Megillah 15a (טו.) — the Talmud in English

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What does it mean by

“And Mordecai passed”?

Rav said: He caused the first day of Passover to be spent in fasting ,

for on the thirteenth of Nisan the letters were written to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate. And on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth they fasted , and on the evening of the sixteenth Haman was hanged.

for on the thirteenth of Nisan the letters were written to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate. And on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth they fasted , and on the evening of the sixteenth Haman was hanged. The Ya’arot Devash asks: Why does he specifically mention the violation of the fast, rather than mention that they neglected the mitzva of eating matza and maror? The Arukh LaNer [Yevamot 121b] answers that the measure for eating matza is a kezayit, whereas the measure of affliction is not to eat even a k, which is more than a kezayit. If so, it can be said that in fact they fulfilled the mitzva of eating matza, since they ate a kezayit, while they still fasted on the Festival, because they did not eat a k. And although less than the requisite measure is forbidden by Torah law, it can be said that initially they did not accept upon themselves the prohibition of less than the requisite measure. The Ahiezer [part II, Yoreh De’a, siman 21] wrote that although less than the requisite measure is forbidden by Torah law, the positive mitzva of matza comes and overrides the prohibition of less than the requisite measure, which is forbidden only by virtue of the superfluous phrase “all fat.” See the Rinat Yitzhak, which discusses this at length. However, Rabbi Shmuel di Ozida wrote: “And our Sages said: Do not eat—a kezayit of matza on the night of Passover; and do not drink—the four cups, etc., for the intention was, in addition to the fast, to prevent them even from eating matza and from drinking for the sake of a mitzva.” See also the Manot HaLevi, which cites Rabbi Yehuda ibn Shushan as having seen someone explain that “do not eat” means even the matza of Passover. Rabbi Yehuda challenged his words, but the author of the Manot HaLevi justified them on the basis of the Midrash Panim Aherim. See there. This is how Rashi wrote, and it is likewise stated in the Yalkut. But in Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer and Esther Rabba it is stated that they fasted on the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth. The Rinat Yitzhak wrote that according to Rashi, Esther could not have drunk with the king even at the second banquet, since she was still fasting. For concerning that which is written, “And it came to pass on the third day, and Esther donned royalty, etc.,” Rashi wrote [16a] that this was the third day from the dispatch of the couriers, and not the third day of the fast, but rather the second. If so, she was still fasting on the following day as well. [However, the Yosef Lekah and the Vilna Gaon wrote that at the first banquet she did not drink with the king because she was fasting, but at the second banquet she did drink.] Indeed, according to what is stated in the Targum, that the second banquet was held in the evening, and it is further stated in the Targum and the Yalkut that they did not fast at night, it can properly be said even according to Rashi that she drank at the second banquet. But at the first banquet, which took place during the day, she did not drink. And according to what the Arukh LaNer wrote [cited above in the note], that they did not accept upon themselves the prohibition of less than the requisite measure, it can be said that she drank less than the requisite measure.

And Shmuel said: That he crossed a pool of water,

in order to gather the Jews who were on the other side .

It is written:

“And it came to pass on the third day, and Esther donned royalty.”

And we ask: But “and Esther donned

royal garments”—

it should have said

to say?

Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: This teaches that she donned the Divine Presence.

As

it is written here: “and she donned,” and it is written there [I Chronicles 12:19]:

it is written here: “and she donned,” and it is written there [I Chronicles 12:19]:

“And a spirit clothed Amasai,

chief of the captains, etc.: ‘Yours are we, David, and with you, son of Jesse, etc.’”

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: Never let

the blessing of an ordinary person

seem insignificant in your eyes .

For two of the great men of the generation were blessed by two ordinary people—

and the blessings were fulfilled in them. And who were they?

Those great men of the generation:

David and Daniel.

David—

Aravna blessed him. As it is written: “And Aravna said to the king, etc.:

may the Lord your God favor you.” And it was fulfilled in him, as it is written: “And David built there an altar to the Lord, etc., and the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was halted from upon Israel.”

Daniel—

Darius blessed him. As it is written,

what Darius said to him when he cast him into the lions’ den:

“Your God, whom you serve continually, He will save you.”

And it was fulfilled in him, for he was saved.

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: Never let the curse of an ordinary person seem insignificant in your eyes. For Abimelech cursed Sarah: “Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes” [as it is stated in Tractate Bava Kamma [91a]: “He said to her: Since you concealed it from me and did not reveal that he was your husband, and caused me this distress, may it be Your will that your sons be people with covered eyes”] ,

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: Never let the curse of an ordinary person seem insignificant in your eyes. For Abimelech cursed Sarah: “Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes” [as it is stated in Tractate Bava Kamma [91a]: “He said to her: Since you concealed it from me and did not reveal that he was your husband, and caused me this distress, may it be Your will that your sons be people with covered eyes”] ,

and it was fulfilled in her descendants.

As it is written:

“And it came to pass, when Isaac grew old, that his eyes became dim.”

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: Come and see how unlike the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He—

is the attribute of flesh and blood.

For

the attribute of flesh and blood is that a person places a pot on the fire and afterward puts water into it.

But the Holy One, blessed be He, puts water—

and afterward places the pot on the fire. To fulfill that which is stated: “At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens

and raising up the clouds.” That is, first He gives the water, and afterward “raises up the clouds,” for the clouds are like a pot of water.

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: Whoever reports a statement in the name of the one who said it—

brings redemption to the world .

As it is stated: “And Esther told the king

in the name of Mordecai” ,

and through this redemption came to Israel.

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: When a righteous person dies, he is lost—

he is lost to his generation,

for the generation has lost the righteous person who protected them. But he himself is not lost through his death, for he lives on for the life of the World to Come.

This is analogous to a person who lost a pearl.

For wherever

it is,—

it remains a pearl,

and it is not lost to itself.

It is lost—

only to its owner.

“Yet all this is of no avail to me.” Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: When Haman saw

Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate, he said: “Yet all this is of no avail to me.”

And

as Rav Hisda.