Chapter 2

When G-d saw that Satan’s messengers were causing the Jews to sin, and that state of Torah and mitzvos observance was constantly worsening, He1 had Haman (the Jews’ arch-enemy) persuade the king to issue various harsh decrees against them. Haman assembled kindred spirits who, like him, were rabid Jew haters in order to decide the best time of year to carry out the evil decree of annihilation may it never come to pass. He then went to Achashveirosh to receive royal permission to carry out the slaughter.

Haman devised a cunning slander against the Jews. He was sure that this calumny would bear fruit, and that the king would subsequently approve his plan to annihilate the people. Haman was sure that the resultant evil decrees would be executed, for he knew how sinful the Jewish people were, and that the “attribute of justice” would incite G-d forbid against them.

Indeed, this was the inner meaning of Haman’s slander;2 Satan, the primordial serpent,3 incited before King Achashveirosh, [G-d being known as Achashveirosh because] the first [in Hebrew reishis] and the last [in Hebrew achris] are His,4 as the verse states:5 “I am first and I am last.”

Haman slandered the Jews by saying: “There exists [in Hebrew yeshno] one [echod] nation, scattered and dispersed among the nations, whose laws differ from the laws of all other nations, and the king’s laws they do not obey.”

[In spiritual terms, Satan’s complaint was as follows:] “There exists yeshno one nation….” The word yeshno [comes from the Hebrew word yesh, and] means might and will. Satan slandered the Jews by charging that our might, which had been given to us by G-d, and for which reason we are called “one nation,” as the verse states:6 “And who is like Your people Israel, one nation on earth,” [was not being properly utilized.]

The Jewish people have a will so strong and a power so mighty that we are able through our study of Torah, performance of mitzvos and demonstration of good character traits to draw down the One G-d into this material world, so that even here His unity can be recognized and His G-dliness felt. But the Jews, said Satan, are “scattered and dispersed among the nations” they are using their G-d-given gifts and talents for various “national” (i.e. mundane) matters.

[Furthermore, said Satan,] the Jewish nation’s laws “differ from the laws of all other nations.” Jews are different than all other nations. Every nation has its own physical and spiritual lifestyle to which it adheres. This is not the case with the “one nation… whose laws differ from the laws of all other nations….” They are ready and willing to change anything and everything G-d forbid in order to be similar to all other nations. This is due to the fact, continued Satan, that “the Kings laws,” i.e. G-d’s laws,7 “they do not obey.”

It was of such calumny that Ravah said:8 “No one can approach Haman’s ability to speak ill [of the Jewish people].”

Haman successfully incited against the Jews [before the King,] and Jews in all Achashveirosh’s countries felt the great travails brought upon them by Haman’s decrees. This painful affliction aroused a brokenheartedness within segments of Jewry that led to repentance.

This spirit of contrition aroused the wrath of the heretical leaders. They tried to prove that the harsh decrees were not so bad after all, but rather stemmed from the kingdom’s sincere desire to shower all manner of good upon the Jewish people. This goodness, the heretics promised, would come when Jews applied themselves diligently to labor and craft. These leaders went on to say that Jews should not believe in G-d’s salvation through redemption from exile. On the contrary, they maintained that now more than ever it was vital to become one with the inhabitants of the land.

By dint of such words and deceitful actions, Satan managed to convince many Jews to turn away from repentance, and in a variety of ways further their relationships with the land’s inhabitants.

So the Jews continued to sin, and Jewish afflictions increased accordingly. Nothing came from the empty promises of the heretical leaders except for the profanation of holiness, the eating of non-kosher food and other sins. All the while, the Jews’ torment and pain continued to increase.

Mordechai, however, “knew all that was happening.”9 Says the Yalkut:10 Mordechai knew how to heal the torment; he knew which sins had caused the afflictions, and the healing measures required. He assembled all the Jewish people and told them that all their afflictions stemmed from their profaning of Shabbos, their eating of forbidden foods and other sins. He aroused the Jews to a tremendous repentance, and assured them of the coming redemption. The Jewish people obeyed Mordechai’s call to repentance, and steadfastly believed in the coming redemption.

This, then, is the meaning of the verse “And the Jews took upon themselves [to do] that which they had begun to do.” They became pious and performed Torah and mitzvos with true self-sacrifice. The redemption came a year later, and within four years the Holy Temple was rebuilt.

Herein lies the awesome might of repentance. Jews were, during that trying period, surrounded by opponents of their religion. They were also under the influence of people that denied G-d and hated Judaism people who scoffed at Torah and mitzvos and mocked the righteous Mordechai and members of the Sanhedrin. [All this notwithstanding,] they were able through repentance to attain a spiritual level similar to that attained during the receiving of the Torah.

G-d accepted their true repentance, their regret for past misdeeds and their resolutions for the future to be loyal to Torah and mitzvos. G-d rained good fortune upon them through the miracle of Purim, and the Jewish people were favored with the redemption.

In summary: Haman’s decrees and the resulting travails were brought upon the Jewish people by the corrupting influence of their heretical leaders. Haman is empowered by Satan’s calumny of the Jews: that the chosen people were using their G-d-given powers only for mundane matters, and [Satan] exerted himself to the utmost to see to it that the Jewish people became unified with the surrounding nations and torn from G-d’s laws. Mordechai’s call to repentance affected the Jewish people. Their total self-sacrifice for Torah and mitzvos led to the miracle of Purim.