“All the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed

Midrash Rabbah Esther Rabbah 7:6

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 6, 2025

“All the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed and prostrated themselves to Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him; and Mordekhai would not bow and would not prostrate himself” (Esther 3:2). “All the king's servants who were at the king's gate.” Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina began: “The arrogant laid a trap for me” (Psalms 140:6) – the congregation of Israel said before the Holy one blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, the idolaters have spread a trap before me to bring me down. They say to me: Engage in idol worship. If I heed them, I will be punished. If I do not heed them, they will kill me. It is analogous to a wolf that thirsted for water, but they spread a net at the entrance to the spring. He said: If I go down to drink, I will be trapped, but if I do not go down, I will die of thirst.

Themes

Charity Holy Land Kings Worship Esther

Biblical References

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