ויאמר חרבונה גם הנה העץ אשר עשה המן למרדכי ... עומד בבית המן גבה חמשים אמה
“And Charvonah said, ‘Behold there is also the gallows which Haman made for Mordechai... standing in the house of Haman fifty cubits high.’” (Esther 7:9)
The Gemara in Megillah (16a) says that Charvonah conspired with Haman to hang Mordechai. How did the Gemara know this?
The Dubner Maggid in Kol Yaakov explains with the following moshul [parable]: There was a blind beggar who used to make his rounds with a little boy guiding him through the streets. One night before retiring to bed he counted his collection for the day and found that he had collected thirty coins. During the night the young boy stole his wallet. When the beggar arose and realized his misfortune, he cried bitterly. The young boy, frightened of the consequences, handed him the wallet, saying, “I found the thirty coins you lost.” When the blind beggar heard this, he grabbed the boy and began to beat him. The boy sobbed; “I did you a favor; why are you beating me?” The beggar told him, “Obviously, you were the thief because otherwise how would you know that there were thirty coins in my wallet?”
Since Charvonah knew the exact dimensions of the gallows, obviously he was a partner in the plot.
