Exposing a hidden message for us all
By: Rabbi Moishe Schnerb
“When we would ‘get the message’ and do what was necessary, the decree would fall away.”
The Psalmist says[1] “Be mindful of me Hashem, when you favour Your nation; take note of me when you deliver them”. The Medrash[2] comments on this verse that King David says to Hashem, “Please have me in mind at the time when You bring miracles of salvation for the Jewish nation, through Mordechai and Esther,” We see right from the get-go that there is a connection that exists between King David and the entire Purim story.
In the Yalkut Reuveni[3] he explains why is it that Purim is unique amongst all the holidays, in that it is divided into two separate days of celebration; the 14th of Adar for those who live in non-walled cities, and the 15th of Adar for those who live in cities that have had walls dating back to the time of Yehoshua bin Nun, who led the Jews in the conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisroel. We do not find any other festival where the date of the Yom Tov is not universal in all places. It is true that on the major festivals there is an additional day celebrated outside of Eretz Yisroel, but that is just an extension of the original date of the commemoration. Here we seem to have two separate celebrations?
The Medrash explains that Dovid Hamelech was the 14th generation after our first Patriarch Avrohom Avinu and his son, King Solomon was the 15th generation after Avrohom Avinu, and corresponding to both of them, we have a day of Purim on the 14th and on the 15th. King David corresponds to the celebration of Purim on the 14th, because if you take the numerical value of the word Dovid which is 4+6+4 it equals 14. In the standard configuration of Gematria, every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value with alef to yud equalling 1 to 10, chaf to kuf equalling 20 to 100, and reish, shin, tav equalling 200, 300, and 400 respectively. If we employ a corollary system of Gematria, where we use only the first digit of the number [eg. 10 or 100 are counted as 1; and 20 or 200 as 2, etc] King Solomon is connected to the day of Purim in the Walled Cities because if you take the numerical value of his name (Shlomo), using only the first digit – shin which is 300 becomes 3, lamed which is 30 becomes 3, mem which is 40 becomes 4, and hey equals 5. Therefore 3+3+4+5=15, the date of Shushan Purim.
What is really fascinating is to implement the same exercise with the name of Haman, using the corollary system, you would get hey which is 5, the 4 of 40 from mem, and the 5 of 50 from nun – totalling 3+4+5=14. Wow! If we went one step further and did the same with the name of Mordechai, you get the 4 of 40 from mem, the 2 of 200 from reish, the dalet which equals 4, the 2 of 20 from chaf, and the 1 of 10 from the yud, which all adds up to 4+2+4+2+1 or only 13. The same would be true for the reduced name of Esther which would work out as 1+6+4+2 or again just 13. This is why Mordechai and Esther found it so difficult to confront Haman, because his name is one more than both of theirs, which on some spiritual level gave him more power than they could muster. Therefore, Mordechai and Esther needed the help of King David, who could “trump” Haman, since his 14 comes from the numerical value of his actual name, while Haman’s 14 only accrued from the corollary system.
This is, in fact, alluded to in the verse in the Torah we read on Purim morning, which describes the war against Amalek, the antecedent of Haman. It says[4] that Amalek’s hand (yad) is upon the throne of Hashem, and Hashem will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages. This verse is alluding to the strategy of how we are able to wage war against Amalek. In order to do so, we need the power of king David because he has the power of 14 – to fight against Amalek’s hand (yad) which is also 14, and we also know that, as we say in the Amidah: “May the throne of David, your servant be speedily installed in Jerusalem.” The numerical value of the words kisei Dovid – the throne of David – equals 95 which is the same as the full numerical value of the name Haman, and therefore it is specifically King David that has the mettle and strength to challenge and defeat Haman.
The Gemara[5] points out a contradiction in the Megillah: Mordechai is referred to as a “Jew” [Yehudi] – apparently indicating that he came from the tribe of Judah; but in the continuation of the verse he is called “Benjamite” [Yemini], which indicates that he came from the tribe of Benjamin. The Gemara gives various answers and in the 3rd analysis quotes the Rabbis who say that the dual lineage is due to a dispute: The families competed with each other over which tribe could take credit for Mordechai. The family of Judah would say: I caused the birth of Mordecai, as only because David did not kill Shimmi, the son of Gera, when he cursed him (see II Samuel 16) was it possible for Mordechai to be born later from his descendants. And the family of Benjamin said in response: In the end he came from me, as he in fact was from Benjamin’s tribe. The Gemara, according to this answer, is explaining that genealogically Mordechai comes from the tribe of Binyamin. The reason Mordechai is called a Yehudi, from the tribe of Yehuda, is because King David chose not to kill Mordechai’s Zaida, Shimmi ben Gera, although he was deserving of death for an act of mutiny, thereby allowing Mordechai to be born.
