פרק ד׳
The Good Tiding’s Mordechai Saw in the Words of the Children
ויצא בתוך העיר
“And he went out into the midst of the city.” (Esther 4:1)
The Medrash Rabbah (7:16) relates that after Haman had the evil decree written and signed, Mordechai met three children returning home from yeshiva and asked them, “What did you learn today?” The first child quoted the pasuk:אל תירא מפחד פתאם - “Do not fear sudden terror” (Mishlei 3:25). The second one mentioned the pasuk: עצו עצה ותפר דברו דבר ולא יקום כי עמנו א-ל - “They will make plans, but it will be foiled; they will discuss plans, but it will not materialize, for G-d is with us” (Yeshayah 8:10). The third child quoted the pasuk: ועד זקנה אני הוא ועד שיבה אני אסבל ... ואמלט - “Until old age I am with you, to your aged years I will sustain you ... and deliver you” (Yeshayah 46:4). Upon hearing this Mordechai was very happy. What good tidings did Mordechai see in the words of the children?
The Gaon in Kol Eliyohu explains as follows: The Jewish people were confronted by Amalek three times:
- Upon leaving Mitzrayim, they were suddenly attacked by Amalek (Devorim 25:18, Rashi).
- Years later Amalek again attempted to wage war against the Jewish people. To prevent the Jews from identifying his people in their tefillos for Hashem’s assistance, he ordered his soldiers to use the Canaanite language (Bamidbar 21:1, Rashi).
- Haman was a descendant of Amalek, and he viciously planned the annihilation of the Jewish people.
Mordechai understood the words of the first child, “Do not fear sudden terror...” as an allusion to Amalek’s first attack. The second child’s message, “they will speak, but it will not materialize” - was that regardless of Amalek’s attempts to disguise himself and change his dialect, it would be to no avail because Hashem was with the Jewish people.
When Haman discussed his evil plans for the Jews with his advisors, they told him, “Don’t be a fool! Whenever someone has sought to harm these people, their G-d has come to their salvation and destroyed the enemy. Stay away from them or you will suffer the consequences.” Haman presumptuously told them, “There is nothing to fear;
The Connection Between Mordechai and Yaakov, Haman and Eisav
ויזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה
“And he cried out loudly and bitterly.” (Esther 4:1)
The Arizal writes that Mordechai was a gilgul [reincarnation] of Yaakov, and Haman was a gilgul of Eisav, this enables us to appreciate a number of fascinating parallels between them. The Medrash (Esther Rabbah 8:1) says that, because Eisav screamed when Yitzchok told him that Yaakov had come and taken the berachos –ויצעק צעקה גדולה ומרה (Bereishis 27:34) – Haman caused Mordechai to scream in a similarly bitter manner - ויצעק צעקה גדולה ומרה.
This also explains why Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman to rectify the fact that Yaakov had bowed to Eisav (Bereishis 33:3).
The Gemara in Chullin (139b) teaches that Mordechai is hinted to in the section of the Torah that lists the spices that were used in creating the anointing oil (Shemos 30:23). The first of the spices is called: מר דרור – pure myrrh, which the Targum translates into Aramaic as,מרא דכיא , which sounds like Mordechai. Since Mordechai is associated with the sense of smell and sweet-smelling spices, it is not surprising that when Yaakov came to Yitzchok to get the berachos, Yitzchok commented that he smelled the pleasant aroma of Gan Eden entering with him.
The Ba’al HaTurim (Bereishis 25:34) points out that the word: ויבז – “and he disgraced”, appears twice in Tanach, once regarding Eisav: ויבז עשו את הבכורה – “Eisav disgraced the birthright” and once in conjunction with Haman (Esther 3:6):ויבז בעיניו לשלח יד במרדכי לבדו – “It was a disgrace in his eyes, and he wanted to kill Mordechai”. Just as Yaakov bought the birthright from Eisav with bread and lentils, so too the Medrash teaches (Yalkut Shimoni Esther 1056) that Mordechai purchased Haman as his servant by giving him food.
When Yaakov thought that Yosef had been killed by a wild animal, the Torah records (Bereishis 37:34) that as a sign of mourning he wore sackcloth, something that Mordechai also did in response to Haman’s decree.
When Yaakov approached Eisav, he davened (Bereishis 32:12): יד אחי מיד עשומא נצילני ה –“Please save me from the hand of my brother Eisav”. The Ba’al HaTurim points out that the first letters of the first three words can be rearranged to spell Haman.
In an effort to pacify Eisav, Yaakov sent him a gift of many animals and instructed his messengers:ורוח תשימו בין עדר ובין עדר - “leave a space between each drove” (Bereishis 32:17). The Ba’al HaTurim points out that the word,רוח , appears only one other place in Tanach: רוח והצלה יעמוד ליהודים ממקום אחר – “relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from some other place” (Esther 4:14).
Finally, Rav Dovid Cohen points out that this insight from the Arizal can help us understand why the song we sing on Purim to commemorate the victory of Mordechai is ... Shoshanas Yaakov.
