THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS VOLUME IV BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS

B >> BY LOUIS GINZBERG >> THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS VOLUME IV BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS

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After a three days' fast, Esther arose from the earth and dust, and
made preparations to betake herself to the king. She arrayed
herself in a silken garment, embroidered with gold from Ophir and
spangled with diamonds and pearls sent her from Africa; a golden
crown was on her head, and on her feet shoes of gold.

After she had completed her attire, she pronounced the following
prayer: "Thou art the great God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, and the God of my father Benjamin. Not because I consider
myself without blemish, do I dare appear before the foolish king,
but that the people of Israel may not be cut off from the world. Is it
not for the sake of Israel alone that the whole world was created,
and if Israel should cease to exist, who will come and exclaim
'Holy, holy, holy' thrice daily before Thee? As Thou didst save
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah out of the burning furnace, and
Daniel out of the den of lions, so save me out of the hand of this
foolish king, and make me to appear charming and graceful in his
eyes. I entreat Thee to give ear to my prayer in this time of exile
and banishment from our land. By reason of our sins the
threatening words of the Holy Scriptures are accomplished upon
us: 'Ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and
for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.' The decree to kill us
has been issued. We are delivered up unto the sword for
destruction, root and branch. The children of Abraham covered
themselves with sackcloth and ashes, but though the elders sinned,
what wrongs have the children committed, and though the children
committed wrongs, what have the sucklings done? The nobles of
Jerusalem came forth from their graves, for their children were
given up to the sword.

"How quickly have the days of our joy flown by! The wicked
Haman has surrendered us to our enemies for slaughter.

"I will recount before Thee the deeds of Thy friends, and with
Abraham will I begin. Thou didst try him with all temptations, yet
didst Thou find him faithful. O that Thou wouldst support his
beloved children for his sake, and aid them, so that Thou wouldst
bear them as an unbreakable seal upon Thy right hand. Call
Haman to account for the wrong he would do us, and be revenged
upon the son of Hammedatha. Demand requital of Haman and not
of Thy people, for he sought to annihilate us all at one stroke, he,
the enemy and afflicter of Thy people, whom he endeavors to hem
in on all sides.

"With an eternal bond Thou didst bind us unto Thee. O that Thou
wouldst uphold us for the sake of Isaac, who was bound. Haman
offered the king ten thousand talents of silver for us. Raise Thou
our voice, and answer us, and bring us forth out of the narrow
place into enlargement. Thou who breakest the mightiest, crush
Haman, so that he may never again rise from his fall. I am ready to
appear before the king, to entreat grace for my inheritance. Send
Thou an angel of compassion with me on mine errand, and let
grace and favor be my companions. May the righteousness of
Abraham go before me, the binding of Isaac raise me, the charm of
Jacob be put into my mouth, and the grace of Joseph upon my
tongue. Happy the man who putteth his trust in God; he is not
confounded. He will lend me His right hand and His left hand,
with which He created the whole world. Ye, all ye of Israel, pray
for me as I pray in your behalf. For whatsoever a man may ask of
God in the time of his distress, is granted unto him. Let us look
upon the deeds of our fathers and do like unto them, and He will
answer our supplications. The left hand of Abraham held Isaac by
the throat, and his right hand grasped the knife. He willingly did
Thy bidding, nor did he delay to execute Thy command. Heaven
opened its windows to give space to the angels, who cried bitterly,
and said: 'Woe to the world, if this thing should come to pass!' I
also call upon Thee! O answer me, for Thou givest ear unto all
who are afflicted and oppressed. Thou art called the Merciful and
the Gracious; Thou art slow to anger and great in lovingkindness
and truth. Hear our voice and answer us, and lead us out of distress
into enlargement. For three days have I fasted in accordance with
the number of days Abraham journey to bind his son upon the altar
before Thee. Thou didst make a covenant with him, and didst
promise him: 'Whenever thy children shall be in distress, I will
remember the binding of Isaac favorably unto them, and deliver
them out of their troubles.' Again, I fasted three days
corresponding to the three classes Israel, priests, Levites, and
Israelites, who stood at the foot of Sinai, and said: 'All the Lord
hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.'"

