ויגידו להמן לראות היעמדו דברי מרדכי כי הגיד להם אשר הוא יהודי
“They told it to Haman, to see whether Mordechai’s words would be able to stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.” (Esther 3:4)
What words of Mordechai did they convey to Haman?
The Chasam Sofer (Toras Moshe) explains: Achashveirosh was once at war with another country. He selected two armies and placed one under the command of Mordechai and the other under the command of Haman. He gave each army a supply of food which was to last for the duration of the war. When Haman mismanaged his allotment and quickly ran out of food, his soldiers became angry and planned a mutiny against him. Helpless, he ran to Mordechai and begged for food for his troops. Mordechai agreed to give him food on the condition that Haman become his slave (Yalkut Shimoni).
According to halachah, when a Jew acquires a gentile as a slave, he is required to put him through a ritual in which he is converted to a quasi-Jew, and he becomes required to fulfill some mitzvos (Chagigah 4a).
When the people asked Mordechai why he was violating the King’s edict to bow down to Haman, he replied, אשר הוא יהודי – “that Haman, by becoming his slave, was really a Jew”. As Haman’s master, he could not be expected to bow down to him. The people were surprised to hear this and conveyed these words to Haman to see whether Mordechai’s words would avail. Haman, knowing this to be true, was embarrassed and filled with rage.
