Post date: Mar 18, 2019 3:54:26 AM
Vayeitzei Haman bayom hahu samei’ach v’tov leiv
And Haman left on that day happy and in good spirits
(5:9)
Achashveirosh and Haman were at Esther’s first party, and Esther invited both of them back the next day for another party. So when Haman left the party to go home, he was feeling pretty good about himself. But the Manos Haleivi picks up on the curious wording of the Pasuk. The Pasuk says that Haman left on that day… Of course Haman left on that day. He didn’t crash at the palace and return home the next morning. The party ended, and he went home. So why does the Pasuk tell us that he left “Bayom hahu” (that day) happy and in good spirits?
The Manos Haleivi answers that in fact, that very day, Haman achieved happiness—something he had never experienced until that moment. Haman had spent his entire life trying to climb the ladder of power, always trying to figure out the best angle to achieve greatness. He was in constant struggle trying to increase his authority. He had seen how Esther and Mordechai were communicating, and he was worried that she might try to stop his decree against the Jews. But now that she had invited him to two parties on consecutive days, it appeared to him that perhaps Esther was trying to get on Haman’s good side. Perhaps she had finally realized that life would be better hanging out with Haman rather than with Mordechai. Yes, things were finally coming together for him.
So when he left the palace on that day, he was finally truly happy for the first time in his life. Of course, little did he know that his happiness would be short lived. (He had barely left the palace before his bubble was burst.)
[Glimpses of Light, p. 243]