Esther Rabbah

1:17. The elite of Persia and Media (Esther 1:3): It is taught in the name of R. Nathan about these ten measures: There are ten portions of licentiousness in the world, nine in Alexandria and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of wealth in the world, nine in Rome and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of poverty in the world, nine in Lydia and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of sorcery in the world, nine in Egypt and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of foolishness in the world, nine among the Ishmaelites and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of vigor in the world, nine among the Ishmaelites and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of lice in the world, nine among the Persians and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of attractiveness in the world, nine in Media and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of ugliness in the world, nine in the East and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of power in the world, nine among the Chaldeans and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of courage in the world, nine in Judah and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of beauty in the world, nine in Jerusalem and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of wisdom in the world, nine in the land of Israel and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of Torah in the world, nine in the land of Israel and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of hypocrisy in the world, nine in Jerusalem and one in the rest of the world; that is what is written: For from the prophets of Jerusalem, hypocrisy has gone out to all the land (Jeremiah 23:15). [ . . . ]

9:2. The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request. . . . Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet. . . . The king said: Hasten Haman. . . . The king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. . . . Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart, but upon Haman’s seeing Mordechai at the king’s gate, and he did not stand, and he did not move on his account, Haman became filled with fury. . . . Haman restrained himself . . . and brought his supporters and Zeresh his wife, etc. (Esther 5:3–5, 8–10).

Among all of them, there was no one capable of giving counsel like Zeresh his wife although he [Haman] had three hundred and sixty-five advisers, corresponding to the days of the solar year. His wife said to him, “The man [Mordechai] about whom you are asking: If he is of the progeny of the Jews . . . you will not prevail against him (Esther 6:13)—unless you approach him with cleverness, with [a strategy] that has never been attempted against members of his nation. If you drop him into a fiery furnace, Hananiah and his companions have already been rescued [from it]. If [you place him in] the lions’ den, Daniel has already emerged from it. If you incarcerate him in prison, Joseph has already emerged from it. If you ignite a fire in a vat beneath him, Manasseh [king of Judah] already pleaded, and the Holy One acceded to his plea, and he emerged from it. If you exile him to the wilderness, his ancestors already procreated in the wilderness, and they were confronted with numerous ordeals and passed them all and were rescued. If you blind his eyes, Samson took numerous Philistine lives when he was blind. Rather, hang him on the gallows, as no member of his people has survived it.” Immediately: The matter was pleasing to Haman, and he prepared the gallows (Esther 5:14).

From what tree was that gallows crafted? The rabbis said: When he came to prepare it, the Holy One called to all the trees of creation, “Who will give [of its wood] so this wicked one [Haman] will be hanged on it?”

The fig said, “I will give of myself, as Israel brings firstfruits from me. Moreover, Israel was likened to the firstfruits [of a fig]; that is what is written: Like a firstfruit on a fig tree in its first season (Hosea 9:10).”

The grapevine said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: You transported a vine from Egypt (Psalm 80:9).”

The pomegranate said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: Your temple¹ is like a pomegranate slice (Song of Songs 4:3).”

The nut said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was likened to me; that is what is written: I have descended to the nut garden (Song of Songs 6:11).”

The citron said, “I will give of myself, as Israel takes from me to fulfill a mitzvah; that is what is written: You shall take for you on the first day the fruit of a pleasant tree (Leviticus 23:40).”

The myrtle said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: And he was standing among the myrtles (Zechariah 1:8).”

The olive said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: The Lord called your name a flourishing olive tree, fair of fruit and form (Jeremiah 11:16).”

The apple said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons (Song of Songs 2:3), and as it is written: And the fragrance of your countenance like apples (Song of Songs 7:9).”

The palm said, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: This, your stature, is likened to a palm (Song of Songs 7:8).”

Acacia trees and cypress trees said, “We will give of ourselves, as the Sanctuary was crafted and the Temple was constructed from us.”

The cedar and the date palm said, “We will give of ourselves, as we are analogized to the righteous, as it is stated: The righteous man flourishes like a palm tree; like a cedar in Lebanon he grows tall (Psalm 92:13).”

