Nissim Nistarim in the Megillah

Purim is the yom tov of nes nistar. Nes nistar occurs when Hashem intervenes on behalf of Am Yisroel while working within the laws of nature. Therefore, Hashem’s involvement is “hidden,” in a sense, behind the laws of nature. Nes nigleh occurs when Hashem intervenes on behalf of Am Yisroel and breaks the laws of nature. Pesach, of course, is the yom tov of nes nigleh- the makos and krias Yam Suf are classic examples of nes nigleh. However, Purim is nes nistar. There is not one supernatural event in the simple p’shat of the basic story of the megillah. Each event in the megillah is interesting and would have been an interesting newspaper article, but not miraculous. And yet, all of these events fit together to ultimately save Am Yisroel. That is nes nistar. This is one of the reasons given why Hashem’s Name is not mentioned in the megillah. That is the whole point of the megillah, that even when Hashem appears to be hidden from us, He is still orchestrating events and running the show from behind the scenes. The name “Megillas Esther” also has the meaning of “megaleh seiser,” to reveal that which is hidden. Let us analyze the megillah and find examples of nissim nistarim in the megillah. The two meforshim who develop most extensively this approach to the megillah are the Gra and the Malbim.

The megillah (1,8) writes, “...ein o'neis” no one was forced to do anything against his will at the party.. One theme of Achashverosh’s party was that even the lowest person could do what he wants. The Gra points out that it is therefore ironic that one person in the malchus was forced to do something against her will. This is Vashti, the second most powerful person in the kingdom. The Gra points out that the megillah mentions that the theme of the party was “ein o’neis” in order to teach us and highlight for us the nes nistar. Despite the fact that the theme was freedom to do what you want, Hashem still put it into Achashverosh’s heart to call Vashti to the party against her will. Of course, the purpose of that was to lead to Vashti being killed so that Esther could become queen, etc. This is an example of nes nistar. Hashem is orchestrating events in order to save Am Yisroel without changing the laws of nature. Nes nistar is expressed in one of several ways. One way is ‘coincidental’ events which ultimately fit together into the bigger picture. Or, nes nistar is expressed in actions which are ironic or unexpected and then fit into the bigger picture. Or, when things get turned around and ultimately Am Yisroel is saved. This example of the Gra is something unexpected given the basic theme of the party.

Next, the megillah describes Haman’s advice to Achashverosh (1,19-20). Haman (Mimuchan) advises Achashverosh to kill Vashti and Haman says, “yei’tzei d’var malchus mi’li’fa’nav,” “let the word of the king go out from before him,” before the king. The Gra and the Malbim point out as follows. The original law of the land in Persia was that if the king was faced with a decision which could affect him directly, he would have to ask his advisors. How do we know that was the law? Because that is what Achashverosh did; he called his advisors together to discuss what to do with Vashti. The Gra and the Malbim point out that Haman was suggesting to Achashverosh to change the law of the land. “Yei’tzei d’var malchus mi’li’fa’nav,” let the king decide for himself. Haman wanted to ingratiate himself to Achashverosh. Therefore, Haman advised Achashverosh to take more power for himself and from now on he should decide these types of cases on his own. This was an addendum to Haman’s basic advice to Achashverosh to kill Vashti. This happens in the first perek of the megillah, in the third year of Achashverosh’s reign.

Nine years later, at the second party, Esther informs Achashverosh that Haman is the bad guy. Achashverosh is angry, he walks outside and comes back inside, and then he decrees to kill Haman. Haman is killed. At that time, Achashverosh did not wait to gather his advisors and ask them advice. Why not? Because the law had been changed earlier. Nine years ago, Haman himself had advised Achashverosh to change the law. Therefore, it comes out that Haman helped to kill himself. Incredible! This is a classic nes nistar in the megillah. Haman throws in this addendum in his advice to Achashverosh, and that little comment comes back to haunt him nine years later.

This is a classic nes nistar. Haman, in a very real sense, killed himself. Had the law not been changed, Achashverosh would have been forced to call his advisors together. In the interim, maybe he would have calmed down or maybe Haman would have been able to bribe the advisors. Haman’s fate was sealed because of his own advice that he had given to Achashverosh nine years earlier. He had no chance for a reprieve and no chance for bribing the advisors.

Achashverosh sent out a letter near the end of the first perek (1,22). Part of the letter read “lihyos kol ish sorrer b’vaiso,” that every man should be the ruler in his home. The Gemara explains (Megillah 12b) that this letter helped Am Yisrael. Why? The Gemara says that this letter proved to the people that Achashverosh was foolish. The people said to themselves,

“Why would Achashverosh command that every man should rule his home? It is obvious that even a lowly weaver should be the authority in his own house.”

