The Book of Esther Part 3 - Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb

okay we're on page 1254 end this the end of the second chapter um in the second chapter AOS gets himself a queen the only Criterion for her uh position is that he finds her beautiful that's all there's no other qualifications he set it up so that the girl will have only that qualification so that she has no independent Authority no independent position and he can get rid of her like that I just don't like you anymore I'll get another one that's what he wanted because he didn't want to repeat of vashi and Esther refuses to identify herself even though the king wants it from her he can't demand it because he's so Charmed by her he doesn't want to take he can't do it just can't do it but he wants it and he creates all sorts of uh strategies to try to get other people to reveal it he releases debts from the provinces and he gives gifts and he gathers virgins into the capital another time to frighten Esther into thinking well since she's not doing what I want her to do I'm going to get a replacement nothing moves her nothing moves her because she does what M tells her to do and said don't Reveal Your who you are so there is this tension built into the situation and that tension will bear fruit um towards the end of the saer okay now comes a completely different incident this is verse 21 the those days when M was sitting at the king's gate big son and sish two of the king's Servants of the Guardians of the threshold became angry and plotted to lay hands on K in Hebrew the plot became known to Mori who told up the Queen Esther and Esther informed the king in M's name the matter was investigated elaborated and and collaborated and they both were hanged on a Gallows was recorded in the book of Chronicles the king's presence now if you're good at reading novels all this should make your hair stand on end what do I care how the king found out what do I care that Esther told it to the king in Mor's name what do I care that was written the book of Chronicles in the king's presence who cares who wrote it down and when they wrote it down whether he knew that they wrote it down all of this lays the for the plot that's going to happen towards the end of the safer and one thing that's going to become important later is one thing that's not mentioned morai saved the King's life um wouldn't it be good business to reward that you know so to en encourage other people to save your life um kings are often the target of plots and if you want to have a long Kingdom by having a long life then you should encourage people to reveal plots so you can save your life it is very strange that there's no mention of any reward that M got for saving the King's life and as you will see the reason why they don't mention because there wasn't any but then if there wasn't any after they ask why not so we'll get to that when we see the upshot of it but that's what we have to think of from this particular small event after these things King aash promoted hamon the son of hamasa the agagite and advanced him so we mentioned that from Mori we have his his lineage back to the tribe of binyamin and here we have the lineage of of H going back to AAG who was AAG the king of Malik he was the king of Malik in when what period in Sha's time in shaul's time and uh what happened what was the interaction between sha and amalik well sha didn't kill the King right away so he was able to you know give uh to impregnate somebody and continue amal's uh existence right now to complete the picture just tell me one more thing what what tribe did sha come uh bamin yeah yeah from bam so what the text is indicating to you here without making making explicit statement what's indicating to you here is this is a replay of History it was B against aik the king who comes with B against the Malik and he didn't complete the job in the right in the appropriate way he lost the kingdom thereby lost his position as king sha did so here it is over again am is the enemy and the hero who's going to destroy him is M from this happens often if you know if you read behind the scenes where people come from sometimes it's lineage and sometimes it's gilgal reincarnation you have these linkages of replay of of events in hundreds of years before so that's exactly what's going on here so the king promoted him Advanced him set a seat above all the officers who were with him he made him what we would call the Prime Minister that's that's what prime minister means it means the first among all the ministers all the king's servants at the king's gate would bow down and prostrate themselves before H for this is what the king had commanded concerning him now there are different interpretations of what's going on here I'm going to follow the interpretation that's closest to the text this is a political law the king commanded he's my prime minister I want people to bow down show him and show him honor no no no indication of idol worship here even though there is such an shot in some some commentators I'm not I'm not going to use that in the in explaining the story um so now you may imagine that this would create a crisis for Jews bowing down okay it's the King's Command but bowing down to another person you are aware that there's no crisis here at all do you know a case where the Torah records a person bowing to a person a Jew bowing to a person plenty of times plenty of