Post date: Mar 13, 2019 5:17:28 AM
V’chol avdei hamelech…kor’im u’mishtachavim l’Haman…u’Mordechai lo yichra v’lo yishtachave
And all the King’s servants…would bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman…and Mordechai would not bow down nor prostrate himself
(3:2)
According to the Manos HaLevi, Mordechai was not required to bow to Haman because he was a high minister and close advisor to Achashveirosh. The edict to bow to Haman only applied to the lower level servants of the King, as the Pasuk says “avdei hamelech.” Furthermore, when our Pasuk continues by saying that Mordechai “lo yichra,” it means that he did not have to bow. If the Pasuk simply wanted to tell us that Mordechai did not bow, it would have said “lo kara.”
So we see that Mordechai was in fact exempt from the decree because it was intended for those of a stature lower than his, and he was in fact exempt from bowing to Haman.
[Inside Purim, p. 108]