z ́¥` §e ÆK ¤l ̧¤O ©d F ³l §C ¦B x ̧¤W £` l ̈M Áz ¥` §e ei® ̈p ̈A a x §e F −x §W ̈r cF ¬a §M z ¤` o² ̈n ̈d m¬¤d ̈l x ̧¥R ©q §i©e :K ¤l«¤O ©d i¬¥c §a©r §e mi −¦x ̈V ©d l©r F ½` §V ¦p x ́¤W £`(th v) And Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches and the multitude of his sons, and all that the king had promoted him and that he had exalted him over the princes and the king's servants.
(Esther 5:11) The commenters ask: There is a famous fact throughout Chazal. "vbn oh,tn kkfc ah” One hundred dinars is contained or included within two hundred, i.e., testimony concerning a large amount includes testimony concerning a smaller amount. If so, why was Haman boasting that he was exalted over the princes and the servants? If he was exalted above the princes, of course he was exalted over the king's servants.
Keren Ledavid, from Hagaon Rav Eliezer David Greenwald, son of Hagaon Rav Moshe, author of the Arugas Habosem, answers a beautiful insight. We see in the Gemara Berachos 34b: There was an incident involving Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who went to study Torah before Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, and Rabbi Yocanan’s son fell ill. He said to him, Chanina, my son, pray for mercy on behalf of my son so that he will live. Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa placed his head between his knees in order to meditate and prayed for mercy on his behalf, and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s son lived. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said about himself: Had ben Zakkai stuck his head between his knees throughout the entire day, they would have paid him no attention. His wife said to him, And is Chanina greater than you? He replied to her: No, but his prayer is better received than my own because he is like a servant before the King, and as such, he is able to enter before the King and make various requests at all times. I, on the other hand, am like a minister before the King, and I can enter only when invited and make requests only with regard to especially significant matters.
Based on this, we can explain what Haman said: If I were exalted over princes, I would still need permission to come before the king. However, I am exalted over the king's servants, so I can come unannounced before the king and present my evil plan! However, Hashem had different plans for him and Klal Yisrael.