times how about one um I think different rabbis would bow down to each other when I said I'm sorry I meant the the Torah the Kish the [Music] ohob okay yob bowed down to ASF seven times but of course there he felt he was under threat of death you know ASF came with 400 men to create a Massac bowed down to those angels before he invited them in so I bow down to the angels and it is that's a good a good a good example it's not clear whether he knew there were Angels or not it's happens to be M some commentators say he didn't know that they were there so he bowed down it's just a way of showing respect do you know a more dramatic example how about Moses bowing to his father-in-law oh yeah oh his father comes to visit him and he prostrates himself on the ground in front of his father-in-law it's a way of showing respect did the no no okay that's very interesting I don't know what position an interesting question what position did like said have would you have expected wouldn't you have expected do we have to explain why he didn't or not I don't know I I don't know mosha didn't bow down to Pharaoh obviously um I'm not sure about that let's see now now what happened when Yakov met phro y to yosef's Brothers bowed down to him when they thought he was the Pharaoh that's right well think he was a pharaoh everybody knew he was M everybody knew that he was was but yes I imagine that everybody bowed down to Pharaoh but it doesn't say yakob but yakob was the patriarch he was the patriarch the father of the savior of the nation and so and so on maybe he didn't have to B I don't think he did but um but so so bowing down to a person does not have to indicate worship it can only even indicate respect and here the king says I have a law and I want people to bow down to my prime minister because he's prime minister indeed where we look at these things by bowing down to the Prime Minister you're honoring the king what makes him special cuz he's the king's prime minister that's who he is it's not because he is who he is cuz he fulfills a function for the king if the king will fire him tomorrow you won't B down him anymore so this is a way of honoring the king now we have to see what happens but Mori would not bow down nor prostrate himself okay now you got to Picture This the king makes a law when H comes into the Public Square everybody should Bow Down there in public and doesn't Bow Down Under normal conditions what would you expect the response to be what would you expect to happen now he would be arrested he'd be shot in a spot obeying the disobeying the king's order in front of the king's Palace in public hanging from the nearest Street Watch What Happens Watch What Happens this more evidence for the proposition that the king is weak and worried about popular about popular acceptance so the king's servants at the king's gate said to morai why do you disobey the King's Command why do you do that now finally when they said this to him day afterday hey Mor you're disobeying the law have a nice day guys you know go drink coffee you know thanks for day after day and they just leave him there day after day and they ask him day after day that's amazing he did not he them they told H to see whether the bai's words would Avail for he had told them that he was a Jew aha so he did give some explanation he said I'm a Jew in other words he wants a religious exemption wants a religious exemption now if the go were clever they could have said what about all the other Jews who are B down but they didn't didn't figure that out was was special he was the head of the son he was one of the heads of the sun hedin he was he was someone special that he has different rules he says I want a religious exemption and they gave it to him oh your religion doesn't allow you perfectly all right you know we are very tolerant here this is a Multicultural Society we respect different customs and different different uh different modes of living your religion dep so you're the rulle doesn't apply to you even that is astonishing we talk about an ancient emperor over 127 provinces right but now they want to check they want to check so they tell H so well what good does telling H do when H this is five when hman himself saw that war did not bow down and prostrated himself before him then H was filled with rage now so you have to need a little oral supplement here humand comes in there are 200 people in the Square they all bow down he walks by with his nose in the air too elevated to notice them you know and he walks into the palace confer with the King now he hears Mor is not look not bowing really H A lot of people here I can't see all of them some they behind trees and some of the sitting at tables and some who knows you know Mor is here I'm going to check I'm going to check as I walk close to him right by him and uh and see if he bows okay so now here's the trick if it's a religious exemption but he knows that in the Jewish religion there's no problem with bowing to show personal honor personal honor so he says if I walk right past him then that'll be like I'm putting in the comparisons that'll be like Israel coming to to to mosu it's like the three Travelers coming to Abraham if he refuses to bow when I walk right past him then it's a personal insult to me is that a question of the king's law whether the king's law requires a exemption because there's no exemption for showing personal honor that I know