We deduce from this Gemara that from the very first words in the Megillah that introduce us to Mordechai, even before it mentions his name, and his tribe, we already allude to the connection between the existence of Mordechai, and the actions of King David, who refused to kill Shimmi the Zaida of Mordechai. This truly requires some elucidation.
Let us flashback, just for a moment to the events described in the book of Shmuel, at the time when David was fleeing from the rebellion of his own son Avshalom, who was pursuing him. When they reached a place called Bachurim, a man called Shimmi Ben Gera, from the family of Shaul, came out and was cursing and throwing stones at King David. Avishai, David’s general, said to the king, “Why is this dead dog cursing my master, the king? Let me go and remove his head.” But the king said, “What has this to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? He is abusing [me] only because Hashem told him to abuse David; and who is to say, ‘Why did You do that?’”[6] In spite of the grievous harm and insult caused to David by this insidious rebel, he understood that this was not Shimmi acting on his own behalf, but only empowered as an agent of Hashem to send him a message. The Chofetz Chiam writes that because of this incredible discipline at that moment, King David merited to become the fourth leg of the Divine Chariot.
Therefore, having inculcated this amazing awareness, when Haman came years later, with the decree of complete annihilation of the Jewish nation, Mordechai understood that he too was not an independent being. This is not Haman, but rather an agent of Hashem, creating a situation whose sole purpose was to exhort us to change our ways and do Teshuva. When we would “get the message” and do what was necessary, the decree would fall away. The Gemara in Chulin asks, “Where do we find an allusion to Esther in the Torah?” A Posuk is quoted where Hashem says, “I will hide my face from you.” The Vilna Gaon explains the whole purpose of the saga in the Megillah was to demonstrate the revelation of Hashem’s constant intervention, even when He seems to be hiding His face away.
This is why when we are introduced to Mordechai, before we are even told his name or tribe, we are reminded of why he was chosen to be the vehicle of the revelation of Hashem’s greatness, at the time of Purim. In that monumental moment, when his nobility of character was tested to the extreme by the stones and taunts of Shimmi, he was able, even then, to realise that this is all being orchestrated by Hashem. This is why he merited to become the instrument by which Hashem would reveal Himself from behind the gossamer, and bring about the salvation of the Purim story.
We mentioned above the seeming conflict that unfolded between David and Avishai how to react to the curses of Shimmi: administer appropriate punishment or, as David argued, leave it be. Perhaps, we can posit that their variant opinions were based on a conceptual discussion about why honour is due to a king at all. David argued that his honour is the honour of the people, whom he represents, and when his own subjects are busy rebelling against him and chasing him, what honour does he actually have? Avishai countered that the king’s acclaim is the honour bestowed by Hashem’s command, and what was happening was an absolute insult to the honour of Hashem, which had to be defended.
“We must realise that we bear the same name as Mordechai carried, the name Yehudi, and that defines us as kings and princes.”
The lesson that King David is teaching us, which resonates throughout the Megillah and our lives, is that in the world we live in, we are often chased, insulted, sometimes even stoned for who we are, and we sometimes think maybe we are not deserving of honour and respect, since the world seems to see us as irrelevant and despicable, deserving only of ridicule and criticism. We must realise that we bear the same name as Mordechai carried, the name Yehudi, and that defines us as kings and princes. Our true greatness is actualised by living the lesson that King David and Mordechai taught us: that everything that happens in the world is orchestrated by Hashem, for a specific purpose, and is part of a defined and intricate plan which will inexorably lead us to the place and time of our ultimate redemption. The cameo appearance of King David in the Megillah simply highlights for us that no matter how desperate and challenging our tests are, this is all therapy, leading us to the moment of the final and complete redemption.
