Shushan Purim Post: The plot to kill Jewish anarchists

Happy Shushan Purim! 

As mentioned in the previous post, my chavruta and I think that Achashverosh needed special convincing to agree to let Haman issue a decree to kill all of the Persian Empire's Jews. As promised, I will proceed to explain why:

It's quite simple: In Esther 3:8-9 it says:

"Haman then said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of any other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; and it is not in Your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them.

If it please Your Majesty, let an edict be drawn for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the stewards for deposit in the royal treasury.”"

I think people typically think that Haman was expressing criticism of the religion of the Jewish people here because the word he used is דתיהם which in modern Hebrew refers to religion.

However, the English translation here correctly translated it as 'laws'. Yes, Jewish laws are the Torah, and the religion and ethnicity are intertwined together. However, it is crucial to know that he is speaking about 'laws'. More to the point, Haman isn't saying: "Look, Mr. King, there are people here who refuse to worship Ahura Mazda, let's kill them." He's really saying: "Look, Mr. King, there is a nation, which is a unified group but divided into multiple cells and spread out across the empire and they don't follow the laws of the empire - anarchists, in other words - and they are a danger to the well-being of the empire and your government. You would do wisely to get them out of the way."

And yet, this supposed threat of an organized uprising by a fifth column deviously spread out everywhere was not enough to convince Achashverosh to kill all of them. That's why Haman had to add in the next verse that the king would receive 10000 talents of silver. I mean, why is there a need to promise silver if it's anyway in the king's best interest to kill these people?

The king must have not been convinced of the threat for some reason. That's why Haman had to sweeten the deal with money.

Shabbat Shalom!

(image taken from here)




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