Jews are not forbidden to do that so let's test it out let's test it out he walks right past him within his as we would say remains does doesn't then knows that it's not a religious exemption he's doing it only to spite him and then he's filled with anger now he knows they planned it's this interpretation so and so on tell the king and kill him no no you just you know the king is going to be reluctant to do that the king doesn't push his own Honor doesn't push his own laws he's takes counsel with the advisors to find out what the D the D is what the normal procedure is he's afraid to yeah um was that the right assumption or what was actually mortified thinking in this case was that a fair assumption that's a good question that's a very good question I we'll come to it in part when I get to the end and I tell you something things about that's says about the whole story but I hope I I don't forget it I do forget it you remind me so now watch this for for psychology how was filled with rage six however it seemed contemptible to him to lay hands on morai alone for they had made known to him the people of Mori here's this Jew this Jew is is is thumbing his nose of me um I'm going to take notice of that and I'm going to take revenge on him it's cont temptable it's small it's it's um undignified it's belittling that I should do so because they told him the people of morai now this will help explain why Mori wasn't rewarded when he saved the King's life who are the Jews in this Society you have provinces each province has its population they have the local government they're a semi-independent political entity not the Jews Jews were conquered by neeta they were taken to Babylon in Chains and although they are spread out they have no common piece of geography that belongs to them they have no National institutions they're rabble they're riffraff one of the Riff does something and you pull the whole force of the of law or you take your own private and you and the acttion people say you noticed him you paid attention to him what's the matter with you haven't you got more important things to think about your prime minister is to you're determining matters of State for 100 provinces and you noed this Jew the fact that he didn't bow down what's the matter with you they very small-minded that's what he's afraid of he's afraid of his honor he's afraid of his honor being looked at as a small-minded trivial person a smart man well he wasn't dumb that's true he wasn't dumb he made some mistakes but he wasn't dumb that's right that's absolutely right so he's fiercely angry but he's not going to do anything so what's the alternative look again what he says here it seemed contemptible to lay hands on morai alone a single Jew that's going to be contemptible but ham sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the entire Kingdom of the people of Mor and that way I'll get Mor I really don't care about the Jews but if I go after the Jews I'll get Mor indirectly no one will say it's a personal vandetta between me and one single Jew all I have to do now is figure out a strategy for getting the king to agree to annihilate the Jews now some say some say that miman the one who created the spin on on vash's rebellion and the way of getting rid of her and cementing um's popularity with the kingdom which is the men of course not the women they don't count this m is also hum the same guy and here he has his strategy for undoing the Jews also and it's also clever I mean it shows that he's smart there's no question that he's smart you're absolutely right intelligence so yeah that's true that's true that's Gran's book emotional intelligence one person yeah in the first month the month of Nissan 12 year that's when this is all taking place poor that is the lot was cast the Pres of from day to day from month to month to the 12th month which is the month ofar now this seemingly P of a verse has a lot in it first of all he casts lots to determine what to do that's part of his culture and his religion now the text says something astonishing here poor maybe I forgot I'm writing this for Hebrew speakers maybe they don't know Persian I'll tell you I'll tell you it's it's the lot in Hebrew right the go around in Hebrew hey the book's written in Hebrew just say go around why are you putting a Persian word and then translating it to Hebrew well what's going on the whole book is written for for people in Persia who speak Hebrew the whole book is written in Hebrew at the very least the the book is telling you the word poor means something that's important you should know that it means it it's also important you should know that in truth it is the lot the G out which means that the word poor would carry some connotation which isn't the meaning of goral and the fact that it doesn't it mean something else is important for the story we'll talk about that talk about that at the end I'm I just had to see in two words in a text something very important furthermore he's in the first month in Nissan right and the Lots come out for Adar which is 11 months hence wow that also is going to play an important part in in in the scenario so long time away okay so that's the day of the disaster but of course that's he did privately with his own private sorcery apparatus he still has to get the king to agree so that's the next step then said now what look at this look at the way you undermine and play to the