Post date: Mar 20, 2019 4:14:56 AM
Ish asher hamelech chafetz bikaro
For the man whom the king desires to honor
(6:7)
In the previous Pasuk, Achashveirosh asked Haman, “What should be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?” Haman’s response oddly begins with the repetitious, “For the man whom the king desires to honor…” Why did Haman bother to restate exactly what Achashveirosh had just said a moment earlier? He could have skipped straight to the details of the royal treatment as is detailed in the following Pasuk.
The Malbim tells us that Haman’s intent was to indicate to Achashveirosh that the very fact that the king even wished to honor this person was itself an honor. Even before getting to the details of how to honor such a person, Haman restated that the king wished to honor that person, because that itself was also an honor.
The Alshich has a different interpretation of Haman’s seemingly superfluous repetition. He notes that when Achashveirosh mentioned his desire to honor this person, he used the term “Ish” (man), which (as we have said previously) is a term often used to indicate someone of significance. When Haman heard Achashveirosh say “Ish,” his ears perked up. This helped solidify in his mind that Achashveirosh must be talking about him. So, when he started his response to Achashveirosh, he didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to also refer to himself using the term “Ish.” So he capitalized on the opportunity, and repeated the same phrase that Achashveirosh had used in his question.
[Megillas Esther: The Answer Is..., p. 180]