish
people. Haman’s accusation of
disloyalty was a fundamental element of the argument he made to
Achashverosh. Why does Mordechai omit
this information?
“Then Memuchan declared before the king and the
princes, "Not against the king alone has Vashti the queen done wrong, but
against all the princes and all the peoples that are in all King Achashverosh's
provinces. For the word of the queen
will spread to all the women, to make them despise their husbands in their
eyes, when they say, 'King Achashverosh ordered to bring Vashti the queen
before him, but she did not come.' And
this day, the princesses of Persia and Media who heard the word of the queen
will say [the like] to all the princes of the king, and [there will be] much
contempt and wrath.
If it please the king, let a royal edict go forth
from before him, and let it be inscribed in the laws of Persia and Media, and
let it not be revoked, that Vashti did not come before King Achashverosh, and
let the king give her royal position to her peer who is better than she. And let the verdict of the king be heard
throughout his entire kingdom, although it is great, and all the women shall
give honor to their husbands, both great and small." (Meggilat Esther 1:16-20)
Achashverosh is the most mysterious character in the
Meggilah. We can easily grasp and
appreciate the righteous motivations of Mordechai and Esther. Haman is the villain. He is motivated by a deep personal hatred of
the Jewish people and their Torah. But
what are Achashverosh’s motivations? Is
he a fool – easily influenced by devious advisors? Does he share Haman’s hatred for the Jews? In order to understand Mordechai’s message
to Esther, we must develop a firmer grasp of Achashverosh’s personality and
behaviors.
There are two enigmatic episodes in the Meggilah that
must be explored in order to better understand Achashverosh. Achashverosh made an elaborate celebration
for his ministers and subjects. During
the celebration, he directed his queen, Vashti, to appear before this
audience. His intention was to demonstrate
her remarkable beauty. Vashti refused
to appear. Our Sages offer various
explanations for Vashti’s refusal. But
the simple explanation is that Vashti recognized the king’s motivations. She regarded his request as demeaning. She was not willing to compromise her
dignity as queen by being paraded in front of an assembly of drunken ministers
and subjects.
Achashverosh responded to this refusal with intense
anger. But he could not identify the
proper course of action to take against Vashti. He consulted with his advisors.
One of his counselors – Memuchan – suggested a response. He told Achashverosh that he should not
treat Vashti’s refusal as a personal issue.
Instead, he should deal with it as an affair of state. Vashti’s rebuff should be regarded as the
beginning of a social movement.
Vashti’s behavior will suggest to all women that they need not obey the
wishes of their husbands. Vashti’s
expression of independence will be the catalyst for a liberation movement that
will undermine structure of the family and the authority of all husbands. Vashti must be removed as queen and replaced
by a more suitable role model. This
action will send a message to all women that they must honor and obey their
husbands. Achashverosh accepted this
suggestion, designed and distributed the decree, and removed Vashti.
It seems that Memuchan’s essential advice to
Achashverosh was that Vashti should be deposed as queen. Obviously, this was an option that
Achashverosh would have contemplated without Memuchan’s help. But Memuchan added an innovation. He suggested that Achashverosh explain his
decision to oust Vashti as a response to a subversive social movement. Why was this necessary? How did this suggestion suddenly resolve
Achashverosh’s quandary regarding the appropriate course of action?
Apparently, Achashverosh was reluctant to depose
Vashti simply because she refused to comply with a command of questionable
propriety. Achashverosh was eager to
punish Vashti and depose her. But he
was reluctant to add another display of unseemly behavior to his previous
licentiousness. He needed some pretext
behind which he could hide his true motive.
Memuchan recognized the nature of Achashverosh’s dilemma and provided
the requisite pretext. In other words,
Achashverosh’s true motive for deposing Vashti was personal, juvenile
anger. Achasheverosh recognized the
shabby nature of these motives but did not abandon them. Instead, the sought some pretext behind
which he could hide his true motivations.
“After these events, when King Achashverosh's fury subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed upon her. And the king's young men, his servants, said, "Let them seek for the king young maidens of comely appearance. And let the king appoint commissioners to all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every young maiden of comely appearance to Shushan the capital, to the house of the women, to the custody of Heyge, the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, and let their ointments be given them. And let the maiden who pleases the king reign instead of Vashti." And the matter pleased the king, and he did so.” (Meggilat Esther 2:1-4)
There is a second incident – described in the above
pesukim – that seems to confirm this interpretation of Achashverosh’s
behavior. Achashverosh’s anger
abates. He misses Vashti and regrets
deposing her. The king’s young servants
suggest a solution to his problem. The
king should collect all of the beautiful young women of the kingdom into a compound
in Shushan, the capital. Each will be
brought, in turn, to the king. The most
worthy of these candidates he will select as his new queen.