weaknesses and worries of a king there is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed well I think usual mear means scattered means divided and some say you know if you're if you're scattered over the whole Countryside and of course you're divided you're not all in one place this means they aren't unified among themselves scatter among the peoples of the provinces of your realm their laws are different from every other people's they do not observe even the king's laws therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate let's see number one they're geographically scattered number two they're internally disunified number three they're different from every other people's laws I can hear the king saying yeah yeah yeah okay what's for dessert so what who needs to about this why is this all important oh I'm coming to the climax now King they don't keep your laws isn't the order a little funny first of all why didn't he just say there is a people who has a policy of not keeping your laws so full stop and you know so let's go after them the arum is building it up he wanted to make it seem like it would be an easy task to get rid of he wanted to make seem be easy and not unpopular not unpopular because they're different from all the other peoples they're not going to have any support if you go after them no one else is going to care no one's going to care because they have no power they have no influence and their mode of life is different from everybody else's if you deal away with them it won't matter to anyone because he knows the king is deathly afraid of losing his popularity so that's what he speaks to first if he starts by saying there's a group that doesn't obey your laws the king hears uhoh maybe I should do something with them but uh oh I'm going to risk my popularity and uh oh I'm going to make a weak position so Muhammad doesn't want the oh the time so he starts before he knows what it's about saying there's this group of people they're scattered they're disunified different for everybody they have no position they no no allies uh-huh uhhuh uhhuh yeah they are and they disobey your laws and the King will say let disy my laws should I do something well I already know that they're scattered and disunified and have no allies so I guess you know I guess it's okay it's quite reasonable to do that that's the cleverness of of hon and you see what he's playing to you see the the the insecurity of the king is exactly what he's playing to um now so what's the Practical measure if it pleases the king let it be recorded that they be destroyed and I will pay 10,000 silver talents whatever kind of OCC currency that is into the hands of those who perform duties for deposit in the king's treasuries okay he's a smart guy he's making mistake isn't he what mistake is he making King's money what trying toone why is that a mistake he's asking the king for virion no think back to the day before yesterday what was one of the purposes of the banquet to show off his wealth why was he showing off his wealth because I'm not at anybody's pocket I don't owe anything to anybody my policies are my policies nobody can manipulate me nobody can maneuver me we had cases I think in the history of England in particular where the king leaned on Nobles for financial support but the king wanted to make a war if the noble said no there was no war cuz the king couldn't pay for the soldiers so a has made a point of publicizing the fact that he's in nobody's pocket and here H wants to give him a bride you should have known the king's going to say no and of course he he says no immediately okay um so the king took a signant ring from his hand gave it to H son of the enemy of the Jews and the King said to this silver is given to you the very first thing he says the money you wanted to give to me is given back the people also to do with as you see fit you say I should destroy them you're my prime minister I'm leing it up to you and you can do it in any way that you like I I'm convinced that it's that it's a good project I'm not going to take any personal interest in it okay now the king's secretaries were summoned on the 13th day of the first month this is the 13th of Nissan keep the date in mind that's the day before the day before what passive passive M passive on the 15th right that's going to be very important 36 hours is PES and everything was written exactly as had dictated the king satraps whatever they are you don't know what it means in in aric in in Persian either governors of every Province the official of every people each province in its own script and each people in its own language we saw that already when the king sent out the messages after after um after vashi right they had employed a civil service where for every one of the 127 provinces you had people who spoke the native language of that province so that no one could claim later well it was written in the king's language and I had to I had to translate it interpret it and I misunderstood what this word means and so therefore we didn't do it exactly and so so no no it came out of the king out of the out of the palace translated into everyone's local language and sealed with the king's Signet ring you know what that is they put hot melted wax on the on the document and the Signet ring Le leaves an impression in the wax that's how you know it comes from the King no one else can have a king can have a ring that