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Why didn't Achashverosh immediately reward Mordechai for exposing the assassination plot? The shiur develops the theory that the king suspected Mordechai had orchestrated the entire incident to gain political favor. Five years later, when Esther's invitations to Haman created new suspicions, Mordechai suddenly became valuable as someone who would naturally oppose any coup by his Amalekite enemy.
This shiur analyzes the complex political dynamics in Megillas Esther, focusing on why Achashverosh didn't immediately reward Mordechai for exposing the Bigsan and Seresh assassination plot. Rabbi Zweig proposes that Achashverosh suspected Mordechai of orchestrating the entire plot - hiring Bigsan and Seresh to attempt the assassination and then betraying them to win the king's favor and gain political power. The king reasoned that Mordechai had the most to gain from this scenario, as saving the king's life would naturally lead to a high-ranking security position. To counter this perceived threat, Achashverosh appointed Haman, knowing the historical enmity between Jews and Amalek would ensure Haman would watch Mordechai closely. The shiur explains that withholding Mordechai's reward was a deliberate message of suspicion, not mere oversight. However, five years later, when Esther's party invitations to Haman created new suspicions about a possible alliance between the queen and the vizier, Achashverosh's political calculations changed. Now he needed someone to watch Haman, and Mordechai became valuable as a potential ally - not because the king trusted him completely, but because Mordechai would certainly oppose any coup attempt by his archenemies.
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Megillas Esther 6:1-3
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