Therefore, the goyim did not take his next letter seriously. His next letter was the decree to kill the Jews on the 13th of Adar. The Gemara (with Rashi) explains that had the goyim not been convinced that Achashverosh was foolish, they would have been mizdarez, zealous, and attacked B’nei Yisrael earlier. So only because the first letter was sent out, and the first letter was foolish in the eyes of the people, therefore B’nei Yisrael were saved in connection with the second letter. This is again another example of nes nistar whereby everything fits together. This part of the first letter helps to save Am Yisrael.

The posuk tells us (2,16) that Esther was taken to Achashverosh in the tenth month, the month of Teves. The Gemara explains (Megillah 13a) that this is a month “sheneheneh guf min haguf.” The Gra adds on that during the winter the nights are longer, so Esther had more time with Achashverosh. Therefore, Rashi explains on the Gemara, Hashem arranged Esther’s turn to be in Teves, so that she should become queen and be in the position to save the Jews. This is a nes nistar! The fact that “coincidentally” Esther’s turn came in the winter was not a coincidence; that was part of Hashem’s plan! Now of course Hashem could have worked it out that Esther was chosen any way that He wants! Hashem could have performed a nes nigleh, but that is not Purim -- Purim is about nes nistar; Purim teaches that even when events appear to be natural, and “coincidental”, really they are all from Hashem.

An example of a nes nigleh in making a selection from many applicants is of course, Mary Poppins. In Mary Poppins, the family has to hire a new nanny, and there is a long row of potential applicants. They are all wearing black, they have mean-looking, dour, and sour faces. And what happens? A wind comes and literally blows them away, so when the door is opened to start the selection process, there is only one nanny available -- Mary Poppins! That segment from the movie has a two-word title: Nes Nigleh. Hashem could have done that in the Megillah, but He chose not to, because Purim is about nes nistar, megaleh seser, revealing that which is hidden, and recognizing that Hashem governs world events even when we do not see Him in a frontal way.

Another major nes nistar in the Megillah is of course the sequence of events. Each event leads into the other in a way that would eventually set up the salvation of B’nei Yisrael. Achashverosh throws a party. This leads to Vashti being killed. This leads to Esther being chosen queen. This leads to Mordechai being appointed as an advisor. This leads to Bigsan and Seresh becoming angry. The Midrash says they became angry because Mordechai was placed above them as advisors to the king. Because Mordechai is spending time near the king’s palace, he overhears Bigsan and Serehs’s plan to murder Achashverosh. He informs the king, and saves Achashverosh’s life. That is nes nistar. Each particular event in this sequence would have been an article in the local newspaper, nothing very exciting; however, working all together, that entire sequence sets up the yeshua of Am Yisrael, which will begin later in the 6th Perek.

After Mordechai saves the king’s life, the event was written down and forgotten about. The Malbim points out (2,23) that this was part of the Hashgacha. In order for Mordechai to be saved later, the Hashgacha had it that Mordechai would not be rewarded now, and therefore the reward would be waiting for Mordechai five years later when Haman tries to have Mordechai killed. This brings us to the end of the first two Perakim, and now the table has been set for the yeshua of Am Yisrael. Now we can have a deeper appreciation of what Rashi quotes (3,1) on the Pasuk of “achar hadvarim ha’elah,” Rashi writes “achar sheba’u refuah l’maka.” The refuah has already been created, the yeshua of Am Yisrael has been prepared, then Haman comes to power. That is the order of the Megillah.

The Megillah writes (3,7) that Haman cast the lots on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. He was deciding when to carry out his plan to wipe out the Jews, Rachmana l’tzlan. The lots fell out on the 13th of Adar, 11 ½ months later. If you were Haman, when you would have wanted the lots to fall out? One day later, one week later! But no -- the lots fell out 11 ½ months later in Adar. The Ibn Ezra and Malbim explain that this was part of the Hashgacha from Hashem. This long delay in Haman’s plan gave Am Yisrael enough time to do teshuva and find a way to protect themselves and save themselves. Had the lots fallen out a week later, in the month of Nissan, it would have been a lot harder for B’nei Yisrael to think of a defense to protect themselves. This is another nes nistar in the Megillah.

The Megillah describes (5,14) that Haman built a huge tree, 50 amos tall. This tree could be seen from anywhere in Shushan. The Gra explains this is part of the nes nistar. How so? Later, during the second party, when Esther accuses Haman of being the evil one who is trying to wipe out her nation, Charvona points to this tree. Charvona says “And this is the tree that Haman set up, and planned to use to kill Mordechai, who spoke well of the king!” The Gra writes, “aino domeh shmiah l’riyah.” Seeing the tree had more of an impact than just hearing about it. When Achashverosh saw this tree, Haman’s fate was clinched. So again, Haman kills himself. This is nes nistar. Haman decided to build such a tall tree, and the fact that the tree was so tall came back to haunt Haman later on. Another nes nistar in the Megillah[i].

