“והמלך קם בחמתו ממשתה היין אל גנת הביתן”
Esther Hamalka invited Achashveirosh and Haman to a feast, where Esther tells Achashveirosh that Haman is seeking to kill her entire people. What does Achashveirosh do after hearing this accusation against Haman? The posuk tells us that he gets up in his anger, leaves Esther with Haman, and goes out into the palace garden. This seems very perplexing. Esther just told him that this wicked man Haman wants to kill her and her people, and Achashveirosh leaves her to be alone with Haman?! Leaving Haman with his wife could be very dangerous, as perhaps Haman would seek to harm her or even kill her. How are we to understand what occurred here?
When Esther revealed that Haman was the one who was trying to kill “her nation,” it was now revealed that Esther was Jewish. This angered Achashveirosh greatly. He had asked her so many times where she was from, yet she had refused to tell him.
Achashveirosh realized that he would once again look like a fool. He got himself a new queen, and what does he do? He makes a decree on her people that they are all to be killed out. This makes him look insane. He really hated the Jews and wanted them to be killed, but he also did not want to look like a fool. What is he to do now? He walked out of the משתה היין, the one that he was invited to by Esther, for he would have been happy had Haman killed her. Had Haman killed her, he would not have to reveal that she was Jewish, and it would not be known that he placed a decree of death upon his queen’s people. He would be able to kill Haman for killing his wife, and no one would be the wiser. This could all play out in this way because Esther listened to the command of Mordechai, and this was what ultimately caused Haman to be killed and Klal Yisroel to be saved.
Achashveirosh may have suspected that Esther was Jewish. Nonetheless, he was not sure, and his hatred for the Jews was what pushed him forward to agree with Haman and decree to kill the Jews. Achashveirosh’s anger was rekindled by the information that Esther was a Jew. He had asked her so many times, yet she had defied him and wouldn’t tell him. He went out to the גנת הביתן and hoped that when he would come back, he would not have to deal with the situation, that Haman would have killed her. When he returned to the room where Esther and Haman were, he saw that Haman had fallen (Chazal tell us that a malach pushed him so that it would look like he was going after Esther) on Esther’s bed, and now his anger turned away from Esther and was clearly on Haman.
Achashveirosh bellowed, “How dare you go after my wife, especially when you are in my domain?” At this point, due to the perceived great chutzpah of Haman, Achashveirosh completely turned his anger on Haman and decreed that he be killed. This paved the way for Esther to get back into the king’s good graces and for him to work with Mordechai and Esther to save the Jews.
Klal Yisroel were saved in the zechus of the acceptance of Torah sheba’al peh – Mordechai telling Esther not to reveal her nationality. Purim is a time to strengthen ourselves in the Torah sheba’al peh, in our emunas chachamim. In the zechus of the Torah Hakdoshah, may we speedily merit the ultimate geulah, במהרה בימינו אמן!
