Haman: "This man is my enemy and the enemy of my house. Rather would I
give him ten thousand talents of silver than do him this honor."
Ahasuerus: "Ten thousand talents of silver shall be given him, and he
shall be made lord over thy house, but these honors must thou show unto
him."
Haman: "I have ten sons. I would rather have them run before his horse
than do him this honor."
Ahasuerus: "Thou, thy sons, and thy wife shall be slaves to Mordecai,
but these honors must thou show unto him."
Haman: "O my lord and king, Mordecai is a common man. Appoint him to be
ruler over a city, or, if thou wilt, even over a district, rather than
I should do him this honor."
Ahasuerus: "I will appoint him ruler over cities and districts. All the
kings on land and on water shall pay him obedience, but these honors
must thou show unto him."
Haman: "Rather have coins struck bearing thy name together with his,
instead of mine as hitherto, than I should do him this honor."
Ahasuerus: "The man who saved the life of the king deserves to have his
name put on the coin of the realm. Nevertheless, these honors must thou
show unto him."
Haman: "Edicts and writings have been issued to all parts of the
kingdom, commanding that the nation to which Mordecai belongs shall be
destroyed. Recall them rather than I should do him this honor."
Ahasuerus: "The edicts and writings shall be recalled, yet these honors
must thou show unto Mordecai."
Seeing that all petitions and entreaties were ineffectual, and
Ahasuerus insisted upon the execution of his order, Haman went to the
royal treasure chambers, walking with his head bowed like a mourner's,
his ears hanging down, his eyes dim, his mouth screwed up, his heart
hardened, his bowels cut in pieces, his loins weakened, and his knees
knocking against each other. (169) He gathered together the royal
insignia, and took them to Mordecai, accompanied on his way by Harbonah
and Abzur, who, at the order of the king, were to take heed whether
Haman carried out his wishes to the letter.
When Mordecai saw his enemy approach, he thought his last moment had
come. He urged his pupils to flee, that they might not "burn themselves
with his coals." But they refused, saying: "In life as in death we
desire to be with thee." The few moments left him, as he thought,
Mordecai spent in devotion. With words of prayer on his lips he desired
to pass away. Haman, therefore, had to address himself to the pupils of
Mordecai: "What was the last subject taught you by your teacher
Mordecai?" They told him they had been discussing the law of the `Omer,
the sacrifice brought on that very day so long as the Temple had stood.
At his request, they described some of the details of the ceremony in
the Temple connected with the offering. He exclaimed: "Happy are you
that your ten farthings, with which you bought the wheat for the `Omer,
produced a better effect than my ten thousand talents of silver, which
I offered unto the king for the destruction of the Jews."
Meantime Mordecai had finished his prayer. Haman stepped up to him, and
said: "Arise, thou pious son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thy
sackcloth and ashes availed more than my ten thousand talents of
silver, which I promised unto the king. They were not accepted, but thy
prayers were accepted by thy Father in heaven."
Mordecai, not yet disabused of the notion that Haman had come to take
him to the cross, requested the grace of a few minutes for his last
meal. Only Haman's repeated protests assured him. When Haman set about
arraying him with the royal apparel, Mordecai refused to put it on
until he had bathed, and had dressed his hair. Royal apparel agreed but
ill with his condition after three days of sackcloth and ashes. As luck
would have it, Esther had issued the command that the bathkeepers and
barbers were not to ply their trades on that day, and there was nothing
for Haman to do but perform the menial services Mordecai required.
Haman tried to play upon the feelings of Mordecai. Fetching a deep
sigh, he said: "The greatest in the king's realm is now acting as
bathkeeper and barber!" Mordecai, however, did not permit himself to be
imposed upon. He knew Haman's origin too well to be deceived; he
remembered his father, who had been bathkeeper and barber in a village.
Haman's humiliation was not yet complete. Mordecai, exhausted by his
three days' fast, was too weak to mount his horse unaided. Haman had to
serve him as footstool, and Mordecai took the opportunity to give him a
kick. Haman reminded him of the Scriptural verse: "Rejoice not when
thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he is
overthrown." Mordecai, however, refused to apply it to himself, for he
was chastising, not a personal enemy, but the enemy of his people, and
of such it is said in the Scriptures: "And thou shalt tread upon the
high places of thine enemies." (170)
Finally, Haman caused Mordecai to ride through the streets of the city,
and proclaimed before him: "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the
king delighteth to honor." In front of them marched twenty-seven
thousand youths detailed for this service from the court. In their
right hands they bore golden cups, and golden beakers in their left
hands, and they, too, proclaimed: "Thus shall be done unto the man whom
the king delighteth to honor." The procession furthermore was swelled
by the presence of Jews. They, however, made a proclamation of
different tenor. "Thus shall be done," they cried out, "unto the man
whose honor is desired by the King that hath created heaven and earth."
