Post date: Feb 25, 2011 6:10:38 PM
אִישׁ יְמִינִי
Ish Yemini
(2:5)
It wasn’t by chance that the miracle of Purim was brought about specifically through Mordechai.
Many years prior, when Yosef was sold by his brothers, one brother did not participate in the sale—Binyamin. The Mei’am Lo’ez explains that for all time, those brothers and their descendents still reap punishments in small doses for that sale. However, because Binyamin wasn’t party to the sale, the descendents of Binyamin are not included in the punishment. Following the understanding that “אִישׁ יְמִינִי” means that Mordechai was from Sheivet Binyamin, we can understand why he had special merit to have the miracle brought through him—a miracle that depended on the unity of Klal Yisroel. A descendent of one of the participating Shevatim would have been lacking in the merit required for such a miracle.
Not only that, but the actions of Mordechai were an attempt to correct an ancestral mistake. Not long before, almost all of Amalek had been killed out with the exception of King Agag. By delaying the execution of Agag by one day, King Shaul allowed the perpetuation of the Amalek nation. Mordechai was a descendent of Shaul, so it was fitting for him to be the conduit for the Purim miracle. His actions now would be an attempt to correct a familial mistake made earlier, and finish the job of wiping out Amalek.