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The Hidden Hand Behind Haman's Gallows and Mordecai's Crown

Haman came to the palace at dawn to ask for a hanging. The king spoke first and asked how to honor a favored man, and Haman described a parade for himself.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. A King Who Drank From Stolen Vessels
  2. The Queen Who Could Not Be Displayed
  3. The Gallows Built on Envy
  4. The Night the King Could Not Sleep
The Hidden Hand Behind Haman's Gallows and Mordecai's Crown Click for full size

A King Who Drank From Stolen Vessels

The most extravagant party in the Hebrew Bible was paid for with stolen goods. When King Ahasuerus spread his banquet across one hundred and eighty days, setting the wine cups gleaming before all of Shushan, the gold on those tables was not his. Much of it had been carried out of Jerusalem, hauled from the wreckage of the Temple, and the proudest king in Persia was drinking from vessels that had once held the offerings of God.

God watched him flaunt it and was not impressed. The rabbis who preserved the Purim legends in the Legends of the Jews, the great early twentieth-century synthesis Louis Ginzberg assembled from midrashic sources between 1909 and 1938, gave God a single dry line in response to the spectacle: has the creature of flesh and blood any possessions of his own? The silver is mine, and the gold is mine. That line echoes the prophet Haggai. It lands as a verdict before any sentence has been announced.

The Jews of Shushan were invited to the feast. They walked into the hall and saw the sacred vessels of their destroyed Temple serving as props for a pagan celebration, and some of them stayed and drank anyway. That detail is not in the plain text of Esther. The rabbis inserted it, because they wanted to establish what was at stake before the decree came. A people that will drink from their own desecrated sanctuary has already lost something that the decree of Haman was only going to make official.

The Queen Who Could Not Be Displayed

The party ended badly. Vashti refused to come when the king summoned her to display herself before his guests, and the king, drunk and humiliated in front of his court, had her removed. The sages imagined her refusal as the first act in a chain of events that was not accidental. She had to be removed so that someone else could take her place. The throne of Persia had to be occupied by a woman the Hidden One had already chosen.

A decree went out across all the provinces. Every beautiful young woman in the kingdom was to be brought to Shushan for the king's inspection. Esther was brought with the rest of them, and she said nothing about who she was or where she came from, because her cousin Mordecai had instructed her not to. She kept her silence for months, through the full twelve-month preparation, through the night she was brought before the king, through the night he chose her above all the others and placed the crown on her head. She kept her silence and Mordecai kept walking back and forth before the women's courtyard each day to hear what was happening.

The Gallows Built on Envy

Haman rose to power and acquired exactly one enemy. Mordecai would not bow to him. Not because of stubbornness, but because Mordecai was a Jew and Haman was an Amalekite, a descendant of the people who had thrown the sign of the covenant heavenward as a taunt, and Mordecai understood what was actually being asked when Haman's servants told him to bow down. He refused every day.

Haman decided that killing Mordecai was insufficient. He wanted to kill every Jew in the kingdom, and he wanted to do it on a day that his astrologers told him was propitious. He cast lots, purim, to find the right month, and the lot fell on Adar. Then he went to the king and presented the case: there is a people scattered among your provinces who keep their own laws and do not keep the king's laws. Give me permission to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand silver talents into the treasury. The king gave him the ring from his finger as a seal of approval and told him to keep his money. The people were his.

Haman went home to celebrate. His wife Zeresh and his friends helped him plan the execution in detail. Build a gallows fifty cubits high, they suggested, and ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it. The advice pleased him. The gallows went up in the night.

The Night the King Could Not Sleep

That same night, Ahasuerus could not sleep. He called for the court chronicles to be read to him, and the servant who read them opened to the place that recorded how Mordecai had once uncovered and reported a plot to kill the king. The king asked what honor had been given to this man. Nothing had been given. The servant said so.

Haman arrived at the palace at dawn to ask for Mordecai's execution. The king called him in before he could speak and asked him a question: what should be done for a man the king wishes to honor? Haman assumed the king was talking about him, the only man in the kingdom worth honoring, and described the most elaborate public ceremony he could imagine. Lead him on the king's horse through the city square. Have a nobleman cry out before him: thus shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.

The king said: go do exactly that for Mordecai the Jew.

