We will be discussing Megilat Esther using a commentary called Yosef Lekach, written by a Sephardic rabbi of yesteryear, named Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, who lived in the times of the Bet Yosef.
Rav Eliezer points out the following important principle throughout Megilat Esther
שאין במגילה זאת אפילו מילה אחת שאינו סובבת אל מרכז הודעה ופרסום הזה
There is not even one word in the Megillah that is not there to tell about the miracle.
Every word in the Megillah is here to announce the miracle.
That is why it says if you miss even one word, you don’t fulfill your obligation. Every word has to do with the miracle, even if you’re not sure how.
As we know, the story of Purim was a hidden miracle. G-d’s name is not mentioned openly at all. Every time it says HaMelech- the King, it refers to G-d.
He starts with the first pasuk of the Megillah which is:
וַיְהִ֖י בִּימֵ֣י אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁ
It was in the times of Ahashverosh
Which Ahashverosh?
הוא אֲחַשְׁוֵר֗וֹשׁ הַמֹּלֵךְ֙ מֵהֹ֣דּוּ וְעַד־כּ֔וּשׁ ׃
the Ahashverosh that “became king” from Hodu to Kush.
The term “Hamelech/ became king” indicates that he did it on his own.
שֶׁ֛בַע וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּמֵאָ֖ה מְדִינָֽה
Over 127 nations, first over a certain amount, but then it grew.
This is important because it sets the stage for the entire Megillah. Ahashverosh has a chip on his shoulder.
He wasn’t a blue blood; he wasn’t born into royalty. He married in, when he married the granddaughter of the Babylonian King, Nevuchadnesar. He felt that he had to prove that he made it.
Like the nouveau rich often do, he made a big party because he wanted to prove himself. This chip on his shoulder is an important aspect of the story, as it relates to several factors later on, such as why he got so extremely upset at his wife for not showing up, or the fact that when he looked for a second wife, he specifically looked for someone with no lineage (he felt he was burned by the lineage of his first wife). When he realized that he’d chosen an orphan girl with no lineage, he thought that was even better. Zero lineage- Terrific!
He didn’t know or care if she was Jewish, which helped the miracle come about later on.
So already from the first pasuk of the Megillah, the stage is being set regarding Ahashverosh.
We don’t have the time to go through it everything (the commentary I am referencing is about 200 pages) but we will go through some good tidbits, that you can print out to repeat at your Purim Seuda.
We go on to the second pasuk, which is one of my favorites:
בַּיָּמִ֖ים הָהֵ֑ם כְּשֶׁ֣בֶת ׀ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֗וֹשׁ עַ֚ל כִּסֵּ֣א מַלְכוּת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּשׁוּשַׁ֥ן הַבִּירָֽה׃
In those days, when the king Ahashverosh sat on his throne in Shushan…
And in the third pasuk it says,
בִּשְׁנַ֤ת שָׁלוֹשׁ֙ לְמָלְכ֔ו-in the third year of his reign.
Which king waits until the third year of his reign to sit on his throne?
The commentaries explain, that as we said, Ahashverosh had a chip in his shoulder and he wanted to show off his wealth. He wanted the fanciest possible throne in existence. Originally, the capital of his kingdom was in the town of Elam.
He hired craftsmen from the city Shushan (where the craftsmen primarily resided) to make a duplicate of the throne of Shelomo HaMelech/King Solomon, because that had been the most ornate and kingly throne of all time.
The problem was that when the new throne was finally completed, it couldn’t be moved back to Elam, the original capital. So Ahashverosh relocated his capital, and his palace, to be near the throne. That is one of the reasons he was throwing the party- to introduce himself to the people of Shushan, and invite them all to show off his throne.
Why is all this happening?
The commentaries tell us an unbelievable Hashgacha Pratit thought:
Mordechai lived in Shushan. As we will read in perek ב,
איש יהודי היה בשושן הבירה
Mordechai was always there in Shushan
That was his place.
So G-d moved the entire capital from Elam to Shushan (imagine moving the capital of the USA from Washington DC to NYC), in order for Mordechai to be nearby, when two men, Bigtan and Teresh, were plotting to assassinate the king, so that he was able to overhear it. How could he have heard if he was not in the same city?
Some then may wonder why Mordechai couldn’t have relocated to Elam. But our rabbis tell us, no; G-d did not want to pull Mordechai away from his schedule.
Imagine if Rabbi Avigdor Miller ztl was asked by G-d to bring out some miracle. He lived on Ocean Parkway, took his daily walk on Ocean Parkway.... if Hashem wanted him to help out by overhearing two men plotting, would He uproot Rabbi Miller from Ocean Parkway? No! He would turn the whole world upside down, so that Rabbi Miller could keep his schedule, and still fulfill his job.
So, Hashem turned the whole kingdom around so as not to interfere with Mordechai’s schedule.
That’s what we learn from Pasuk 2 and 3.
Each pasuk tells us hidden things that we would not know, if not for the commentaries.