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Why did the Jews begin mourning immediately when Haman's decree was set for eleven months later? The phrase 'lihyos tovim l'yom hazeh' suggests Jews were confined immediately in sealed cities, since killing every Jew on a single day required prior imprisonment. This explains why they performed kri'ah and mourning rituals typically reserved for actual deaths.
This shiur analyzes the third chapter of Megillas Esther, focusing on Haman's proposal to King Achashverosh to destroy the Jewish people. Rabbi Zweig begins by examining Haman's offer of 10,000 kikar of silver, calculating that this represents an enormous sum - approximately $42 million in today's terms. He explains that the Torah (תורה) tells us 100 kikar of silver represented the machtzis hashekel contributions of 600,000 people, making each kikar equivalent to 6,000 people's contributions. Therefore, 10,000 kikar represents 100 times that amount, showing the magnitude of Haman's bribe. The shiur addresses a puzzling aspect of the narrative: why did the Jews immediately begin mourning with sackcloth and ashes when the decree was set for execution eleven months later? Rabbi Zweig proposes that the phrase 'lihyos tovim l'yom hazeh' (to be ready for that day) indicates that immediate preparations began. Since all Jews had to be killed on a single day (the 13th of Adar), the only practical way to accomplish this was to begin confining and locking up Jews immediately in concentration camps and sealed cities.
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Megillas Esther 3:8-15
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