Post date: Mar 13, 2011 2:0:48 AM
וּמָרְדֳּכַי יָצָא מִלִּפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ בִּלְבוּשׁ מַלְכוּת תְּכֵלֶת וָחוּר וַעֲטֶרֶת זָהָב גְּדוֹלָה
וְתַכְרִיךְ בּוּץ וְאַרְגָּמָן וְהָעִיר שׁוּשָׁן צָהֲלָה וְשָׂמֵחָה
U’Mordechai yutzuh melifnei hamelech bilevush malchus ticheiles vachur
(8:15)
The central theme of Purim of “וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא” (venahafoch hu/and it was turned over [flipped around], 9:1) plays itself out many times throughout the Megillah, and we find no less than four instances of this in our Pasuk.
Earlier in the Megillah we had the following pasuk: “וּמָרְדֳּכַי יָדַע אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה וַיִּקְרַע מָרְדֳּכַי אֶת בְּגָדָיו וַיִּלְבַּשׁ שַׂק וָאֵפֶר וַיֵּצֵא בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר וַיִּזְעַק זְעָקָה גְדוֹלָה וּמָרָה” (U’Mordechai yuda es kol asher na’ahsuh vayikrah Mordechai es biguduv vayilbash sok vu’eifer vayeitzei bisoch ha’eer vayizak za’aka gedola u’murruh, 4:1).
If we contrast the sorrow tone of that Pasuk with the joyous tone of our Pasuk, we find the following contrasts:
1. Earlier Mordechai stumbled about in sackcloth and ashes, but now he was marched out in royal fashion.
2. Earlier Mordechai tore his clothes for his people, but now he merited to wear robes of a monarch.
3. Earlier Mordechai had dust on his forehead, but now he wore the large golden crown of the king.
4. Earlier the city of Shushan was bewildered, but now it was filled with cheer and joy.
(Rav Galica)
----------
וְרַבִּים מֵעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ מִתְיַהֲדִים
V’rabim me’amei hu’uretz meesyahadim
(8:17)
Mordechai commanded a very high conversion rate to Judaism, and we have a few hints to this in the Megillah.
Our Pasuk states “וְרַבִּים מֵעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ מִתְיַהֲדִים” (V’rabim mei’amei Hu’uretz misyahadim), that many people from among the nations of the land made themselves into Jews. This is similar to the Midrash that tells us that when the Pasuk says “עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר וְאֶת,” (V’es hanefesh asher u’soo b’churrun, Bereishis 12:5) it’s referring to the many people that Avraham Aveinu had converted.
This characteristic is also alluded to when it says “אִם מִזֶּרַע הַיְּהוּדִים מָרְדֳּכַי” (Im mizerah ha’yehudim Mordechai, 6:13). Literally, this means that if Mordechai is from Jewish seed, he has the capacity to plant new souls.
Also, when we are first introduced to Mordechai, the pasuk refers to him as “אִישׁ יְהוּדִי” (Ish yehudi, 2:5) understood as an individual who persuades others to adopt Judaism.
But there are others who interpret our pasuk very differently. They understand “וְרַבִּים מֵעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ מִתְיַהֲדִים” (V’rabim me’amei hu’uretz meesyahadim) as meaning that there were many people who converted to Judaism at the time of the Purim miracle for one of two possible wrong reasons. Either they were afraid that they would be killed along with the enemies of the Jews, or they simply wanted to share in the Jews’ good fortune of that time.
Another similar interpretation is that there were people who made themselves look like they were Jewish (for the same reasons just mentioned). But in reality, these people had no real intention of actually converting. Some say that for this reason, we now have the custom to masquerade on Purim. We dress up and hide our true selves like many of those at the time did. We seek to conceal our true identities just as others were masquerading as Jews. A differing opinion given for concealing our identities is to recall how the miracle of Purim was concealed—the hand of G-d worked in the background, under the cover of chance. There were plenty of coincidences that just happened to work out because the timing was just right. But anyone who examines the Megillah at even a cursory level can grasp how difficult it is to believe that that so many events could have possibly worked out on their own without divine guidance.