has that that shape on it letters were sent by Courier to all the kings provinces now the Malin has a a very sophisticated analysis the next few let's read through them and I'll tell you what he says letters were sent by CER to all the king's provinces to destroy to slay and to exterminate all Jews young and old children and women in a single day the 13th day of the 12th month which is the month of Adar the 13th day this is the 13th of Nissan and it's scheduled for the 13th of Adar exactly 11 months later and to plunder their possessions not just to kill all of them but to take all their possessions the copies of the document that's also a Persian word were to be promulgated in every Province and to be published at all peoples that they should be ready for that day the couriers went forth hurriedly by order of the king and the edict was distributed shos the capital the capital the king and Har sat down to drink but the city of shush was bewildered morai learned of all that had been done now the malum has some difficulties here he says um if you think there's one Proclamation just one and in the proclamation you have all the details that in 11 months all the Jews in the kingdom are going to be are going to be exterminated and their possess possessions plundered if that's what you think is going on number one why should the people in shushan be bewildered puzzled they know what's in store they know the decree is they should be in despair wailing in the streets or gathering money to make bribes or bewilders is a funny kind of reaction number one number two if you're a hum and you want this to work it's stupid to give your enemy 11 months notice a lot of things can happen in 11 months including assassinations why why would you do that so the the Mal says there were two two letters not one one letter as it says be in the beginning they wrote it and sent it through all the governors all the officials to the governors and officials there was sent a notice that there's going to be in 11 months a Slaughter of the Jews but that was only to high officials and they were to keep it secret in addition to that there were like wall posters you know in China but they put up the wall posters the 13th ofar is a special day 11 months from now be prepared like you know these serial advertisements that they me they they no no no not even that the seral advertisements that they that they thought of about 10 years ago you know the first week comes around and says um happy cows happy cows happy cows man what is that that's what they want the next week comes out our milk chocolate is the sweetest milk chocolate CU we make it in the happiest cows but they stimulated your interest by giving you an announcement which you can't understand and you wonder about it this is his oldest h 2,300 years ago his first announc Public Announcement was something's going to happen on 13th of Adar and nobody knows what's going to be that's why the city of of um of shushan is bewildered bewildered because this is not common in in the way in which a king runs a runs a a um Kingdom and uh it's inherently very peculiar to be told 11 months from now something's going to happen and then chapter 4 starts with m knew what happened M knew the truth doesn't say how he knew the truth but he knew the truth was that the 13th ofar was dedicated to destroying the Jews that's why he puts on sackcloth and Ashes go wailing through the streets and nobody else knows why because it's not public that makes sense out of the verses even though you have to put in something that isn't strictly literally there but it makes sense out of the verses yeah uh why does it only say shushan was bewildered than all the other provinces also should be Beed right yeah but you're forgetting that they didn't communicate by SMS it took they sent five days yeah but okay but it's reporting the immediate event here that's one will be five days from now and that'll be six weeks from now and that'll be right you know each one will be when when the thing happened and and he will mention that the other the other ones but but he's dealing now with what morai did and how he responded and so and so on it's just it's spread out over time so morai learned of all that had been done Mor tore his clothes put on sackcloth of the ashes he went out the midst of the city cried loudly and bitterly he came until the front of the king's gate not even now the gate could be 10 ft thick you understand massive doors and and and boulders and that they used to to to shut it up so there's a whole area with a wall on this side a wall on this side and the gate that closes it that's called the ging's gate you can't enter into that that area with sacko of Ashes that's forbidden by law so he came up to the entrance but not and did not set foot inside so forbidden to enter the king's Cate clothe with sacko in every Province this answers your question where the King's Command and his decree extended there was great mourning among the Jews with fasting weeping and wailing most of lying sackcloth and Ashes because contrary to H's plan it didn't work it leaked out now if you like you know we it's shushan a capital city and that's why made an extra week of Celebration and everybody was involved big people the street cleaners as well as the as the ministers everybody was involved everybody was treated well because you want the people in the in the capital on your side cuz