“What has
happened?”
“Why did
Mordechai call a mass meeting of all Jews in the city square?”
“Why has he
been acting so strange of late?”
As the crowd
in the square grew larger the waves of curiosity continued to break upon a
shore of mystery. Then there was a hush as an old, dignified man wearing
sackcloth and ashes walked towards the center of the square.
“My
brothers,” began Mordechai, “Heaven has revealed to me some dreadful tidings
which I must share with you. We are to be punished for the sins we committed in
bowing to the image of Nevuchadnetzar and in partaking of the forbidden foods
at the feast of King Achashveirosh. Heaven has therefore already caused a
decree to be issued in this kingdom which calls for the death of every single
Jew.”
Although no
one yet understood the danger of which Mordechai spoke, his words paralyzed his
audience with fearful anticipation. The older Jews who had accompanied
Mordechai into exile from the land of Yehudah wept at the thought that for the
second time in their lives they were being faced with disaster. The others had
been looking forward impatiently to the day a few years hence when the seventy
years Babylonian exile would be over and they could return Jerusalem and
rebuild the Beis Hamikdash, as the prophet had promised. Now they began to
worry that their dream would never come true. They all gasped with nervous
anxiety as Mordechai continued.
“I have rent
my garments and donned sackcloth and ashes. My every hour is filled with
repentance and prayer to G-d in whose hands are the hearts of kings.”
“The king!
What does the king have to do with this?”
“Tell us, O
Mordechai, what danger you speak of.”
Mordechai
calmed the crowd with a gesture of his hand and raised his voice to make the
fateful announcement.
“In eleven
months our enemies are planning to kill every Jew throughout the kingdom, men
and women, young and old.”
Cries of
disbelief mingled with sighs of agony, subsiding only when his listeners saw
that Mordechai wished to continue.
“The letter
bearing the king’s signature which you see posted in this square tells only
half the story. The governor of Shushan, as well as the governors, satraps and
princes of the provinces throughout the realm, have received a second letter
from the king which is sealed with instructions that it is not to be opened
until the thirteenth of Adar. That letter, rny dear brothers, pronounces a
death sentence upon all of us and our families.”
“But how
could the king do such a thing?”
“Whatever are
we to do?”
“It is not
the king who is to blame,” explained Mordechai. “He has been fooled by the
anti-Semitic Amalekite, Haman. Still, all is not lost. If we repent our sins
and pray to G-d, He will save us as He always saved our ancestors. But let us
not rely on a miracle alone, and do whatever is humanly possible. The only way
we can do something with our own powers is to spread the word to all of our
neighbors and acquaintances that the purpose of military preparedness mentioned
in the letters is the destruction of Jewry. This information will eventually
reach the king and perhaps he will find a way to abolish this terrible decree.”
Word spread
quickly enough throughout all the provinces of Mordechai’s revelation, and
great sorrow descended upon the Jewish communities when the messengers arrived
with the king’s decree. Fasting, weeping and wailing echoed Jewish repentance
while the mass application of sackcloth and ashes mirrored it.
Although the
most distant Jew had heard the news, the palace walls seemed impregnable
against its reaching the king’s ears. Haman’s agents had seen to it that no one
approached the king with such information. But Mordechai knew that his only
hope was in reaching the king, or at least getting through to the queen. He
therefore decided on a bold gamble. Up to the palace gates he marched, wearing
his sackcloth. There he stood, waiting for the reaction of the palace guards.
The reaction
was not long in coming. Mordechai was a familiar fixture on the palace grounds
and he startled the palace retainers with his refusal to now enter. Sackcloth
was, after all, not permitted as attire within the king’s gates. Several of her
excited maids and chamberlains came running to Queen Esther to report
Mordechai’s strange conduct.
“Have some
raiment brought to Mordechai immediately,” she ordered in a trembling voice
that betrayed her shock. “Let him don these garments over his sackcloth so that
he may enter the palace grounds at once.”
But Mordechai
waved aside the proffered clothes as he turned his eyes to Heaven.
“O merciful
G-d. I shall not pause for a moment in my sackcloth repentance and prayer for I
know that only Thou are my salvation and that it is vain to trust in flesh and
blood.”
When Esther
heard of Mordechai’s refusal she summoned her most trusted confidant, Hasach,
whom the king had appointed as one of her special chamberlains.
“Mordechai
must certainly have some vital information to relay to me,” she told him. “You
are to go out to him and probe the reasons for his mysterious appearance until
you learn what has happened.”
Out on the
street Hasach found Mordechai most anxious to reveal everything. He told him
how Haman’s hatred had begun with his refusal to bow to him. Then he detailed
Haman’s deception in offering a large sum of money to the king as the gift of
his patriots for the privilege of converting some obscure race. He then handed
him a letter and said:
“Where that
scoundrel actually intended getting the money was from the spoils his murderers
would take, and he was merely offering the crown the share due to it from such
booty. For Haman has placed the king's signature on a document which spells
death for all Jewry. Show this letter to Queen Esther, for it is a copy of the
letter sent to the rulers of all the provinces. Tell her that a second, sealed
letter has also been sent containing instructions to kill every Jew on the
thirteenth of Adar. There is no time to lose so she must immediately come
before the king and plead for her people.”
When Queen
Esther recovered from her shock at hearing Hasach’s report she asked him to see
to it that her reply was brought to Mordechai.
“But don’t go
yourself, Hasach,” warned the queen, “for Haman’s agents will certainly become
suspicious. Send another messenger to tell Mordechai that I cannot approach the
king now. All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know
that any man or woman who shall come uninvited unto the king, into the inner
court, shall be put to death. This law makes no exception as to who it is that
comes uninvited and for what vital purpose. There is an automatic penalty of
death. Should the king extend his golden scepter, however, then, and only then,
is the doomed person spared his life. Even if I should be fortunate enough to
have my life spared after my uninvited appearance, how can I then dare to plead
for the life of my people as well?
“Tell
Mordechai that if there would be no other way to save our people, I would
readily consent to this move despite its personal dangers. But there is a much
more secure and practical way for me to approach the king. Thirty days have
already passed since I have been called to the king and it is certain that I
will be called again any day. If we wait a few days I will have the opportunity
of making an invited appearance when I can more easily plead our people’s
cause.”
Mordechai was
furious with Esther’s reply and he sent her back a sharp challenge.
“Your rise to
the throne was an unnatural event and obviously dictated by heaven for some
particular purpose. The present danger to Jewry clearly indicates that this
purpose was to grant you an opportunity to influence the king. But this
opportunity cannot be delayed. When the appointed hour of salvation arrives for
Jews in trouble nothing can prevent it. Should you fail to play your destined role
in this salvation, our merciful G-d will rescue His people through other means.
He shall surely not allow His people’s fate to hang upon the whim of one woman.
But you and your father’s house shall be lost, for once the purpose of your
glory has passed, there is no longer any reason for you to remain a queen. Do
not delude yourself that you can achieve this salvation in a few days, for you
have been elevated to the throne by Heaven just for this very moment.”
Esther
received Mordechai’s message not as a rebuke, but as an assurance, and
smilingly sent back her final message.
“Now that I
am confident of my people’s salvation regardless of what happens to me I am
ready to face almost certain death in order to play my Heaven-ordained part in
this rescue. But I beg of you to gather all the Jews in Shushan and fast three
days for the success of my mission. For three days and three nights shall they
not partake of food and drink. My maidens and I shall likewise fast. With such
repentance and prayer behind me I shall boldly come before the king with
nothing more to lose than my own life.”
Mordechai
fulfilled Esther’s request and a three-day fast was proclaimed for all of Jewry
in the capital.
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