Poisonous Politics   

Politics, the pursuit of power, requires a certain ruthlessness — but it can’t be too brazen. It has to be cloaked in duplicity; otherwise, one’s foes will always be on guard.

So it follows, then, that a favorite weapon of power brokers down through the millennia should have the same characteristics; it should be able to catch its victims unawares, and it should be absolutely deadly. This is why poisoning has such a long and sordid history.

Poisoning requires direct contact and intimate acquaintance with the victim. It almost always implies betrayal. It requires someone from the inner circle who can approach the victim without arousing suspicion and administer the fatal dose.

In Megillas Esther, guards Bigsan and Teresh planned to poison King Achashveirosh. They had access to the king’s private world, and if it weren’t for Mordechai Hatzaddik, they would have succeeded. Most leaders aren’t as lucky as Achashveirosh.