Legends Of The JewsEstherPurimHamanMordecaiAhasuerusDivine JusticeTemple
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From the tradition

Sources

3 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Legends of the Jews 12:13Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

The Book of Esther tells a tale of immense wealth and power, embodied by King Ahasuerus. He throws a lavish banquet, boasting of his riches. But where did all this splendor come from? Much of it,

Ahasuerus, in his arrogance, flaunted these stolen treasures. But God, the ultimate source of all things, wasn't impressed. As the story goes, God rebuked him, saying, "Verily, has the creature of flesh and blood any possessions of his own? I alone possess treasures, for 'the silver is mine, and the gold is mine.'" (Based on Haggai 2:8).

Being a devout Jew, invited to this grand spectacle, only to see the sacred vessels of the Temple – your Temple – being used as gaudy decorations, desecrated in drunken revelry. That's exactly what happened to the noble Jews who attended Ahasuerus' feast. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, their hearts were broken.

The pain, the outrage, the utter humiliation? They couldn't bear to participate in the festivities any longer. They wept, overcome by grief and righteous anger.

Ahasuerus, perhaps sensing their displeasure, or maybe just wanting to avoid a scene, ordered that a separate place be assigned to the Jews. He figured if they couldn't see the stolen Temple treasures, maybe they'd be happier. Like offering a bandage for a wound you yourself inflicted.

But this separation, as we find in Midrash Rabbah, also inadvertently protected them from the decrees that were to come. This act of apparent kindness, born of selfishness, became a small seed of salvation.

So, what do we take away from this glimpse into the story of Esther? Perhaps it's a reminder of the fragility of earthly power, the importance of remembering where our blessings truly come from, and the resilience of the Jewish people in the face of adversity. And maybe, just maybe, it's a call to examine what we truly value and what we consider our own.

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Legends of the Jews 12:6Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

Legends of the Jews turns to Esther's Miracle.

The miracle of Purim isn’t just about escaping the evil decree of Haman, may his name be blotted out. It’s also about the incredible elevation of the Jewish people in the eyes of the Persian Empire, and particularly the ascent of Esther herself. this young woman, secretly Jewish, becomes queen!

That's where the seemingly excessive, almost unbelievable, feast that King Ahasuerus throws for his kingdom comes into play. It's not just a random detail in the Book of Esther, is it? It’s absolutely crucial.

The sheer, over-the-top extravagance of this feast – imagine, a celebration that lasts for 180 days, followed by another week-long party for everyone in the capital city of Shushan! – it serves as a measuring stick. As a gauge. (Esther 1:4-5)

Why?

Because it shows us the immense wealth and power that Esther would later wield. The Book of Esther makes it clear the king was very, very rich. This wasn't just a party; it was a display of imperial might. The more lavish the feast, the more impressive Esther's rise to power becomes.

The more we understand the opulence surrounding her, the more we appreciate the magnitude of her transformation. She wasn’t just saving her people; she was stepping into a position of unparalleled influence within one of the greatest empires of the ancient world.

It's not just background noise; it’s a vital piece of the puzzle, setting the stage for Esther’s extraordinary journey.

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Legends of the Jews 12:237Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

Ten of them served as governors in various provinces, according to Legends of the Jews. But their fate? Not so enviable. Ten of them died along with their father, and the other ten? They were reduced to utter destitution, forced to live as beggars. A stark contrast to their previous lives of privilege, wouldn't you say?

What became of Haman’s vast fortune? Tradition tells us it was divided into thirds. The first portion, a massive windfall, went to Mordecai and Esther. The second was dedicated to the support of Torah scholars, ensuring the continuation of Jewish learning. And the final third? It was used for the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, a project of immense religious and national significance.

Mordecai, as you might expect, became an incredibly wealthy man. But that’s not all. He was also elevated to the position of king – or at least, a leading figure – of the Jews! There are even accounts suggesting he had coins struck, featuring Esther’s image on one side and his own on the other.

Here’s a fascinating twist, a cautionary tale woven into the story. As Mordecai gained worldly power and influence, his spiritual life began to suffer. The demands of his high political office consumed his time, leaving him little opportunity for Torah study. Before his rise to power, he was considered the sixth most eminent scholar in Israel. Afterwards? He slipped to seventh place. A subtle but significant decline, a reminder that earthly success can sometimes come at a spiritual cost.

King Ahasuerus actually benefited from these changes. As soon as Mordecai became grand chancellor, he successfully brought rebellious provinces back under the king's control – those provinces that had revolted after Vashti’s execution. So, while Mordecai experienced a personal spiritual shift, his political skills ultimately strengthened the kingdom.

The story after the story, the epilogue to Purim, is just as rich and complex as the main narrative. What lessons do you draw from the fate of Haman’s sons, the distribution of his wealth, and the spiritual journey of Mordecai?

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