God Assigned Every Person in History a Role

From the very first moment of creation, God assigned every major figure in history a specific role. SAFE0 Rabbah preserves a remarkable list, attributed to Rabbi Berekhya, that reads like a divine casting sheet for the entire biblical drama.

He began with Isaiah: "Who acted and accomplished it? He who proclaimed the generations from the beginning; I, the Lord was first and with the last, I am He" (Isaiah 41:4). Then he laid out the roles. Adam was head of the created. Cain was head of the killers. Abel was head of the killed. Noah was head of the survivors. Abraham was head of the circumcised. Isaac was head of the bound. Jacob was head of the wholehearted. Judah was head of the tribes. Joseph was head of the pious. Aaron was head of the priests. Moses was head of the prophets.

The list continues through Israel's conquest and monarchy. Joshua was head of the conquerors. Otniel was head of the allocators, the one who completed the division of tribal land that Joshua left unfinished. Samuel was head of the anointers. Saul was head of the anointed. David was head of the musicians. Solomon was head of the builders.

Then the list turns dark. Nebuchadnezzar was head of the destroyers. Ahasuerus was head of the sellers. And Haman was head of the buyers. Ahasuerus sold the Jewish people. Haman purchased them for destruction. These were not accidents. These were roles assigned before the world began.

When everyone saw that Ahasuerus and Haman had been cast in their roles from the beginning of time, they screamed: "Woe!" And so the Book of Esther opens: "It was during the days of Ahasuerus" (Esther 1:1). The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) insists that even catastrophe was part of the divine script.

Rabbi Berekhya began: “Who acted and accomplished it? He who proclaimed the generations from the beginning; I, the Lord was first and with the last, I am He” (Isaiah 41:4). From the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, instituted for each and every person what is appropriate for him: Adam, head of the created; Cain, head of the killers; Abel, head of the killed; Noah, head of the survivors; Abraham, head of the circumcised; Isaac, head of the bound; Jacob, head of the wholehearted; Judah, head of the tribes; Joseph, head of the pious; Aaron, head of the priests; Moses, head of the prophets; Joshua, head of the conquerors; Otniel, head of the allocators;15He completed the allocation of the tribal portions that Joshua did not allocate in his lifetime. Samuel, of the anointers; Saul, of the anointed; David, of the musicians; Solomon, head of the builders; Nebuchadnezzar, head of the destroyers; Aḥashverosh, head of the sellers; Haman, head of the buyers; when everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1).