The Road to Redemption 

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first glance, Megillas Esther appears to be a whimsical story of palace intrigue and political maneuvering with a colorful cast of characters. However, there is much more here than meets the eye.

As is well known, Hashem’s name is not mentioned in the Megillah, for it is up to us to discover His involvement in the story and by extension within our lives. Rav Avraham Rivlin shlita, in Hastarim B’Esther, points to a less frequently discussed omission. Despite their centrality to Judaism, Eretz Yisrael and the Beis Hamikdash are also not directly mentioned in the Megillah. (Yerushalayim is mentioned, but only as a reference point.) The Jews had been in Persia following the exile, and Rav Rivlin suggests that these holy places were beginning to fade from Jewish consciousness, which was representative of their veering away from the Torah.

The Megillah provides subtle allusions to these holy places beginning with the opening perek. Achashveirosh throws a lavish six-month long party that features luxurious decor, and then hosts another weeklong celebration for the residents of Shushan, many of whom are Jews. The change of trop to that of the trop of Megillas Eichah when describing the table settings is to tune our ear to the tragic irony of the Jewish attendance at this party, as it alludes to the golah from Yerushalayim. According to Chazal, the words v’keilim mikeilim shonim, vessels that were varied (Esther 1:7), hints to Achashveirosh using the plundered vessels from the Beis Hamikdash (Megillah 12a). Achashveirosh was celebrating the 70-year deadline of the Jewish exile, which, according to his miscalculations, had come and gone. The Jews had still not rebuilt the Beis Hamikdash and this was cause for celebration. Incredibly, the Jews of Shushan participate in the party showcasing and celebrating their exile and the fall of their own Beis Hamikdash!

Chazal have pointed to many examples throughout the Megillah of Achashveirosh’s obsession with preventing the Jews from rebuilding the Beis Hamikdash. He cleverly created an atmosphere of intoxicating comfort and luxury to lure the collective Jewish psyche from Yerushalayim and the Beis Hamikdash. Many easily fell into this trap. The Ben Ish Chai (Esther 4:16) states that for many, their disengagement from the Jewish capital was so strong that they actually forgot Yerushalayim and were not pained by the Churban. The trop of Eichah used when describing the vessels at the party gives voice to the city bereft of its inhabitants as well as its holy artifacts. Recall the words of Eichah (1:7) “Yerushalayim remembers the days of her affliction; all the treasures that were in the days of old.” Thus, we ask: Do the Jews of Shushan recall as well?