MEGILLAS ESTHER I
Can you figure out what each picture has to do with the Megillah?
Rabbi Dani Staum
Megillas Esther – Purim Pix
75K – The Jews killed 75,00 of their enemies – 9:16
10,000 – The amount of silver talents Haman offered Achashveirosh to enact the decree for annihilation – 3:9
No Haggadah – That year Mordechai decided the Jews should fast three days including the night of the Seder. He reasoned that it was better that they forego the Seder that year than c”v to be destroyed and never observe another Seder. (see Gemara Megilla 15a)
Techeilies – The famous piyyut about Purim – Shoshanas Yaakov – states that the Jews were happy when together they saw the techeiles of Mordechai. (When Mordehai removed his clothing to don the royal garments when he was being paraded through the streets of Shushan, Haman put on Mordechai’s clothing. In this way he hoped people would think Mordechai was leading the horse. He indeed fooled his daughter who was sure it was Mordechai she was dumping the contents of her chamber pot upon as they passed her window. But there was one article of clothing Mordechai wouldn’t take off – his tzitzis. The Jewish people too were unsure who was on the horse… until they saw the unmistakable techeiles sticking out of the royal clothes. It was then they were sure it was Mordechai atop the horse, and they truly rejoiced. In addition, the message of techelis is to remind us that Hashem runs the world, the underlying message of Purim.)
King’s Scepter – When Esther was instructed by Mordechai to appear before Achashveirosh unannounced, Esther replied that she was risking her life because only if the king stretched forth his royal scepter would her life be spared 4:11, 5:2
Stable Boy – When Vashti refused to appear before Achashveirosh on the final day of his party, she accompanied her refusal with very harsh and insulting words, including reminding him that he had been a stable boy many years earlier for her own grandfather King Nevuchadnezzar – Gemara Megilla 12b
India-Ethiopia – The beginning of the Megillah states that Achashveirosh was king from Hodu (India) to Kush (Ethiopia) – 1:1
Secret Identity – when she was first taken to the palace and for years afterwards Esther kept her identity a secret. In addition, Memuchan in the Megillah (chapter 1) was really a pseudonym for Haman – 1:16, gemara Megilla12b
Help I can’t sleep – At the beginning of the sixth perek, the Megillah relates that Achashveirosh couldn’t sleep. The custom is that the reader raises his voice when he begins perek 6 because that incident was the beginning of the unfolding of the miraculous salvation – 6:1
3 Days – Esther called upon the Jewish people to fast for 3 days and nights for the success of her mission appearing uninvited before Achashveirosh – Esther 4:16
