Megillat Esther
Haman gets stuck taking Mordechai around on the kings horse declaring how Mordechai saved the king. He is forced to show Mordechai greatrespect when he had been expecting it for himself.
Even worse, while leading Mordechai around town, Haman's daughter dumps the days trash on his head, mistaking him for Mordechai.
Haman has had a pretty lousy day.
He gets home and tells his wife and friends what happened to him.
In 6:13 they respond to Haman, "אם מזרע היהודים מרדכי... לא תוכל לו" - If Mordechai is from the Jews.. you will not be able to overcome him."
Why did Zeresh not say somethign like this earlier and try to dissuade him from attacking Mordechai risking these results? What good does it do to tell him this now? She is just rubbing salt on his wounds!!??
This is a classic case of CYA. They are starting to distance themselves from Haman. They see his star has risen and is now on the way down. They are changing teams.
We see a bit further in the megilla in 7:9 when Harvona tells Ahashverosh about the gallows that Haman had prepared a similar event. How did Harvona know about the gallows? He must have been involved with Haman. Yet he very quickly changed sides and snitched out Haman. He saw that Haman was a goner and he acted accordingly.
There is no loyalty among the wicked. Everybody is looking out for their own interests.
Showing posts with label Haman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haman. Show all posts
Monday, February 26, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
why the 13th?
Megillat Esther
Haman selected the 13th of Adar as the date to decree the uprising of the people against the Jews.
In 3:7 we find the lots cast and falling on Adar. Nothing is mentioned about any sepcific day in Adar.
In 3:12 we find Ahashverosh signing the decree on the 13th of Nissan and sending out his messengers to announce it.
In 3:13 we find, "וְנִשְׁלוֹחַ סְפָרִים בְּיַד הָרָצִים, אֶל-כָּל-מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ--לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד אֶת-כָּל-הַיְּהוּדִים מִנַּעַר וְעַד-זָקֵן טַף וְנָשִׁים בְּיוֹם אֶחָד, בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ שְׁנֵים-עָשָׂר הוּא-חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר; וּשְׁלָלָם, לָבוֹז." - And letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
Suddenly the 13th of Adar became the day for the extermination of the Jews (notice also, as per my previous post about 7 Adar, that the passuk in which is announced the date of the eventual uprising on the 13th of Nissan is in passuk 13).
How did that day get selected? Was it simply 12 full months from the day the letter was signed? For a suspicious Haman would it not have been better for him to insist on the date selected be the 7th of Adar, since he was so concerned about the bad luck time period of the Jews?
Haman selected the 13th of Adar as the date to decree the uprising of the people against the Jews.
In 3:7 we find the lots cast and falling on Adar. Nothing is mentioned about any sepcific day in Adar.
In 3:12 we find Ahashverosh signing the decree on the 13th of Nissan and sending out his messengers to announce it.
In 3:13 we find, "וְנִשְׁלוֹחַ סְפָרִים בְּיַד הָרָצִים, אֶל-כָּל-מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ--לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד אֶת-כָּל-הַיְּהוּדִים מִנַּעַר וְעַד-זָקֵן טַף וְנָשִׁים בְּיוֹם אֶחָד, בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ שְׁנֵים-עָשָׂר הוּא-חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר; וּשְׁלָלָם, לָבוֹז." - And letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
Suddenly the 13th of Adar became the day for the extermination of the Jews (notice also, as per my previous post about 7 Adar, that the passuk in which is announced the date of the eventual uprising on the 13th of Nissan is in passuk 13).
How did that day get selected? Was it simply 12 full months from the day the letter was signed? For a suspicious Haman would it not have been better for him to insist on the date selected be the 7th of Adar, since he was so concerned about the bad luck time period of the Jews?
the 7th
Megillat Esther
This probably means nothing, but I find it interesting to consider.
Haman is throwing lots to select a date for the destruction of the Jews. He figures the lottery will fall out on a time that is naturally bad for the Jews. It falls out on the 12 month, the month of Adar. Haman is happy, we are told in the midrash, because he realized that in the month of Adar we find the death of Moshe Rabbeinu on the 7th of Adar. That obviously means the month of Adar is bad luck for the Jews.
As a side point, the gemara tells us that he did not realize that Moshe was also born in Adar, so the month of Adar is good for the Jews.
The passuk in the megilla just tells us that it fell out on the 12th month which is Adar. I find it interesting that the passuk that this is written in is passuk 7 (chapter 3). In passuk 7 we have the lots falling out on Adar, and Haman is thinking about the 7th of Adar.
This probably means nothing, but I find it interesting to consider.
Haman is throwing lots to select a date for the destruction of the Jews. He figures the lottery will fall out on a time that is naturally bad for the Jews. It falls out on the 12 month, the month of Adar. Haman is happy, we are told in the midrash, because he realized that in the month of Adar we find the death of Moshe Rabbeinu on the 7th of Adar. That obviously means the month of Adar is bad luck for the Jews.
As a side point, the gemara tells us that he did not realize that Moshe was also born in Adar, so the month of Adar is good for the Jews.
The passuk in the megilla just tells us that it fell out on the 12th month which is Adar. I find it interesting that the passuk that this is written in is passuk 7 (chapter 3). In passuk 7 we have the lots falling out on Adar, and Haman is thinking about the 7th of Adar.
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