Moving on

Megillat Esther

Haman comes home from the first party with Esther and Ahashverosh. Nothing happened at the party, but Esther invited them to a second party she would be hosting. He considered this a great honor and tells his wife and friends about the great honor he received.

Haman is in a pretty good mood.

In 5:13 Haman says to his wife and friends, "וכל זה איננו שוה לי בכל עת שאני רואה את מרדכי היהודי יושב בשער המלך" - None of this is worth it to me as long as I continue to see Mordechai sitting by the gates of the palace.

Why should one person bother him so much? he was a lowly servant of the king who has been fast-tracked to stardom. He has the king wrapped around his finger and he has been shown the greatest respect by the highest dignitaries, including the king and queen. Where does Haman come off complaining about one stinking Jew who won't bow down to him when he passes by?

Mordechai was Haman's adversary, and as long as Mordechai did not show him what he perceived to be the proper respect due to him, nothing else mattered.

All the friends in the world can bow down to you and kiss up to you, but the one guy who gets on your nerves is the guy who knows you are really nothing but a hot-air balloon. He holds your secrets. he knows your weaknesses. And when he does not show you the respect you demand, his statement is greater than that of all the people who do show respect. His lack of respect is a blow to your self-confidence.

Had Haman been able to ignore Mordechai and bask in the honor he received from everyone else,he might even have succeeded in his goal. His passion with Mordechai is what did him in. He could not ignore the one man who dissed him out of the hundreds and thousands of people who showed him respect.

That caused him to over-reach. That forced him to make mistakes. That brought about his downfall.

learn to get past your hang-ups. Move on. Your chances of success are better when you ignore the little slights.