Megillah, Daf Yod Bet, Part 5
מיד – והקרב אליו כרשנא שתר אדמתא תרשיש.
אמר רבי לוי: כל פסוק זה על שום קרבנות נאמר: כרשנא, אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם, כלום הקריבו לפניך כרים בני שנה כדרך שהקריבו ישראל לפניך?
שתר, כלום הקריבו לפניך שתי תורין? אדמתא, כלום בנו לפניך מזבח אדמה? תרשיש, כלום שימשו לפניך בבגדי כהונה, דכתיב בהו +שמות כ"ח+ תרשיש ושהם וישפה. מרס, כלום מירסו בדם לפניך? מרסנא, כלום מירסו במנחות לפניך? ממוכן, כלום הכינו שלחן לפניך?
Straightway [he did so, as we read], and the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish [etc.].
R. Levi said: This whole verse speaks of the sacrifices.
Carshena: the ministering angels said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, did they ever offer before you lambs of the first year [karim bene shanah] as Israel offered before You?
Shethar: did they ever offer before You two pigeons [shte torim]?
Admatha: did they ever build before You an altar of earth [adamah]?
Tarshish: did they ever minister before You in the priestly garments, of which it is written [that they contained] a beryl [tarshish], an onyx and a jasper?
Meres: did they ever stir [mersu] the blood [of the sacrifice] before You?
Marsena: did they ever stir [mersu] the grain-offerings before You?
Memukhan: did they ever prepare [hekhinu] a table before Thee?
R. Levi reads the strange names of Ahashverosh’s ministers as alluding to claims that the ministering angels made before God concerning the sacrifices. Each name alludes to a sacrificial act that Israel did before God that the non-Jews did not. Rashi explains that at this point the ministering angels pleaded before God to punish Vashti, so that Esther could become queen and eventually save the Jews.
ויאמר ממוכן, תנא: ממוכן זה המן. ולמה נקרא שמו ממוכן – שמוכן לפורענות.
אמר רב כהנא: מכאן שההדיוט קופץ בראש.
And Memukhan said. A Tanna taught: Memukhan is the same as Haman, And why was he called Memucan? Because he was destined [mukhan] for punishment.
R. Kahana said: From here we see that an ordinary man always pushes himself in front.
The rabbis identify Memukhan with Haman, who is destined to be hanged later in the Megillah. This identification is part of a midrashic trend to conflate characters in the Tanakh. Here it is especially curious why Haman was not listed with the ministers of the king in chapter one.
R. Kahana notes that Memukhan was the last of the ministers in the list but the first to talk. Often times it is the least important person, the one who has the least to say, who pushes himself to the front to speak.
להיות כל איש שרר בביתו
אמר רבא: אלמלא אגרות הראשונות לא נשתייר משונאיהן של ישראל שריד ופליט. אמרי: מאי האי דשדיר לן להיות כל איש שרר בביתו? פשיטא! אפילו קרחה בביתיה פרדשכא ליהוי!
That every man should reign in his house.
Rava said: Had it not been for these first letters, there would have been left no shred or remnant of the [enemies of] Israel.
People said: What does he mean by sending us word that every man should reign in his own house? Of course he should! Even a weaver in his own house must be commander!
Rava notes something curious about the various letters sent out by Ahashverosh to his people. The Babylonians waited before carrying out the destruction of the Jews instructed in the second letters. This is because, Rava claims, the first letter was so obvious. Obviously men command their homes, even a weaver, a rather lowly profession, reigns in his own home. Since the first letter was so obvious, the second letter was ignored. Thus Haman’s (Memukhan) own suggestion allowed the "enemies of Israel" a euphemism for Israel themselves, to be eventually saved.