The willow says, “I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me, as it is stated: Like willows by streams of water (Isaiah 44:4); and they take from me for the mitzvah of the four species in the lulav.”

At that moment, the thorn said before the Holy One, “Master of the universe, I, who have nothing to ascribe [litlot] to myself, I will give of myself, and that impure one will be hanged [ve-yitaleh]. My name is thorn, and he [Haman] is a painful thorn. It is appropriate for a thorn to be hanged on a thorn.” They found [suitable wood from a thorn] and erected [the gallows].

When they brought it before Haman, he prepared it at the entrance to his house and measured himself on it to show his servants how Mordechai should be hanged on it. A divine voice replied to him, “The tree is suitable for you. This tree has been prepared for you since the six days of creation.” The rabbis there [i.e., Babylonia] say: Where in the Torah is there [an allusion] to Haman? It is, as it is stated: Was it from the tree [ha-min ha-‘ets]? (Genesis 3:11), which is expounded [through a revocalization] to read: Haman ha-‘ets [lit., the Haman tree].

Another matter: It was on the third day [that Esther put on her royal apparel] (Esther 5:1). Israel is never subject to trouble for more than three days, as in Abraham’s regard it is written: On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance (Genesis 22:4). Regarding the tribes: He gathered them into custody for three days (Genesis 42:17). Regarding Jonah, as it is stated: Jonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 2:1). And the dead will live only after three days, as it is stated: On the third day, He will raise us (Hosea 6:2). This miracle [of Mordechai and Esther], too, transpired after three days of their fasting; that is what is written: It was on the third day that Esther put on her royal apparel (Esther 5:1). She sent and invited Haman to a banquet with the king on the fifteenth of Nisan. Once they ate and drank, Haman said, “The king promotes me, his wife honors me, and there is no one in the kingdom greater than I am,” and his heart was overjoyed; that is what is written: Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart (Esther 5:9).

3. Haman said: “Indeed [‘af], Queen Esther gave a feast and besides the king she did not bring anyone but me. [And tomorrow too I am invited by her along with the king . . .] (Esther 5:12). Four began with ’af and perished with ’af, and they are: the snake, the baker, the congregation of Koraḥ, and Haman. The snake, as it is written: Did God actually [’af] say (Genesis 3:1); the baker, as it is written: I, too [’af], in my dream (Genesis 40:16); the congregation of Koraḥ, as it is written: Yet [’af] [you did not take us] to a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 16:14); Haman, as it is written: Indeed [‘af], Queen Esther gave a feast and besides the king she did not bring anyone but me.

4. After he erected the gallows, he went to Mordechai and found that he was sitting in the study hall with the children sitting before him, with sackcloth on their waists, engaging in the study of Torah, and they were screaming and weeping. He counted them and found there twenty-two thousand children. He cast iron chains on them and deployed guards over them. He said, “Tomorrow, I will kill these children first, and then I will hang Mordechai.” Their mothers were bringing them food and water and saying to them, “Our children, eat and drink before you die, and don’t die hungry.” Immediately, they [the children] placed their hands on their books and took an oath, “By the life of Mordechai our master, we will not eat and drink but will die while fasting.” All of them began weeping loudly until their cries reached the heavens. The Holy One heard the sound of their weeping approximately two hours into the night.

At that moment, the compassion of the Holy One was aroused, and He stood up from His throne of justice and sat down on His throne of mercy, and said, “What is that loud sound I hear that sounds like goats and lambs?” Moses our master stood before the Holy One and said, “Master of the universe, they are neither goats nor lambs but rather the children of Your people, who are fasting today [and have already been fasting for] three days and three nights, and tomorrow, their enemy seeks to slaughter them like goats and lambs.” At that moment, the Holy One took those documents in which He had decreed against them that were sealed with mortar seals, and He ripped them. He brought fear upon Ahasuerus that night. That is what is written: On that night [sleep deserted the king, and he ordered the book of records, the annals, to be brought; and it was read to the king] (Esther 6:1).