When Haman talks about the Jews, he says: ישנו עם אחד מפזר ומפרד בין העמים ... ודתיהם שנות מכל עם ואת דתי המלך אינם עושים - “There is one people scattered and dispersed among the nations in all the provinces of your kingdom; and their laws are different from those of every people, and they do not keep the laws of the King” (3:8)
Why did Haman give all these descriptions of the Jewish people? He should have just said “There is a people who do not keep the laws of the King, and therefore they should be put to death.”
The Kosnas Ohr explains: Nevuchadnetzer made a golden statue and ordered the people to bow to it. When the Jews refused, he said to them “Did Moshe not write down in the Torah ‘Hashem will scatter you among the peoples ... there you will serve gods the handiwork of man’” (Devorim 4:27-28). They replied: “Your Majesty! This service does not mean worship, but service in taxes” (see Medrash Rabbah Vayikra 33:6, and Devorim 28:64 Rashi).
In the Gemara (Megillah 13b) Rashi explains that when Haman said: “They do not observe the King’s laws,” he meant that they waste the whole year avoiding the King’s work with the excuse “Today is Shabbos” or “Today is Pesach,” and thus they do not perform national service or pay various taxes the government imposes on the working people.
In light of the above, Haman now came before the King with the following argument: “There is one nation scattered throughout your kingdom, and they should be worshipping idols, as it is written in their Torah. Should you say that the Torah did not mean idol worship but paying various taxes to the government, why do they constantly claim that their laws prohibit them from working and refrain from paying taxes. They can’t have it both ways — either they must serve idols or perform national service and pay taxes! And since they do neither the King will not gain anything by tolerating them.”
