Post date: Mar 21, 2016 4:6:59 AM
“Ki ein lavo el sha’ar hamelech bilvush sak”
For it was forbidden to enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth
(4:2)
Mordechai approached the palace “until the king’s gate,” but did not enter the king’s gate. He was wearing sackcloth and ashes as he attempted to earn additional merit for Klal Yisrael in his attempt to bring them closer towards Teshuvah.
The Seforno applies the words “Ki ein lavo el sha’ar hamelech bilvush sak” of our Pasuk to three other similar instances in the Torah:
Bereishis 41:14 – Yosef is taken to change out of his prison clothes before being brought before Paroh for the first time. To go before the king in prison garb is not befitting the honor due the king.
Bereishis 50:4 – After Yaakov passes away, Yosef sends a request to “Beis Paroh” (the house of Pharaoh) asking for permission to take Yaakov’s body to Eretz Yisrael for burial. Since Yosef’s clothing was torn because he was in mourning, he didn’t dare present himself directly to the king with his inquiry.
Vayikra 21:18 – The Pasuk tells us that a Kohein with a blemish may not perform the Avoda (priestly work). For a blemished Kohein to do so would be akin to coming to the gate of the king in sackcloth.
[Zvi Fleisher @ shemayisrael.com]