The Depth of Divine Providence in the Megillah: Haman's Trap and the Secret of the Sages of Issachar

Lesson No. 237 | Cassette 237, Thursday, Parashas Pekudei, 2 Adar II 5760 - Lesson for the Kollel Shadarim of Bat Yam, at the home of Rabbi Berland within the Old City walls

How did Haman's lust for control lead to his immediate hanging without any advisors? And how did the sages of the Tribe of Issachar use the secret of leap years and calculating the months to try and save Vashti from Ahasuerus's wrath? A fascinating contemplation on the course of Divine Providence in the story of the Megillah.

Haman's intention was to concentrate all exclusive authority in the hands of the king. He enacted a law stating that the king did not need to consult the opinions of the ministers, advisors, nobles, astrologers, or magicians. Haman wanted the authority to legislate laws to be solely in his own hands, and he indeed succeeded in carrying out his evil plot.

But here the verse was fulfilled:

"He dug a pit and excavated it, and he fell into the trap he made."

He himself fell into the very pit that he dug. The moment the king's wrath burned against Haman, Ahasuerus did not need any advisors. Because of the law that Haman himself enacted, the king could immediately command: "Hang him on it!" Had there been advisors present, they might have started to find merit for him, arguing that it was all just imagination, and they would have gotten him out of it. However, since the authority was exclusive, Haman was hanged immediately.

Vashti Seeks Advice from the Jewish Sages

Let us return to Vashti. When Vashti saw that evil was determined against her and she was about to lose her life, she realized that only the Jewish sages could save her.

Vashti's entire thought process from the very beginning was only to abuse the Jews. She advised bringing them to the feast in order to make a mockery of them, to anger them, and to cause them endless sorrow by making them watch as people drank from the holy vessels of the Temple. She wanted to crush the Jews, and therefore, in the end, she was hanged on Shabbos.

But now, as she faced Ahasuerus's wrath over the audacity and disgrace with which she had humiliated him, she searched for a way out. The king could not forgive this audacity. Vashti understood that only the sages of the Tribe of Issachar, "who had understanding of the times," could rescue her from the decree.

The Wisdom of the Jews: The Parable of King Farouk

To understand why she turned specifically to the Jews, let us look at a story about King Farouk of Egypt. Once, the king was strolling with the queen in the royal garden, accompanied by all the royal ministers in an official procession. In the garden, there were springs of pure, clear water, but due to the royal status of the occasion, it was not appropriate to bend down and drink.

Suddenly, the queen was struck by a terrible, deadly thirst. She begged the king to allow her to drink from the spring, but he firmly refused, saying, "If you cause me such embarrassment and kneel to drink in front of everyone, I will divorce you!" The king even swore and made a severe vow that if she drank from those waters, he would divorce her.

The queen could not restrain herself; she prostrated herself on the ground and drank from the spring in front of all the ministers, who mocked her. The king boiled with rage. When they arrived at the palace, he looked for a way to annul the vow so he would not have to divorce her. They went to the Mufti and to all the wise men in Egypt, but they have no concept of Hataras Nedarim (the annulment of vows). They all told him, "You made a vow? It cannot be annulled."

With no other choice, they called for the Rabbi of the Jews in Cairo. The Rabbi arrived in fear and trembling, worried about a false accusation, but when the king told him the story, the Rabbi smiled and said, "There is no question here at all. The woman is permitted!"

The Rabbi explained simply: "You vowed that if she drank 'from these waters' you would divorce her. But this is a flowing spring! The water that was there when you made the vow has already flowed kilometers away. She did not drink 'from these waters,' but from new water." Thus the queen was saved, and it was proven that the Jews always have a solution.

The Secret of the Leap Year of the Tribe of Issachar

Similarly, Vashti called for the Jewish sages because she knew that their minds were sharp and they always had solutions. She told them she was going to be hanged and asked for advice.

The Jewish sages said to her: "When did your father, Belshazzar, die? He was killed on the night of Passover, as we say in the Haggadah, 'The one who became intoxicated from the holy vessels was killed in the middle of the night.' We have a wonderful excuse for you: Tell Ahasuerus that today, the seventh day of the feast, is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of your father!"

But how could they reach the night of Passover? After all, the feast lasted 180 days, plus another seven days. This is where the wisdom of the Tribe of Issachar came in, "who had understanding of the times," who knew how to calculate and intercalate the months (declare leap years).

The Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah says that it is possible to make eight "chaser" (deficient) months in a year. The Sages of Issachar arranged the calendar so that all the winter months (Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Teves, Shevat, and Adar) would be deficient (consisting of 29 days). Since the feast did not begin on the 1st of the month but rather on the 3rd (in order not to desecrate Rosh Hashanah, as the Jewish ministers would not participate in ceremonies on Shabbos and the High Holy Days), the calculation of the deficient months resulted in the 180 days ending on the 8th of Nissan.

The addition of the seven extra days of the feast brought them exactly to the 15th of Nissan — the night of the Seder, the day of Belshazzar's passing!

This is how Vashti was able to excuse her behavior and say to Achashverosh: "The reason I was insolent and spoke about how my father would drink a thousand barrels without getting drunk, is because today is his yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing), and I remembered his greatness." The Sages of Issachar, in their tremendous wisdom, managed to arrange the entire calendar just to provide Vashti with a defense claim.

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