otherwise information spreads information can be leaked and it can do you terrible damage you're the king and it can be done anonymously so that you can have no have no control over it but if the people in shushan feel that they benefit from you then they're not going to do that but that's one way that information gets out there were scribes there were translators who wrote the documents to the officials 127 provines how many scribes how many translators were there 100 among 100 people someone could leak it that could happen there was no choice because if it didn't go out that way it wouldn't be official wouldn't be an edict from the King someone's a friend among the Jews but the truth is the truth is Mor knew knew not because of a leak either it wases and he told the other Jews that's right he told the other Jews and then as the as the the documents spread the underground communication system through up spread the information also didn't hon didn't foresee that like now the Jews are making a big difference in now in in their actions and how somehow they probably know now because they're mourning he may foresee it but there's nothing he can do about it there's absolutely nothing he can change the date he can bring it up no he can't because as you'll see that uh and we said saw also when the an edict is sent out in the king's name it cannot be changed it cannot be changed and I'll tell you why this is also I mean I all this I read I I I'm not such a sophisticated political thinker or social thinker let's imagine that the king sends out a an edict to 127 provinces but it's under his control and he could change it you live in Province number 73 you live 500 miles from the capital the edict comes you say okay that's what's written in today's edict but maybe next week maybe two weeks from now maybe there'll be a change maybe I shouldn't rush to implement it because if there's going to be a change I'll be on the wrong side of the new edict you introduce an uncertainty into the administration of the of the of the Kingdom that's why you can't ever take back what the king's edict says you cannot do that you can't change it and this will be one of the puzzles for Mor and Esther when they plead for Mercy for the Jewish people the king says perfectly all right just don't take back the the decree that you cannot do that you cannot do and I told you that Esther Esther understands her her part in the in the in the in the story she understands the role that she plays the king just like H understands she understands also and she keeps a low a low Spirit she doesn't uh she doesn't suggest things and offer things and make Banquets for herself you know she knows exactly what her what her is supposed to be but then when she pleads on behalf of the Jewish people she says Let the decrees authored by the Wicked Woman be recalled now she's got to know that's illegal she's got she's living in in the palace for years right so I interpret could be wrong I interpret she's playing themb oh so terrible please King call them back you know and nullify them he says to her you're a woman you got it wrong you you're lovely you know I'm enchanted by you but not by your brains that no you and murai you're in charge write whatever you like but don't contradict what was written before and that becomes a puzzle how to write it in such a way as to save the Jews and yet not contr yeah and they solv the puzzle there's a way to logically solve the puzzle was the decree specifically that people have to go kill the Jews or that they are allowed to kill the Jews without repercussions because if that with that understanding then if the Jews have every right to fight back then I mean they're like they're just soldiers following orders you got that's the story that's that's the that's the exact story it says it's open season on Jews it's free to kill Jews and take their take their property and the m and Esther WR a subsequent edict today is permissible for the Jews to defend to defend themselves and but it wasn't an it wasn't an order like soldiers it was like you could do it if you want to anybody and everybody anybody and everybody the whole population if they want to that's right it's not an obligation so there it could have been like no one it could be like 50 people that would go out killing Jews and no one else you know what happened in Poland you know what happened in Czechoslovakia you know what happened in Russia won't be 50 people lots and lots and lots of people antis an you have these tragic cases where after the second world war Jews came back to places in Poland that they were from and the non-jews saw them and the non-jews said he's coming to get his house we're living in his house so they killed him they killed Jews in Poland after the war to protect the property that they had stolen from the Jews you'll have lots and lots of willing execution it's like no you know it's not just 50 people who but when the prime minister is a Jew and the queen is a Jew then things look different that's the leverage that they have okay I'm giving away some of the end of the story but that's that's uh right so this was yeah this this was um the reaction of the Jews fine okay I'm going to stop here because now come an Exquisite interaction between Esther and morai which could be the ma model for for marriage I think it's one of the most Exquisite models that we have and we'll we'll see it on Sunday your session