15
votes
Did Haman kill Daniel?
The Talmud (Megillah 15a) states that Daniel was Hatach who appears in Megillat Esther:
ותקרא אסתר להתך אמר רב התך זה דניאל ולמה נקרא שמו התך שחתכוהו מגדולתו ושמואל אמר שכל דברי מלכות נחתכין על פיו ...
- 49.1k
7
votes
Why are Mordechai and Esther buried in Hamedan, considering it is distant from Shushan?
Encyclopedia Judaica's entry for "Hamadan, Iran" says:
The Persian Jews identify Hamadan with "Shushan ha-Bira," which obviously is a mistake.
An essay entitled "Esther’s Tomb Iran's Jewish queen ...
- 47.8k
5
votes
Where is the source that Mordechai left the king's palace wearing teffilin?
You can find the Gra here:
ועטרת זהב גדולה היא תפילין שבראש . ותכריך בוץ הם הרצועות שכורכין בהם . וארגמן הם תפילה של יד
There's a related Chasam Sofer here, but I'm not sure it's the one you're ...
- 2,171
5
votes
Why would Haman "restrain himself"?
Haman may have restrained himself because of Mordechai’s status as
an adviser of the king. Yalkut Shimoni 1053 says that the
position of Mordechai at the king's gate was personally requested by
Esther ...
- 6,864
5
votes
How old was Mordechai in the Megillah?
Second Version of Ibn Ezra on Esther 2:6 Calculates that Mordechai was at more than 90 years old when Achashveros married Esther.
11 years of Tzidkiyahu's kingship, after Yehoyachin (together with ...
- 43.9k
4
votes
Why did Mordechai not stand before Haman?
The Malbim says that it wasn't about idolatry, but about a lack of fear for Haman -- Mordechai didn't rise out of fear for any consequence which is why this verse simply indicates that Haman was ...
- 37.8k
4
votes
How old was Mordechai in the Megillah?
According to the calculations of Isaac Samuel Reggio (Italy, 1784 – 1855) in his מפתח אל מגילת אסתר, based on adding up the various reigns of Persian kings throughout those years, Mordechai was a ...
- 4,313
4
votes
Why does Mordechai agree to put on the king's clothing?
The simple answer is that Mordechai was obeying a command from a king. The general rule is Dina D'malchusa Dina, which obligates Jews to obey the laws of the land they live in. Here the king commanded ...
- 8,045
4
votes
What Beit Ester survived?
Vayikra Rabbah 13:5 records a tradition that King Darius was the son of Esther (and Ahasuerus):
אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בְּרַבִּי סִימוֹן דָּרְיָוֶשׁ הָאַחֲרוֹן בְּנָהּ שֶׁל אֶסְתֵּר הָיָה, טָהוֹר ...
- 41.7k
4
votes
Where is the source that Mordechai left the king's palace wearing teffilin?
To my knowledge, the earliest source of Mordechai's wearing tefillin is the Targum Rishon on Esther 8:15 which hints a form of תפילין של ראש in the description of Mordechai's golden crown:
...
- 2,103
3
votes
Where is the source that Mordechai left the king's palace wearing teffilin?
In Ya’aros Devash of Rabbi Yonasan Eibshitz, Chelek 2 page 8c, it says that Mordechai wore his Tallis and Tefillin in public and even in the palace, based on the explanation of the Gemara (Megillah ...
- 3,197
3
votes
Accepted
Was Mordechai the mashgiach at Achashverosh's party?
the maharsha and the megilla setarim
say that kirtzon ish vaish”....mordechai
means that achashveroah made him the mashgiach
mainly for the yayinn nessech issue
- 420
3
votes
Was Mordechai the mashgiach at Achashverosh's party?
Rashi on Megillah 12a says that Mordechai was one of the Butlers of Achashverosh.
This is the quote כרצון מרדכי והמן - הם היו שרי המשקים במשתה
- 692
3
votes
Accepted
Does ישב בשער־המלך imply some sort of royal position
Yes, Ralbag and Malbim say so. Not all commentaries agree with this, though.
- 73.7k
3
votes
Accepted
When was the war in which Haman sold himself to Mordechai?
According to the Manos HaLevi, the war took place in the second year of Achashveirosh’s reign.
