“A decree is hereby issued by me that you should cooperate with these elders of the Jews to rebuild this Temple of G-d; and the expenses should be provided immediately to these people from the royal estate, from the Trans-Euphrates Region’s taxes, so that their work is not halted. And whatever they require – young bulls, rams, and sheep for burnt-offerings to the G-d of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the specifications of the Kohanim who are in Yerusholayim – shall be supplied to them day by day, without fail” (Ezra 6:8-9)
Daryavesh financed the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdosh and supplied the animals and other necessary items for the korbanos. He funded the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdosh with the tax money that had been collected from the citizens of Persia. And when had these funds been collected? וישם המלך אחשורוש מס על הארץ ואיי הים – “King Achashveirosh levied a tax on the mainland and the islands of the sea” (Esther 10:1).
Achashveirosh taxed his citizens, and then his son Daryavesh used those very funds to pay for the Beis HaMikdosh! Thus, when the Megillah informs us of the taxes imposed on the people of Persia, it is not extraneous information! It is teaching us the source of funds that enabled the Second Beis HaMikdosh to be built.
At this point the Purim story comes full circle. In the opening paragraphs of the Megillah, Achashveirosh celebrated the destruction of the Beis HaMikdosh and that it was not being rebuilt. He believed that the seventy years of galus had come to an end with no redemption, and he was confident that the Beis HaMikdosh would never be rebuilt. Klal Yisroel would never be redeemed. Yet, at the conclusion of the Megillah, we learn that Achashveirosh himself became the chief fundraiser for the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdosh. (R’ Doniel Glatstein)
Why Is Achashveirosh’s Name Missing Two Vav’s
This pasuk describes how Achashveirosh levied taxes on all the lands. With the two vav’s removed, Achashveirosh’s name can be broken into אחש, meaning “woe”, and רש, meaning “poor”. In other words, the missing letters reveal the public sentiment regarding Achashveirosh’s tax increase. The people felt that “woe unto us because Achashveirosh is making us poor by taxing us so heavily!” (Rokeach)
