A pivotal event in the Purim story is when Mordechai refused to bow to Haman. Why did Mordechai refuse to bow?
1. After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.
2. And all the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, would bow and prostrate themselves to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordechai did not bow nor did he prostrate himself.
3. Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordechai, Why do you transgress the king’s command?
4. Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he did not listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordechai’s words would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.
Bow and prostrate are two different acts. Bow means to kneel down on the knees and prostrate means for a person to bring his face to the ground. Even so, for the sake of brevity, at times I will mention only the act of bowing.
Background to Esther 3
Tzror Hamor explains that all of Megillat Esther revolves around two acts of vengeance that God was going to carryout. First against Vashti (a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar) and then against Haman. According to Tzror Hamor, both of them angered God because they were preventing the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
The fate of Vashti was the topic of the first two chapters of Megillat Esther. Now the narrative focuses on Haman’s fate.
In this article I will first explain Esther 3:1-4 based on various commentaries. Malbim has a very different way to understand these verses, so I will discuss his approach in the final section of this article.
Esther 3:1 After these things
After these things – Rashi writes this means after God brought into existence a healing to be a salvation for the Jewish people. God creates the solution for the wounds of the Jewish people before the wound comes on them.
That is to say, only after Esther became queen (the salvation) was Haman elevated into a position of power (the wound).
Ibn Ezra understands the phrase simply means after 5 years.
Esther became queen in the 7th year of King Ahasuerus (Esther 2:16). It was at time that Mordechai discovered the plot to assassinate the king. It was five years later that Haman decided to destroy the Jewish people (Esther 3:7).
Idols and Haman
Many commentators explain that Mordechai did not bow to Haman due to a prohibition of idol worship.
bow and prostrate – Rashi explains that because Haman made himself a god Mordechai did not bow nor did he prostrate himself.
he was a Jew – because he was a Jew and was commanded against idol worship.
Ibn Ezra writes that Mordechai did not bow because Haman had a type of idol either on his clothing or on his hat. In contrast to Rashi, the problem was not Haman making himself a god, but an idol that he displayed.
Daat Mikra explains that there was no actual problem of idol worship. Rather, from Esther 3:4, it seems that Mordechai decided that to bow to any person would have the taint of idol worship.
Haman was the Problem
Tzror Hamor explains this approach.
for the king had so commanded concerning him – The command to bow and prostrate was for the sake of Haman.
Tzror Hamor suggests the the king’s commandment reveals that Haman was not respected by the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate. If they respected Haman then they would have bowed to him after he was promoted without needing to be commanded.
This is supported by the wording of the verse: the king’s servants … would bow and prostrate themselves to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. That is to say, they only bowed because they were commanded.
A further support comes from the words of the king’s servants, Why do you transgress the king’s command? The servants agree that Haman is not worthy of respect, but it is proper to obey the king’s command.
Mordechai did not bow nor did he prostrate himself – Mordechai did not bow to Haman because he did not think he was worthy of honor. He did not prostrate, even though that was the king’s command, because Haman was not worthy of his elevated position.
Jewish Hatred?
Esther 3:4 ends with the phrase for he had told them that he was a Jew. This hints at the idea that the king’s servants acted the way they did only because Mordechai was a Jew.
they told Haman – Vilna Gaon writes they told Haman to pay attention to what Mordechai did. That’s when he saw that Mordechai was not bowing. Haman had not previously noticed this due to his great pride.
Rav Dr. Raphael Breuer (a grandson of Rav Hirsch) writes the servants only delayed informing Haman about Mordechai because they figured that he had some special privilege. When they found out Mordechai was a Jew, then they informed Haman.
Malbim Explains
Now let’s look at beginning of Esther 3 based on Malbim’s commentary.
After these things – that is, after King Ahasuerus forgot that Esther and Mordechai saved his life by revealing the assassination plot (Esther 2:21-23). Ahasuerus was a person who wanted to repay people who benefited him. But he could not find an appropriate way to reward Esther.
He decided that she would be pleased if he promoted those advisors who had suggested the process that lead to Esther being crowned queen.
What is the difference in Esther 3:1 between promoted, advanced, set his seat above?
The verse is describing a process. First Ahasuerus promoted Haman. Then he advanced Haman. Finally, the king set Haman’s seat above all the other princes. Malbim adds that it is proper to slowly elevate a regular person to higher and higher positions of power and authority.
But all these years later, the details of assassination plot were no longer in the king’s mind.
who were in the king’s gate, would bow and prostrate – In general, those in the presence of a king should not show any honor to another person. This detracts from the honor due to the king. But King Ahasuerus decided to forego his honor and commanded that the king’s ministers should show honor to Haman.
for the king had so commanded concerning him – According to Malbim, the king’s commandment to bow and prostrate applied to those who fulfilled two conditions: they were the king’s servants and they sat in the king’s gate.
Though Mordechai sat in the king’s gate, he was not one of the king’s servants. At that time in Persia, it was not permitted for a Jew to be one of the king’s servants.
The king’s servants were not acting out of hatred when they reported Mordechai to Haman. They had been commanded to report anyone who did not bow. But, contrary to the command, first they warned him multiple times. Only after Mordechai did not listen to them did they tell Haman.
to see whether Mordechai’s words would stand – Mordechai told them that he was a Jew and, therefore, he was not able to prostrate to Haman.
for he had told them that he was a Jew – we could understand this phrase to explain why the king’s servants reported Mordechai. Malbim rejects this approach and writes that this phrase was Mordechai’s explanation of why he could not bow to Haman.
Malbim explains why Mordechai was correct. It would not be permitted to bow to Haman when he was far away and wouldn’t see him. Then it would appear that Mordechai was bowing to Haman as a god.
But, at the time Haman was near and could see him, then prostrating would not be an act of idol worship. Rather it would be bowing to Haman as a ruling authority. It is permitted to prostrate before a ruler or other exalted person in his presence.
If Mordechai did not bow at a time when Haman could see him, then Haman would know that it was not due to being Jewish that Mordechai disobeyed, rather it would be an act of rebellion.
that they told Haman, to see – that is, so that Haman would see Mordechai.
With this test they would know whether Mordechai’s words would stand. What words? When he had told them that he didn’t prostrate because he was a Jew.
The king’s servants wanted to test if Mordechai’s reason for not bowing was real. They accepted that Mordechai could not bow when Haman was far away.
But it had never happened that Haman had come very close to Mordechai.
They spoke to Haman to get him to notice Mordechai and walk close to him.
If at that time Mordechai bowed to Haman, this would establish the truth of Mordechai’s reason for not bowing when Haman was at a distance.
But, if Mordechai did not bow when Haman was close, this would indicate that his reason for not bowing was due to rejecting the king’s command.
Mordechai did not bow. In his commentary on Esther 3:5 Malbim explains that Mordechai did not bow because he hated Haman and would not honor him as a ruler.
Further Reading
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