At the end of the 6th Perek, after Haman had taken Mordechai through the streets, and he was very upset about what had happened, he discusses the events of the day with his wife, Zeresh, and advisors. His advisors and Zeresh said to him that if Mordechai is Jewish, you will not prevail against him, you will surely fall before him. Then the Posuk writes, (6,14) “odam medabrim imo,” while they were still talking to him, the king’s servants came and hurried Haman to the second party. The Gra explains that the timing was Hashgacha from Hashem. Had the king’s messengers arrived just a little while later, Haman may have listened to the advice and maybe he would have taken down the tree. Or maybe he would have changed his plans to try to kill Mordechai. Had that happened, it is possible that Achashverosh would not have killed Haman. As we explained before, Achahsverosh’s seeing the tree clinched Haman’s fate. Therefore, it was perfect timing that the king’s messengers arrived just in time, before Haman had a chance to listen and to absorb what his advisors were saying, and possibly change his plans. Another nes nistar in the Megillah.

Probably, the most powerful, incredible nes nistar in the megillah occurs on the night between the two parties. The megillah writes (6,1) “ba'lai'lah ha'hu na'di'dah sh'nas ha'melech,” “and that night the king could not sleep.” Chazal say (Megillah 15b) that the word hamelech refers to Hashem[ii]. This is a hint that on a deeper level the posuk means that on that night Hashem Himself, in a sense, stopped sleeping and Hashem began the salvation of Am Yisroel. (The truth is, of course, Hashem was never sleeping and all along He was setting up the salvation in the earlier perakim, but here is where we begin to see the salvation most clearly.)

Let us consider where Haman was holding on the night between the two parties. Haman was at the peak of his power. He was the second most powerful person in the world, just below king Achashverosh; he was fabulously wealthy, he had everything he could ever want. Haman was nearly all powerful. Also, Haman had been invited to an exclusive party with the king, the queen, and himself. And, he was invited to a second party the following day.

On this night, at the peak of his power, Haman decided it was time to kill Mordechai. So Haman decides to go to the king to inform him that he wants Mordechai killed. On that night, when Haman decides to go to the king to have Mordechai killed, the king cannot sleep. That is a medium-sized "coincidence". When the king cannot sleep, they read to him from the king's personal diary to help him calm down and fall back asleep. And as they are reading, they read about the fact that Mordechai had saved the king's life five years earlier and he had never been rewarded.

This is an incredible “coincidence.” This is the ultimate nes nistar in the megillah, that suddenly on the very night that Haman is on his way to have Mordechai killed they read to the king about Mordechai saving the king's life. Mordechai had saved the king's life; it was forgotten about. This could have been read about and remembered at any point for the rest of history - at any point during Mordechai's life, or at any point during the king's life. The fact that this story was brought back to life on the very night that Haman comes over to have Mordechai killed, that is the ultimate nes nistar in the megillah. That is what the megillah means that on that night the King, meaning Hashem, was not sleeping; the yeshua has begun.

There is a machlokes in the meforshim about what the date of this night was. The simpler p'shat is that it was the night of the 16th of Nissan. Haman cast his lot on rosh chodesh Nissan, and he announced the decree on the 13th of Nissan. On that very day, Mordechai and Esther decreed the three day fast, and the first party took place on the 15th of Nissan. The night between the parties was therefore the night of the 16th of Nissan[iii].

So, on this day, the day of the 16th of Nissan, Haman had a particularly rough day[iv]. He begins the day at the peak of his power and immediately he is surprised that Achashverosh commands him, Haman, to lead Mordechai through the streets[v]. Esther closed down the bathhouses and barbers in Shushan, and therefore Haman was forced to personally bathe and cut the hair of Mordechai. Mordechai was very weak from the fast and was not able to climb onto the horse, so Haman was forced to bend down and Mordechai climbed over him, kicking him in the process, as he climbed onto the horse. Haman was then forced to lead Mordechai through the streets, calling out before him. Haman's daughter mistakenly assumes that Mordechai was leading Haman through the streets and she therefore pours the atzitza d'beis hakisei (the chamber pot) onto her father. When Haman looks up to see who did this to him, his daughter sees that it is her father, so she jumps off the roof and commits suicide in front of her father. Again, let us reiterate that just several hours earlier Haman was at the peak of his power. He had no clue that Hashem had prepared this horrific day for him. Again, let us remember, there is not one supernatural event happening here. Haman goes home and tells the story of what happened to his wife and advisors. As they are talking, he is rushed to the second party; he did not have time to bathe. Haman arrives at the second party, and Esther informs Achashverosh that Haman is the evil one who wants to kill her and her nation. Ultimately, Haman is hanged.