(171)
As he rode along, Mordecai gave praise to God: "I will extol Thee, O
Lord; for Thou hast raised me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice
over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me. O
Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive,
that I should not go down to the pit." Whereupon his pupils joined in
with: "Sing praise unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks
to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment; in His favor is
life; weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning."
Haman added the verse thereto: "As for me, I said in my prosperity, I
shall never be moved. Thou, Lord, of Thy favor hadst made my mountain
to stand strong. Thou didst hide Thy face; I was troubled." Queen
Esther continued: "I cried to Thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made
supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the
pit? Shall the dust praise Thee? Shall it declare Thy truth?" and the
whole concourse of Jews present cried out: "Thou hast turned for me my
mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me
with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and
not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever."
(172)
When this procession passed the house of Haman, his daughter was
looking out of the window. She took the man on the horse to be her
father, and the leader of it, Mordecai. Raising a vessel filled with
offal, she emptied it out over the leader her own father. Scarce had
the vessel left her hand, when she realized the truth, and she threw
herself from the window, and lay crushed to death on the street below.
(173)
In spite of the sudden change in his fortunes, Mordecai ended the
eventful day as he had begun it, in prayer and fasting. No sooner was
the procession over than he put off the royal robes, and, again
covering himself with sackcloth, he prayed until night fell.
Haman was plunged in mourning, partly on account of the deep disgrace
to which he had been subjected, partly on account of the death of his
daughter. (174) Neither his wife nor his friends could advise him how
to mend his sad fortunes. They could hold out only sorry consolation to
him: "If this Mordecai is of the seed of the saints, thou wilt not be
able to prevail against him. Thou wilt surely encounter the same fate
as the kings in their battle with Abraham, and Abimelech in his quarrel
with Isaac. As Jacob was victorious over the angel with whom he
wrestled, and Moses and Aaron caused the drowning of Pharaoh and his
host, so Mordecai will overcome thee in the end." (175)
While they were yet talking, the king's chamberlains came, and hastily
carried Haman off to the banquet Esther had prepared, to prevent him
and his influential sons from plotting against the king. (176)
Ahasuerus repeated his promise, to give Esther whatever she desired,
always expecting the restoration of the Temple. This time, casting her
eyes heavenward, Esther replied: "If I have found favor in thy sight, O
Supreme King, and if it please Thee, O King of the world, let my life
be given me, and let my people be rescued out of the hands of its
enemy." (177) Ahasuerus, thinking these words were addressed to him,
asked in irritation: "Who is he, and where is he, this presumptuous
conspirator, who thought to do thus?" These were the first words the
king had ever spoken to Esther herself. Hitherto he had always
communicated with her through an interpreter. He had not been quite
satisfied she was worthy enough to be addressed by the king. Now made
cognizant of the fact that she was a Jewess, and of royal descent
besides, he spoke to her directly, without the intervention of others.
(178)
Esther stretched forth her hand to indicate the man who had sought to
take her life, as he had actually taken Vashti's, but in the excitement
of the moment, she pointed to the king. Fortunately the king did not
observe her error, because an angel guided her hand instantaneously in
the direction of Haman, (179) whom her words described: "This is the
adversary and the enemy, he who desired to murder thee in thy
sleeping-chamber during the night just passed; he who this very day
desired to array himself in the royal apparel, ride upon thy horse, and
wear they golden crown upon his head, to rise up against thee and
deprive thee of thy sovereignty. But God set his undertaking at naught,
and the honors he sought for himself, fell to the share of my uncle
Mordecai, who this oppressor and enemy thought to hang." (180)
The anger of the king already burnt so fiercely that he hinted to
Esther, that whether Haman was the adversary she had in mind or not,
she was to designate him as such. To infuriate him still more, God sent
ten angels in the guise of Haman's ten sons, to fell down the trees in
the royal park. When Ahasuerus turned his eyes toward the interior of
the park, he saw the ruthless destruction of which they were guilty. In
his rage he went out into the garden. This was the instant utilized by
Haman to implore grace for himself from Esther. Gabriel intervened, and
threw Haman upon the couch in a posture as though he were about to do
violence to the queen. At that moment Ahasuerus reappeared. Enraged
beyond description by what he saw, he cried out: "Haman attempts the
honor of the queen in my very presence! Come, then, ye peoples,
nations, and races, and pronounce judgment over him!" (181)
When Harbonah, originally a friend of Haman and an adversary of
Mordecai, heard the king's angry exclamation, he said to him: "Nor is
this the only crime committed by Haman against thee, for he was an
accomplice of the conspirators Bigthan and Teresh, and his enmity to
Mordecai dates back to the time when Mordecai uncovered their foul
plots. Out of revenge therefor, he has erected a cross for him."
Harbonah's words illustrate the saying: "Once the ox has been cast to
the ground, slaughtering knives can readily be found." Knowing that
Haman had fallen from his high estate, Harbonah was intent upon winning
the friendship of Mordecai. (182) Harbonah was altogether right, for
Ahasuerus at once ordered Haman to be hanged. Mordecai was charged with
the execution of the king's order, and Haman's tears and entreaties did
not in the least move him. He insisted upon hanging him like the
commonest of criminals, instead of executing him with the sword, the
mode of punishment applied to men of rank guilty of serious
misdemeanors. (183)
The cross which Haman, at the advice of his wife Zeresh and of his
friends, had erected for Mordecai, was now used for himself. It was
made of wood from a thorn-bush. God called all the trees together and
inquired which one would permit the cross for Haman to be made of it.
The fig-tree said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel,
and, also, my fruits were brought to the Temple as firstfruits." The
vine said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel and, also,
my wine is brought to the altar." The apple-tree said: "I am ready to
serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The nut-tree said: "I am ready to
serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The Etrog tree said: "I should
have the privilege, for with my fruit Israel praises God on Sukkot."
The willow of the brook said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of
Israel." The cedar-tree said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of
Israel." The palm-tree said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of
Israel." Finally the thorn-bush came and said: "I am fitted to do this
service, for the ungodly are like pricking thorns." The offer of the
thorn-bush was accepted, after God gave a blessing to each of the other
trees for its willingness to serve.
A sufficiently long beam cut from a thorn-bush could be found only in
the house of Haman, which had to be demolished in order to obtain it.
(184) The cross was tall enough for Haman and his ten sons to be hanged
upon it. It was planted three cubits deep in the ground, each of the
victims required three cubits space in length, one cubit space was left
vacant between the feet of the one above and the head of the one below,
and the youngest son, Vaizatha, had his feet four cubits from the
ground as he hung. (185)
Haman and his ten sons remained suspended a long time, to the vexation
of those who considered it a violation of the Biblical prohibition in
Deuteronomy, not to leave a human body hanging upon a tree overnight.
Esther pointed to a precedent, the descendants of Saul, whom the
Gibeonites left hanging half a year, whereby the name of God was
sanctified, for whenever the pilgrims beheld them, they told the
heathen, that the men had been hanged because their father Saul had
laid hand on the Gibeonites. "How much more, then," continued Esther,
"are we justified in permitting Haman and his family to hang, they who
desired to destroy the house of Israel?" (186)
Beside these ten sons, who had been governors in various provinces,
Haman had twenty others, ten of whom died, and the other ten of whom
were reduced to beggary. (187) The vast fortune of which Haman died
possessed was divided in three parts. The first part was given to
Mordecai and Esther, the second to the students of the Torah, and the
third was applied to the restoration of the Temple. (188) Mordecai thus
became a wealthy man. He was also set up as king of the Jews. As such
he had coins struck, which bore the figure of Esther on the obverse,
and his own figure on the reverse. (189) However, in the measure in
which Mordecai gained in worldly power and consideration, he lost
spiritually, because the business connected with his high political
station left him no time for the study of the Torah. Previously he had
ranked sixth among the eminent scholars of Israel, he now dropped to
the seventh place among them. (190) Ahasuerus, on the other hand, was
the gainer by the change. As soon as Mordecai entered upon the office
of grand chancellor, he succeeded in subjecting to his sway the
provinces that had revolted on account of Vashti's execution. (191)