Esther concluded her prayer and said: "O God, Lord of hosts! Thou
that searchest the heart and the reins, in this hour do Thou
remember the merits of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that my
petition to Thee may not be turned aside, nor my request be left
unfulfilled.' (143)

ESTHER INTERCEDES

After finishing her prayer, Esther betook herself to the king,
accompanied by three attendants, one walking to the right of her,
the second on the other side, and the third bearing her train, heavy
with the precious stones with which it was studded. (144) Her
chief adornment was the holy spirit that was poured out over her.
But scarcely did she enter the chamber containing the idols, when
the holy spirit departed from her, and she cried out in great
distress: "Eli, Eli, lamah azabtani! Shall I be chastised for acts that
I do against my will, and only in obedience to the promptings of
sore need? (145) Why should my fate be different from that of the
Mother? When Pharaoh only attempted to approach Sarah, plagues
came upon him and his house, but I have been compelled for years
to live with this heathen, and Thou dost not deliver me out of his
hand. O Lord of the world! Have I not paid scrupulous heed to the
three commands Thou didst specially ordain for women?"

To reach the king, Esther had to pass through seven apartments,
each measuring ten ells in length. The first three she traversed
unhindered; they were too far off for the king to observe her
progress through them. But barely had she crossed the threshold of
the fourth chamber, when Ahasuerus caught sight of her, and,
overcome by rage, he exclaimed: "O for the departed, their like is
not found again on earth! How I urged and entreated Vashti to
appear before me, but she refused, and I had her killed therefor.
This Esther come hither without invitation, like unto a public
prostitute."

In consternation and despair Esther stood rooted to the centre of
the fourth chamber. Having once allowed her to pass through the
doors under their charge, the guards of the first four rooms had
forfeited their authority over her; and to the guards in the other
three rooms, she had not yet given cause for interfering with her.
Yet the courtiers were so confident that Esther was about to suffer
the death penalty, that the sons of Haman were already busy
dividing her jewels among themselves, and casting lots for her
royal purple. Esther herself was keenly aware of her dangerous
position. In her need, she besought God: "Eli, Eli, lamah azabtani,"
and prayed to Him the words which have found their place in the
Psalter composed by King David. (146) Because she put her
confidence in God, He answered her petition, and sent her three
angels to help her: the one enveloped her countenance with "the
threads of grace," the second raised her head, and the third drew
out the sceptre of Ahasuerus until it touched her. (147) The king
turned his head round, to avoid seeing Esther, but the angels forced
him to look her way, and be conquered by her seductive charm.
(148)

By reason of her long fast, Esther was so weak that she was unable
to extend her hand toward the sceptre of the king. The archangel
Michael had to draw her near it. Ahasuerus then said: "I see, thou
must have a most important request to prefer, else thou hadst not
risked thy life deliberately. (149) I am ready to give it thee, even to
the half of the kingdom. There is but one petition I cannot grant,
and that is the restoration of the Temple. I gave my oath to
Geshem the Arabian, Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the
Ammonite, not to allow it to be rebuilt, from fear of the Jews, lest
they rise up against me." (150)

For the moment, Esther refrained from uttering her petition. All
she asked was, that the king and Haman would come to a banquet
she proposed to give. She had good reasons for this peculiar course
of conduct. She desired to disarm Haman's suspicions regarding
her Jewish descent, and to lead her fellow-Jews to fix their hope
upon God and not upon her. At the same time, it was her plan to
arouse jealousy of Haman in both the king and the princes. She
was quite ready to sacrifice her own life, if her stratagems would
but involve the life of Haman, too. (151) At the banquet she
therefore favored Haman in such manner that Ahasuerus could not
but be jealous. She moved her chair close to Haman's, and when
Ahasuerus handed her his wine-cup, to let her drink of it first, she
passed it on to his minister.

