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The Voice of Torah: Purim: The Real Enemy |
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Written by Rabbi Chaim Goldberger
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 In Chapter 7 of the Book of Esther, in what has to be the climactic scene of the entire Megillah, Queen Esther is asked by King Ahashverosh to state her request. She asks to be saved from a fate cast upon her and her people by a deadly enemy. And she goes further:
Had we been merely sold into slavery, I would have kept silent, but [by having us killed] this antagonist shows how little he cares about the harm he will cause the king.
[Esther 7:4]
Had he been interested in your welfare, he would have suggested selling them into slavery for a profit or keeping them as slaves of your own.
[Rashi]
1) I understand the need Esther has to curry favor with the king, but why does she not just come out and ask for full mercy? She seems satisfied to sell her people into slavery if that would benefit the king. Whose side is she on anyway?
2) When Ahashverosh asks her who the villain is, the Talmud says she began to point to the king himself. An angel grabbed her arm and pushed her to point toward and identify Haman. Didn’t she know the enemy was Haman? Isn’t that the whole reason she came to plead before the king? How could she possibly have been ready to accuse Ahashverosh?
3) We conclude the festive reading of the Megillah with the song Shoshanat Yaakov. The end of the song is, “And also Charvonah is to be remembered in a good way.” All Charvonah did was mention the availability of the tree. That’s nice, but why does it deserve such singular mention?
Esther did go before the king intending to accuse Haman and beg for a reprieve from his evil designs. Knowing the king’s reluctance to take strong positions, she makes a point of showing how in this case he will be acting in his own interests. This culprit is your enemy, not just mine, she points out. Esther is simply making it easier for the king to act against the powerful minister.
What he does next infuriates her. Instead of acting to protect his own wife and his own treasury, he goes into full-scale denial!
“Who could it be, and which is he, who could fill his heart with these nefarious plans?”
[7:5]
What??!!? You know full well who I’m talking about. This character is about to steal your money, kill your beloved queen like he killed your first queen, and you’re not going to get angry and stop him? You’re going to play dumb and pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about? You’re just going to sit there and let him do this to you??
Her hackles raised now at her spineless husband, she casts a finger of fury in his direction. “You know who the real villain is – IT’S YOU! You pitiful --”
Whoa, says the angel! Cool it, sister. That’s not the way to deal with someone in denial. Someone too weak to take action to protect himself is too weak to admit he’s the one at fault. You’re going to have to work with the more obvious culprit, Haman.
She concedes, and points to Haman. But even then, faced with the accused scoundrel and the damning truth, what does Ahashverosh do? He gets up and walks away.
The king arose in his rage from the party and went out to his orchard.
[7:7]
Still unable to confront the flagrancy, our friend the angel pulls out another trick.
The angel disguised himself as Haman, and brazenly plucked fruits from the king’s orchard, in full view of the king.
[Midrash]
Does the king react? You bet he does – he goes back inside!
The king returned from his orchard to the party house.
[7:8]
Once again, the angel eggs him on. This time, he pushes Haman down onto Esther’s recliner, making it appear as if he intends to molest the queen.
The king roars, “Shall one assault the queen with me here in the house?”
Haman’s face appears crushed as he expects the sword to fall. But…nothing.
Finally, Charvonah speaks:
“There is a tree in Haman’s yard of fifty cubits in height, upon which Haman had intended to hang Mordechai.”
At last, Ahashverosh responds:
“Hang him upon it.”
What was unique about Charvonah’s statement was that it identified who Charvonah was. If Charvonah knew the size of the tree, Charvonah must have been from Haman’s inner circle of confidants. For HIM to advise me to hang Haman, thinks the weak and gutless king, it means Haman’s political support has begun evaporating. Now I can safely order his punishment.
When God gives us enemies, He gives us ones that reflect the faults we ourselves possess. Esther was right. The real villain in this story was not Haman, it was Ahashverosh. And that is only because the real enemy is us. Our own moral cowardice, attending King Ahashverosh’s lavish I’ve-overcome-the-God-of-the-Jews party, led to the Heavenly judgment against us. The moral courage of Mordechai is what saved us.
The lesson ought to be clear.
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