Esther's Transformation from Queen to Jewish Leader (Part 8)

Rabbi Zweig begins by addressing a question from the previous shiur about why there was mourning (sackcloth and ashes) when the decree against the Jews wouldn't be executed for almost a year. He cites a Midrash Tanchuma on Parshat Shemini that explains this phenomenon through the principle of 'shomer mitzvah (מצוה) lo yeda davar ra' - one who observes commandments will know no evil. The Midrash describes how Aharon and his sons observed seven days of mourning before the actual deaths of Nadav and Avihu, paralleling how Hashem (ה׳) observed seven days of mourning before bringing the flood, as indicated by 'vayinachem Hashem ki asah et ha'adam vayit'atzev el libo.' Rabbi Zweig suggests that mourning (avelut) is not only about death that has occurred, but about the recognition that relationships are temporal rather than eternal. When death becomes possible, all relationships become temporary, which itself warrants mourning. This explains why there can be mourning before actual death occurs. The shiur then analyzes the detailed communication between Mordechai and Esther. When Mordechai tells Esther about 'parashat hakessef asher amar Haman lishkol' (the matter of the money that Haman said he would weigh out), Rabbi Zweig questions why this financial detail is emphasized when the main issue is the decree to destroy the Jews. He suggests that the emphasis on what Haman 'said' (amar) but didn't actually do reveals that Haman's hatred was pure antisemitism rather than financial motivation, making the situation even more dire since political maneuvering would be ineffective against pure hatred.