Post date: Mar 06, 2014 5:2:56 AM
“Ish Yehudi haya biShushan habirah”
There was a Jewish man in Shushan, the capitol
(2:5)
There is much to say on this small snippet of the Megilah.
1) One question that is asked, is why Mordechai is referred to as an “Ish Yehudi,” which could be understood to mean that he was from the tribe of Yehuda, when in fact he was actually from the tribe of Binyamin?
In Shmuel II, Shim’i cursed Dovid Hamelech and threw stones at him. Such actions were clearly punishable by death because Shim’i was now labeled a Moreid b’malchus (someone who rebels against the king) from his actions. Dovid saw through a Nevuah (vision of a prophet) that Mordechai would be a descendant of Shim’i, so he delayed carrying out the sentence until Shim’i had children. After that, he told his son, Shlomo, to kill Shim’i (in Mal’achim I). The Gemara (Megilah 12b) tells us that since Dovid (who was from the tribe of Yehuda) spared Shim’i's life long enough to allow his family to continue, the descendants called themselves “Yehudim” (those from the tribe of Yehuda) in recognition that their existence was owed to Dovid’s mercy.
2) By saying “Ish yehudi,” it implies that he was the only Jew in Shushan habirah. How is this possible?
The Berichei Shi’arayich differentiates Shushan and Shushan Habirah for us.
He tells us that Shushan was simply the greater city area; it was Shushan proper. But Shushan Habirah was the area of the city that contained the capital campus including the royal palace.
Only high officials lived in Shushan Habirah. Since Mordechai was one of Achashveirosh’s advisors, he lived in this exclusive area. And that’s why he was the only Jew in the Birah section of Sushan.
3) The most basic understanding of this phrase is like this:
Ish: There was one singular man
Yehudi: who was Jewish
Haya biShushan habirah: who was presently in Shushan habirah.
Meaning, that Mordechai was the only Jew around. But later in the Megilah, the Pasuk says “Hayehudim asher biShushan,” the Jews who were in Shushan (9:18). So, was he the only one there, or were there others?
The Yalkut Mei’am Lo’ez and Lalkut Shim’oni explain that Mordechai was singled out because of his righteousness. But we know that Mordechai was part of the Sanhedrin (high court), so what about all of the other members of the Sanhedrin? We’re told that although the other members of the Sanhedrin didn’t partake of Achashveirosh’s party, they actually fled the area and hid. Mordechai was the only one who stayed back and protested, trying to stop the Jews from attending Achashveirosh’s party. He was the only Jew in town to make a Kiddush Hashem by not feasting and not bowing down to Haman. Therefore, he’s singled out as the only ideological Jew in the city!
4) Midrash Esther Rabbah expounds on the previous idea and says that because of Mordechai’s tremendous Kiddush Hashem, he’s given the title of Yehudi of which the first two letters contain one of the names of Hashem (a Yud and a Hei). It’s because of this Kiddush Hashem that we find many people wanting to convert to Judaism near the end of the Megilah.
5) During the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash, there were many waves of exiles. Within one of the groups exiled together was the Sanhedrin, the tribe of Binyamin and the Jewish king Yehoyachin (who was from the tribe of Yehuda). This group was called Galus Yehoyachin (the exile of Yehoyachin).
The Yosef Lekach tells us that since Mordechai (who was part of the Sanhedrin and was from the tribe of Binyamin) was part of this group to be exiled together, he’s called “Yehudi” in deference to King Yehoyachin (who was from Yehudah), the most prestigious of all those exiled in this group.
6) Haman knew that Jewish strength comes from their Achdus (unity). Therefore, when making his pitch to Achashveirosh about his plan to wipe out the Jews, he pointed out that the Jews were vulnerable because they were “Mefuzar um’forad” (3:8), scattered and dispersed. The Sefas Emes tells us that since it was Mordechai who unified the Jews through fasting, repentance and (ultimately) fighting, he’s referred to as “The Jew,” the one who rallied us together and got us through it.
7) The Gemara (Megilah 12b) gives three different answers why Mordechai is called “Yehudi.”
A) Mordechai had ties to both the tribe of Binyamin (through his father) and Yehuda (through his mother). Typically, we trace someone’s lineage through his father. So why did the Megilah make an exception in this case? Since the tribe of Yehuda was the tribe of Jewish royalty, the Megilah took advantage of that fact and referred to Mordechai as being a member of Yehudah so as to convey honor on him.
B) Because of Mordechai’s prestige, each tribe claimed that he was from their tribe. Everyone wanted to believe that such a great person came from their tribe.
C) Until Mordechai refused to bow to Haman and his Pagan idol, the government hadn’t given the Jews a hard time. Now that Mordechai was openly defying Haman, things got worse for the Jews. That being the case, each tribe claimed that such a person could not have been from their own tribe; that he must have been from one of the other tribes.
8) According to the Yalkut Me’am Lo’ez, the message that the Pasuk to trying to teach us, is that Mordechai was simply a Jew and nothing more. The point is that the real Savior is Hashem, not a human being, and that we need to take this to heart and make sure that we turn to Hashem when we are in need of assistance.