ויקח המן את הלבוש ואת הסוס וילבש את מרדכי וירכיבהו ברחוב העיר ויקרא לפניו ככה יעשה לאיש אשר המלך חפץ ביקרו
“And Haman took the clothes and the horse, and dressed Mordechai and caused him to ride through the streets of the city and proclaimed before him: ‘Thus shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.’” (Esther 6:11)
The Gemara in Megillah (16a) relates: Haman went and found talmidim sitting before Mordechai, and he was demonstrating the laws of kemitzah to them ... Haman asked the talmidim: “What topic are you learning?” They answered him: “When the Beis HaMikdosh was in existence, one who pledged a mincha offering would bring a fistful of flour and would gain atonement through it.” Haman said to them: “Your fistful of flour has come and has pushed aside my ten thousand silver talents.”
Haman was seen approaching the beis hamedresh to call Mordechai. Mordechai was very frightened, as he thought that Haman was coming to apprehend him. He alerted his talmidim to scatter, lest they be captured together with him. Mordechai was gripped with a genuine fear that Haman was going to prevail, at least to some degree, and that the Jews would suffer some casualties, rachmona litzlon.
In Ateres Mordechai, Rabbi Mordechai Rogow, explains that Mordechai knew that he would have nothing to fear if the Jews had staunchly maintained their loyalty to Torah and the mitzvos, for Hashem would certainly not abandon His cherished people to fall prey to Haman. However, the state of the Jews was not good. They had participated in the banquet of Achashveirosh, and many of the people had drifted far from the ways of our fathers. There were only a few dedicated individuals who had drawn close to Mordechai, and these were the devoted and trusted talmidim. These few, however, were not much of a consolation for Mordechai in face of the rampant departure from tradition that the multitudes had followed. This was the dismal condition that faced Mordechai. Then, at the point of almost total hopelessness, Mordechai studied the laws of kemitzah – the fistful of flour.
Suddenly, he detected a message of hope. The entire measure of flour is to be consumed by the Kohen after a small token amount is placed upon the mizbayach. Even though only a small representative amount is consecrated for the fire, its effect is far-reaching. To Mordechai, this meant that even though only a handful of talmidim had remained loyal, yet, these few were as the fistful of flour, which had the power of consecrating the entire measure. These dedicated talmidim were leaders, each with vision and direction, and they would succeed in educating and training the entire nation to rediscover their heritage.
When Haman asked about the day’s lesson, he was forced to admit that the message was true. Haman recognized that his attempt to bribe the king with his ten thousand talents of silver was now eclipsed by this small core of dedicated and devoted talmidim. The key to the survival of the Jews was that there remained within the Jewish people even a small group of dedicated and committed young people who were prepared to defend the virtuous and true values of the Torah. If these talmidim would be prepared to ascend the altar of religious and devoted service of Hashem, then any and all threats from the enemies would vanish. This “handful” of dedicated talmidim has within them the ability to ward off all danger and to neutralize all peril.