תורת חיים מגילת אסתר עם פירוש הראשונים similarly cites from the Targum yerushalmi in the middle of the ...
- 34.1k
3
votes
Ahashverosh and the Jews
Let us assume that Ahashverosh didn't know Ester is Jewish (I seriously doubt it it but it is a different question.) My answer is a little Drash though, I can not answer it on Pshat.
THe key point ...
- 25.7k
3
votes
Accepted
Why is Mordechai called Ben Kish and not Ben Sha'ul?
The Manot Levi (footnote 5 in the image) says that they skipped Shaul because he was supposed to takes G-d's revenge on Amalek, but he failed. It skips him to indicate that his task was completed by ...
- 43.9k
3
votes
Jews attending feast of Achashverosh
You ask:
Under what permission did those Jews attend?
The simple answer - they did not have permission...
The whole thing was orchestrated by Achashveirosh - It was a ruse to show the people he ...
- 30.1k
2
votes
How did Esther reveal to Achashveroch that Mordechai is her husband
I'm afraid I have no source for this, but my reading of Esther 8:1 is that she revealed to Achashverosh only that Mordechai was her cousin, and did not tell him that he was also her husband.
- 5,398
2
votes
Why didn't Mordechai kill Haman?
I would connect that to Rambam's beginning of Melachim:
שָׁלֹשׁ מִצְוֹת נִצְטַוּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּשְׁעַת כְּנִיסָתָן לָאָרֶץ:
לְמַנּוֹת לָהֶם מֶלֶךְ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים יז טו) "שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים ...
- 25.7k
2
votes
Did Ester reveal to Achashverosh she was married to Mordechai?
According to the Rambam's commentary on the Megillah, Esther only told Achashveirosh that he was her uncle and adopted father, not that he was her husband:
אמרה אסתר למלך : היועץ מרדכי הוא דודי, ...
- 34.1k
2
votes
Why did the Persian Empire bury Esther with Mordechai?
Firstly it is questionable if Mordechai was buried in Iran to begin with.
The Gemora (Menochos 64B) makes a reference to him being in Eretz Yisroel when the Beis Hamikdush was built (although it's ...
- 4,698
2
votes
Why is myrrh the allusion to Mordechai?
One answer 1 is based on a Midrash 2, which expounds the verse: מי יתן טהור מטמא, who will bring out purity from the impure 3. The Midrash brings many examples of such a concept, such as Avraham, who ...
- 19.6k
2
votes
Accepted
Did Mordechai have a different "scream" than Moshe Rabbeinu?
The questioner asked about the differences between the words צעק and זעק which we can also add to the question what this has to do with צחק – laughter. Rav Samson Refoel Hersch addressed this question ...
- 2,181
2
votes
Was it Mordechai or Kish that was exiled?
"who had been exiled" is referring to Mordechai not Kish. Kish is another name for Gera (see Targum). Shimi ben Gera was in King David's time (See 2 Samuel 16:5).
- 314
1
vote
Did Mordechai have a different "scream" than Moshe Rabbeinu?
While the letters זיין and צדי can be interchangeable phonetically and each shoresh essentially means a shouting, the nature of the shout can vary.
In the two cases mentioned above the Targum Onkelos ...
- 2,103
1
vote
Accepted
Why does Mordechai agree to put on the king's clothing?
The Gra on Megilas Eshter 5:8 explains that the reason Esther requested a second wine party before she revealed her request to Achasvarosh was that she was afraid Hashem would not agree with her ...
- 586
1
vote
Why is myrrh the allusion to Mordechai?
according to some ....
mordechai was like a ketoeress
which is infinite and powerful
to break all opponents
hence...this ingredient is found in the ketoeress
to show this power he had
maharal in ...
- 420
1
vote
Accepted
Did Mordechei ever tell Esther she was allowed to reveal her nationality?
I found a source.
Its a Pesikta Rabsi
פסיקתא זוטרתא (לקח טוב) אסתר ד:ח ד"ה ואת פתשגן - עד עתה אין אסתר מגדת, מעתה נתן לה רשות להודיע שהיא יהודית, שנאמר על עמה, וכן אמרה אסתר כי נמכרנו אני ועמי:
...
- 5,365
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible