Megillah, Daf Yod Bet, Part 1
Introduction
The Talmud continues to interpret the Megillah.
חיל פרס ומדי הפרתמים, וכתיב למלכי מדי ופרס! אמר רבא: אתנויי אתנו בהדדי: אי מינן מלכי – מינייכו איפרכי, ואי מינייכו מלכי – מינן איפרכי.
"The army of Persia and Media, the governors" (Esther 1:3). But elsewhere it is written, [The chronicles] of the kings of Media and Persia" (Esther 10:2). Raba said: They [the Medes and Persians] made a stipulation with one another, saying, if we supply the kings, you will supply the Governors, and if you supply the kings we will supply the Governors.
Which comes first Media or Persia? The answer notes that in one verse the word "kings" is next to Media and in the other verse "governors" is next to Media. So the two nations made a deal with one another one would supply the kings, the other would supply the governors.
בהראתו את עשר כבוד מלכותו אמר רבי יוסי בר חנינא: מלמד שלבש בגדי כהונה: כתיב הכא +אסתר א‘+ יקר תפארת גדולתו וכתיב התם +שמות כ"ח+ לכבוד ולתפארת
When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom (Esther 1:4): R. Yose b. Hanina said: This shows that he arrayed himself in priestly robes. It is written here, "And the riches of his glorious [tif’eret] kingdom," and it is written elsewhere [in connection with the priestly garments], "For splendor and for glory, [tif’eret]" (Exodus 28:2).
The word "tiferet" is used midrashically to teach that Ahashverosh dressed up in priestly garments for the banquet. According to Rashi, these were the priestly garments stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem.
ובמלאות הימים האלה וגו‘ רב ושמואל; חד אמר: מלך פיקח היה, וחד אמר: מלך טיפש היה. מאן דאמר מלך פיקח היה – שפיר עבד דקריב רחיקא ברישא, דבני מאתיה כל אימת דבעי מפייס להו. ומאן דאמר טפש היה – דאיבעי ליה לקרובי בני מאתיה ברישא, דאי מרדו ביה הנך – הני הוו קיימי בהדיה.
"And when these days were fulfilled" (Esther 1:5). Rav and Shmuel, One said he was a clever king, and the other said that he was a foolish king.
The one who said he was a clever king said that he did well in entertaining his distant subjects first, because he could win over the inhabitants of his own city any time he wished.
The one who held that he was foolish says that he ought to have entertained the inhabitants of his city first, so that if the others rebelled against him, these would have supported him.
According to the Megillah, Ahashverosh first made a banquet for the governors coming from afar. Following this, in verse five, it says that he made a banquet for the people of his city. Rav and Shmuel debate whether this was a wise move. One holds that it is wise to first win over those who live far away, because he always has an opportunity to win over those who live in Shushan itself. Thus Ahashverosh was a wise political maneuverer. The other holds that it is more important to first garner support from those who live close. Once they were on his side, he could always use them as support against those who live far. Thus Ahashverosh acted foolishly.
שאלו תלמידיו את רבי שמעון בן יוחאי: מפני מה נתחייבו שונאיהן של ישראל שבאותו הדור כליה? אמר להם: אמרו אתם! – אמרו לו: מפני שנהנו מסעודתו של אותו רשע. – אם כן שבשושן יהרגו, שבכל העולם כולו אל יהרגו! – אמרו לו: אמור אתה! – אמר להם: מפני שהשתחוו לצלם. – אמרו לו: וכי משוא פנים יש בדבר? – אמר להם: הם לא עשו אלא לפנים – אף הקדוש ברוך הוא לא עשה עמהן אלא לפנים, והיינו דכתיב +איכה ג‘+ כי לא ענה מלבו.
His disciples asked R. Shimon b. Yohai, Why did the enemies of Israel in that generation deserve extermination? He said to them: You answer. They said: Because they enjoyed the feast of that wicked one. [He said to them]: If so, those in Shushan should have been killed, not those throughout the rest of the world? They then said: You answer. He said to them: It was because they bowed down to an image. They said to him, Did God then show them favoritism? He replied: They only pretended to worship, and He also only pretended to exterminate them; and so it is written, "For he afflicted not from his heart" (Eichah 3:33).
In this dialogue, R. Shimon b. Yohai and his students try to figure out why the Jews were (almost) exterminated in the time of Haman. His students explain that this was a punishment for sitting down to a feast with Ahashverosh. The problem with this is that only those in Shushan are said to have feasted with him so why were all of the Jews sentenced in Haman’s decree? Therefore, R. Shimon b. Yohai said it was a punishment for the idol worship that took place in the time of Ahashverosh only Hananyah, Mishael and Azaryah did not. The problem with this is that the punishment for idol worship is death. Why then did God end up saving them? Was he really showing favoritism to them, allowing to escape from a deserved punishment?
R. Shimon answers by defending the Jews they didn’t really worship idols. They only bowed down out of fear. So too God did not afflict them in reality he only warned them by allowing Haman to make his evil decree.