After the banquet, the king repeated his question, and again made
the asseveration, that he would fulfill all her wishes at whatever
cost, barring only the restoration of the Temple. Esther, however,
was not yet ready; she preferred to wait another day before taking
up the conflict with Haman. She had before her eyes the example
of Moses, who also craved a day's preparation before going out
against Amalek, the ancestor of Haman. (152)

Deceived by the attention and distinction accorded him by Esther,
Haman felt secure in his position, priding himself not only on the
love of the king, but also on the respect of the queen. He felt
himself to be the most privileged being in all the wide realm
governed by Ahasuerus. (153)

Filled with arrogant self-sufficiency, he passed by Mordecai, who
not only refused to give him the honors decreed in his behalf, but,
besides, pointed to his knee, inscribed with the bill of sale whereby
Haman had become the slave of Mordecai. (154) Doubly and triply
enraged, he resolved to make an example of the Jew. But he was
not satisfied with inflicting death by a simple kick.

On reaching his home he was disappointed not to find his wife
Zeresh, the daughter of the Persian satrap Tattenai. As always
when Haman was at court, she had gone to her paramours. He sent
for her and his three hundred and sixty-five advisers, and with
them he took counsel as to what was to be done to Mordecai. (155)
Pointing to a representation of his treasure chamber, which he
wore on his bosom, (156) he said: "And all this is worthless in my
sight when I look upon Mordecai, the Jew. What I eat and drink
loses its savor, if I but think of him." (157)

Among his advisers and sons, of whom there were two hundred
and eight, none was so clever as Zeresh his wife. She spoke thus:
"If the man thou tellest of is a Jew, thou wilt not be able to do
aught to him except by sagacity. If thou castest him into the fire, it
will have no effect upon him, for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
escaped from the burning furnace unhurt; Joseph went free from
prison; Manasseh prayed to God, and He heard him, and saved him
from the iron furnace; to drive him out in the wilderness is useless,
thou knowest the desert did no evil to the Israelites that passed
through it; putting out his eyes avails naught, for Samson blind did
more mischief than ever Samson seeing. Therefore hang him, for
no Jew has ever escaped death by hanging." (158)

Haman was well pleased with the words of his wife. She fetched
artificers in wood and iron, the former to erect the cross, the latter
to make the nails. Their children danced around in high glee while
Zeresh played upon the cithern, and Haman in his pleasurable
excitement said: "To the wood workers I shall give abundant pay,
and the iron workers I shall invite to a banquet."

When the cross was finished, Haman himself tested it, to see that
all was in working order. A heavenly voice was heard: "It is good
for Haman the villain, and for the son of Hammedatha it is fitting."
(159)

THE DISTURBED NIGHT

The night during which Haman erected the cross for Mordecai was
the first night of Passover, the very night in which miracles
without number had ever been done for the Fathers and for Israel.
But this time the night of joy was changed into a night of
mourning and a night of fears. Wherever there were Jews, they
passed the night in weeping and lamenting. The greatest terrors it
held for Mordecai, because his own people accused him of having
provoked their misfortunes by his haughty behavior toward
Haman. (160)

Excitement and consternation reigned in heaven as well as on
earth. (161) When Haman had satisfied himself that the cross
intended for his enemy was properly constructed, he repaired to
the Bet ha-Midrash, where he found Mordecai and all the Jewish
school children, twenty-two thousand in number, in tears and
sorrow. He ordered them to be put in chains, saying: "First I shall
kill off these, and then I shall hang Mordecai." The mothers
hastened thither with bread and water, and coaxed their children to
take something before they had to encounter death. The children,
however, laid their hands upon their books, and said: "As our
teacher Mordecai liveth, we will neither eat nor drink, but we will
perish exhausted with fasting." They rolled up their sacred scrolls,
and handed them to their teachers with the words: "For our
devotion to the study of the Torah, we had hoped to be rewarded
with long life, according to the promised held out in the Holy
Scriptures. As we are not worthy thereof, remove the books!" The
out-cries of the children and of the teachers in the Bet ha-Midrash,
and the weeping of the mothers without, united with the
supplications of the Fathers, reached unto heaven in the third hour
of the night, and God said: "I hear the voice of tender lambs and
sheep!" Moses arose and addressed God thus: "Thou knowest well
that the voices are not of lambs and sheep, but of the young of
Israel, who for three days have been fasting and languishing in
fetters, only to be slaughtered on the morrow to the delight of the
arch-enemy."

