Weekly Dvar Torah: There is One People
When Haman made his case to king Achashverosh why it is necessary to annihilate the Jewish people, his opening line was:
יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים בְּכֹל מְדִינוֹת מַלְכוּתֶךָ וְדָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכָּל עָם
There is one people scattered and dispersed among the nations of your kingdom, and their laws differ from all other people.
This was Haman’s reasoning to get the kings support to get rid of the Jews.
Why was this the argument that won the king over to agree to kill all the Jews?
Our sages say, that the word that Haman used to present his case, was the Hebrew word: יֶשְׁנוֹ = (Yeshno) there is.
The used word in Hebrew for “there is”, is יֶשְׁ = (Yesh), so why did Haman use a longer word to say “there is”?
In Hebrew this word יֶשְׁנוֹ which is pronounced “Yeshno”, can also be pronounced “Yoshnu”, which means they fell asleep.
Haman argued, the Jews fell asleep, they no longer keep the Torah, and reflecting their behavior, their G-d is also asleep, and He is no longer protecting them from harm, so we can go on with my evil plan.
And this won over the king to agree to destroy the Jews.
What’s interesting, when Esther came in front of the king to plead for her people, we don’t find that she refuted this claim, which implies that she agreed with this argument, and in fact we do find that Haman’s decree was punishment for the Jews misbehaving at the king’s crazy parties in terms of Yidishkeit.
What did Esther and her uncle Mordechai do to remedy the situation?
Esther as she is preparing to break protocol and crash the king by tempting him with her beauty, asked for a three day fast, and she declares that also she will take part in this fast, and then she will show up at the king’s chamber unannounced.
How’s that for enhancing one’s beauty and attraction?
Mordechai went ahead and got all the Jews to fast and to pray, and he himself proceeded to gather twenty-two thousand Jewish children to teach them Torah.
Hashem heard the sound of the Gedaiim = young kids, and this aroused G-d and His mercy, the voice of the kids shattered the sleep, this is how the miracle started.
בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ
On that night, the king’s sleep was disturbed.
When the Jews awakened from their deep sleep, by fasting, praying, and studying Torah, G-d, so to speak, woke up from the sleep that Haman claimed He was in, from (not) protecting the Jews.
Presently, the world has been shaken and woken from a deep comfortable sleep, the sound of our brothers and sisters under fire, are crying out of fear, not knowing what the next day will bring.
And the Mordechai of this generation through his Shluchim, is responding with the power of one people:
יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים בְּכֹל מְדִינוֹת מַלְכוּתֶךָ וְדָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכָּל עָם
There is one people scattered and dispersed among the nations of your kingdom, and their laws differ from all other people.
Mordechai’s emissaries, they are one people, they are scattered all over the world, and their modus operandi is different to all other peoples.
They don’t wait for the crocodile tears of a by-standing world, they don’t wait for the massive fundraisers, and of course they weren’t the first to flee to safety, they rolled up their sleeves, prayed with the people, and sprang into action organizing trains for those who can flee, and food for those under siege.
And they sure got that alarm clock ringing, to wake us all up from our slumber.
Certainly Hashem heard this sound of prayer and self-sacrifice, and like on Purim, He will now wake up (so to speak) from the deep sleep of this Golus, to protect us and the entire world, and usher in peace and tranquility for all, with Moshiach NOW!
Start partying now, salvation is unfolding, prepare to celebrate the happiest Purim ever.
Have a party of a Shabbos,
Gut Shabbos, Happy Purim
Rabbi Yosef Katzman
