Post date: Feb 25, 2011 4:31:50 AM
אִישׁ יְהוּדִי הָיָה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה
Ish Yehudi haya b’Shushan habirah
(2:5)
One of the unique aspects of Megilas Esther that separates it from among all of the other books in Tanach is that the name of Hashem is not mentioned overtly even a single time. That notwithstanding, we do find numerous allusions to Hashem. Some are hinted to by way of a Gematria (numerical value of each letter), some by Roshei Teivos (leading letters acronym), some by Sofei Teivos (ending letters acronym), and some by numerical equivalencies. Here is one allusion employing two of the above mentioned methods:
Our pasuk reads in part “אִישׁ יְהוּדִי הָיָה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה.” It wasn’t by chance that Mordechai had been appointed to a position in the palace and was stationed outside of the palace gates. From the beginning of the Purim miracle, we see the hand of Hashem arranging all of the necessary pieces to the puzzle—making sure that the key players are all in the proper positions. For some, like Mordechai, being in the right place at the right time meant overhearing the conspirators discussing their assassination attempt. For others, like Vashti, it meant vacating the palace to make way for Esther who would soon plead with the king on behalf of the Jews.
Rokeach explains that if we examine the words “יְהוּדִי הָיָה“ in our Pasuk, we can see that the Roshei Teivos make up the two-letter name of Hashem, Yud and Hei, indicating that Hashem was operating behind the scenes from the very beginning.
יהודי היה
A closer examination of those same two words reveals that Hashem was also arranging the end result—the solution to the problem—indicated by the Sofei Teivos of Yud and Hei, the same two-letter name of Hashem.
יהודי היה
We see many times throughout our history that Hashem always makes the cure before he brings the problem. The miracle of Purim is no different in that regard. Everything was coordinated behind the scenes—from beginning to end. But look closely and you’ll find the Artist’s signature.
(Inside Purim)