Then God felt compassion with Israel, for the sake of his innocent
little ones. He broke the seal with which the heavenly decree of
annihilation had been fastened, and the decree itself he tore in
pieces. (162) From this moment on Ahasuerus became restless,
and sleep was made to flee his eyes, for the purpose that the
redemption of Israel might be brought to pass. God sent down
Michael, the leader of the hosts of Israel, who was to keep sleep
from the king, (163) and the archangel Gabriel descended, and
threw the king out of his bed on the floor, no less than three
hundred and sixty-five times, continually whispering in his ear: "O
thou ingrate, reward him who deserves to be rewarded."

To account for his sleeplessness, Ahasuerus thought he might have
been poisoned, and he was about to order the execution of those
charged with the preparation of his food. But they succeeded in
convincing him of their innocence, by calling to his attention that
Esther and Haman had shared his evening meal with him, yet they
felt no unpleasant effects. (164) Then suspicions against his wife
and his friend began to arise in his mind. He accused them
inwardly of having conspired together to put him out of the way.
He sought to banish this thought with the reflection, that if a
conspiracy had existed against him, his friends would have warned
him of it. But the reflection brought others in its train: Did he have
any friends? Was it not possible that by leaving valuable services
unrewarded, he had forfeited the friendly feelings toward him?
(165) He therefore commanded that the chronicles of the kings of
Persia be read to him. He would compare his own acts with what
his predecessors had done, and try to find out whether he might
count upon friends. (166)

What was read to him, did not restore his tranquility of mind, for
he saw a poor man before him none other than the angel Michael
who called to him continually: "Haman wants to kill thee, and
become king in thy stead. Let this serve thee as proof that I am
telling thee the truth: Early in the morning he will appear before
thee and request permission of thee to kill him who saved thy life.
And when thou inquirest of him what honor should be done to him
whom the king delighteth to honor, he will ask to be given the
apparel, the crown, and the horse of the king as signs of
distinction." (167)

Ahasuerus's excitement was soothed only when the passage in the
chronicles was reached describing the loyalty of Mordecai. Had
the wishes of the reader been consulted, Ahasuerus had never
heard this entry, for it was a son of Haman who was filling the
office of reader, and he was desirous of passing the incident over
in silence. But a miracle occurred the words were heard though
they were not uttered!

The names of Mordecai and Israel had a quieting influence upon
the king, and he dropped asleep. He dreamed that Haman, sword in
hand, was approaching him with evil intent, and when, early in the
morning, Haman suddenly, without being announced, entered the
antechamber and awakened the king, Ahasuerus was persuaded of
the truth of his dream. The king was still further set against Haman
by the reply he gave to the question, how honor was to be shown to
the man whom the king delighteth to honor. Believing himself to
be the object of the king's good-will, he advised Ahasuerus to have
his favorite arrayed in the king's coronation garments, and the
crown royal put upon his head. Before him one of the grandees of
the kingdom was to run, doing herald's service, proclaiming that
whosoever did not prostrate himself and bow down before him
whom the king delighteth to honor, would have his head cut off,
and his house given over to pillage.

Haman was quick to notice that he had made a mistake, for he saw
the king's countenance change color at the mention of the word
crown. He therefore took good care not to refer to it again. In spite
of this precaution, Ahasuerus saw in the words of Haman a striking
verification of his vision, and he was confident that Haman
cherished designs against his life and his throne. (168)

THE FALL OF HAMAN

Haman was soon to find out that he had gone far afield in
supposing himself to be the man whom the king delighted to
honor. The king's command ran: "Hasten to the royal treasure
chambers; fetch thence a cover of find purple, a raiment of
delicate silk, furnished forth with golden bells and pomegranates
and bestrewn with diamonds and pearls, and the large golden
crown which was brought me from Macedonia upon the day I
ascended the throne. Furthermore, fetch thence the sword and the
coat of mail sent me from Ethiopia, and the two veils embroidered
with pearls which were Africa's gift. Then repair to the royal
stables, and lead forth the black horse whereon I sat at my
coronation. With all these insignia of honor, seek out Mordecai!"

Haman: "Which Mordecai?"

Ahasuerus: "Mordecai the Jew."

Haman: "There be many Jews named Mordecai."

Ahasuerus: "The Jew Mordecai who sits at the king's gate."

Haman: "There be many royal gates; I know not which thou
meanest."

Ahasuerus: "The gate that leads from the harem to the palace."

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)

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