Almost every single year, Parashas Tetzaveh falls on the Shabbos before the Yom Tov of Purim; and thus, this year, just as last year, b’ezras Hashem, I would like to share a most beautiful connection between the two....
Rav Elimelech Resnik shlita, of the Mirrer Yeshiva of Yerushalayim, shared the following most beautiful idea: Aharon HaKohen was zocheh to have the Choshen placed on his chest, because he showed how he, amazingly, was able to completely see past himself and his own desire for honor, and to rejoice in the honor and prestige of his younger brother, Moshe Rabbeinu. He was able to feel in his heart a deep and genuine joy for the success of someone else other than himself: that of his beloved brother.
Where do we see this same concept in the story of Purim? Before supplying the answer, let us first share an amazing Gemara in Megillah (10b). The Gemara teaches us about all the different ways our Sages used to begin their derashos on Purim night. One of the Amoraim, Rebbi Aba bar Kahana, began with the following idea, based on a pasuk in Koheles: The wealthy one, Haman the wicked one, amasses a tremendous amount of wealth; but not for himself — rather, to give it to the tzaddik, the righteous one, Mordechai.
That means that when studying the Purim narrative, we see an amazing thing. Haman spent years upon years amassing great sums of wealth. Becoming richer and richer every day, he was excited about how he would use all his money one day. Yet he was really just amassing it all for the sake of handing it over to Mordechai, the one he could not tolerate and wanted dead, R’l.
Rav Resnik then shared from the Ben Ish Chai: Why did Haman feel it necessary to share with his wife Zeresh all the details of what had happened to him? Rav Resnick explained that Haman was so baffled over how everything that he had done for his own benefit was somehow slowly being given to Mordechai, that he felt compelled to share his bewilderment!
The Ben Ish Chai, in his writings of Ben Yehoyada on the Gemara that teaches us the story of Yosef Mokir Shabbos, explains: A non-Jew saw that his wealth would one day be given to this holy Jew, Yosef Mokir Shabbos, and thus he tried his utmost to stop it from happening; but to no avail, because Hashem deemed otherwise. Thus, the great jewel that he tried his utmost to protect ended up exactly where it was destined to go — into the fish that Yosef bought. For the rasha will continue to acquire in order to give it to the tzaddik.
Rav Resnik then added something incredible from the Alshich: We know that Mordechai told Esther about the plan of Bigsan and Seresh. But why didn’t he tell it straight to Achashverosh? The answer is that he wanted to give Esther the prestige and honor instead of taking it for himself....
Esther then did the same thing. She could have simply told Achashverosh about Bigsan and Seresh’s plan, but instead chose to mention who she had heard it from, in order to give Mordechai the full credit. What happened? They both received very great honor at the end....
This principle from the Alshich is amazingly similar to the events in our parashah. Look at how Aharon is so happy for his brother’s honor, and also how Moshe celebrated Aharon’s being Kohen Gadol as well (see Zichron Avinoam, Issue 128). And then look at how Mordechai and Esther do the same!
And at the same time, let us focus on the immense difference between a Mordechai and lihavdil a Haman. Mordechai wants to see and rejoices in the honor given to Esther (and Esther does the same); while Haman not only does not want another person to be honored; he wants just the opposite, to keep it all for himself. And what happens at the end? He watches all that prestige being given to the one whom he hates most!
Let us all try to emulate Mordechai HaTzaddik on this very great day.
B’Siyata DiShmaya.
