Did Haman eat at the party before Ahashveirosh caught him "leaning" on Esther?
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closed as too localized by msh210♦ Feb 28 at 18:38
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Well he was chewing Gam as the Posuk says "Ha*gam*" Lichbosh Es HaMalka Imi BaBayis |
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Apparently not. Haman, as we know from various midrashim, was quite learned. Doubtless he knew the Rambam that says that בימות החמה... ואוכל את החומץ, during the summer months one should eat vinegar. Since Ester's party was right at the beginning of the summer months, on Pesach, Haman was preparing vinegary food — pickles, in fact — right there at the party. When Achashverosh walked back into the party after his trip to the garden, he saw what Haman was up to, preparing vinegar for pickling. Thinking Haman was planning to pickle Ester, Achashverosh said, "הֲגַם לִכְבּוֹשׁ אֶת הַמַּלְכָּה עִמִּי בַּבָּיִת, do you also plan to pickle the queen with me at home?" and had him killed. In fact, though, Haman had been planning to pickle only vegetables, and what better to pickle than cucumbers? But the Rambam also says, "ומיני מלפפונות אוכל אותם האדם בתחלה קודם אכילה, one should eat cucumbers before the rest of the meal" — so we see Haman hadn't started eating yet. |
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