This seems like a remarkably absurd suggestion. Achasheverosh was a powerful king. An appropriate queen for such a ruler would
be a woman of royal lineage and prominence.
Achasheverosh’s servants suggested that he select a replacement for
Vashti through a process that was essentially a beauty pageant! However, despite the absurdity of this
suggestion, Achashverosh readily and immediately accepted the proposal.
The apparent conclusion is that Achashverosh
accepted this suggestion because he was not seeking an appropriate woman to
replace Vashti. Neither was he seeking
a single woman to serve as his queen. He
wanted a female companion with whom he could enjoy intimacy, not another
queen. However, a king cannot
compromise his dignity by inviting a series of women into brief intimate
encounters. Again, Achashverosh needed
a pretext under which he could pursue his licentious desires. His servants provided the required
pretext. Achashverosh would announce an
elaborate plan for finding a new queen.
This pretext would provide him with the opportunity to enter into
intimate relationships with a virtually endless series of beautiful women. In other words, Achashverosh understood
that, if revealed, his true motive would be easily recognized as simple
lust. But he was unwilling to reconsider
this motive. Instead, he sought, found,
and implemented a strategy for concealing his true motive. He would disguise it as an elaborate process
by which he would select a new queen.
“And the king took his ring off his hand and gave it
to Haman the son of Hammedata the Agagite, the adversary of the Jews. And the king said to Haman, "The silver
is given to you, and the people to do to them as it pleases you." (Meggilat Esther 3:10-11)
Before explaining Mordechai’s message to Esther, one
further observation will be helpful.
The above pesukim describes Achashverosh’s response to Haman’s proposal
to destroy the Jewish people. It is
interesting that Achashverosh does not instruct Haman to carry out his
plan. He accepts Haman’s proposal to
deposit a large sum of silver into the king’s treasury. In exchange, he gives Haman the authority to
deal with the Jews as he pleases.
This is a strange response. Haman had argued that the Jews were
unfaithful. They deserved to be
destroyed as dangerous subversives. Yet,
Achashverosh showed no enthusiasm for the destruction of his supposed
enemies. He made no comment regarding
his wishes for the treatment of these seditious traitors. He left their fate in Haman’s hands.
It seems that Achashverosh was not convinced that
the Jews were traitors. He was not
concerned with their supposed sedition.
He did not feel compelled to address this presumed threat. He recognized that Haman’s accusation was
not credible. But if Achashverosh
recognized Haman’s duplicity, why did he turn the Jews over to their
enemy? The inescapable conclusion is
that Achashverosh coveted the money Haman offered to pay into his treasury.
If this is the case, why did Haman feel it necessary
to slander the Jews? Why did he not
just offer the king the silver he craved and demand that in exchange he receive
control over the fate of the Jews?
Haman understood Achashverosh’s personality. He knew that Achashverosh could be motivated
by his intense desire for even greater wealth.
But also he knew that Achashverosh would not demean himself by
responding to this offer of wealth. He
would need some pretext in order to acquiesce to his offer. Haman provided the pretext. Haman recognized that in order to secure Achashverosh’s
support, he did not need to convince him of the justice of his
accusations. He merely needed to
provide some pretext.
We can now understand Mordechai’s message to Esther. Mordechai understood Achashverosh’s personality and behavior. He knew that Haman had accused the Jews of disloyalty. But he realized that this accusation had not motivated the king to hand over the Jews to Haman. He knew that this accusation was intended, and served, as a pretext. He did not tell Esther about Haman’s slander against the Jews because this accusation was not the true reason for Achasheverosh’s agreement to Haman’s proposal. Esther need not develop a defense of the Jews. She did not need to prove their loyalty. Any effort to defend her people would be misguided and ineffectual. He revealed to Esther Achashverosh’s true motivation – Haman’s silver. His message to Esther was that she needed to counter Achashverosh’s desire for silver with an even stronger desire. Mordechai hoped that Achashverosh’s devotion to Esther and his need for her would serve as this opposing desire. Achashverosh would not risk losing Esther’s love. Mordechai hoped that Achashverosh’s deep need for Esther would motivate him to abandon Haman and rescind his decree.