Mordechai's Refusal to Bow/2

Mordechai's Refusal to Bow

Exegetical Approaches

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Personal Rivalry

Mordechia refused to bow down out of personal pride and a running rivalry with Haman.

Sources:First Targum of Megillat EstherTargum Rishon Esther 3:2About First Targum of Megillat Esther,¹ Hoil MosheEsther 3:2About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi

What rivalry?

• According to the First Targum, Haman had previously sold himself as a slave to Mordechai and thus Mordechia could not bring himself to bow down to his servant.
• Hoil Moshe, in contrast, suggests that both Mordechai and Haman had been in the king's court and Haman had been promoted without merit.  Mordechia refused to degrade himself before one who was undeserving. It is possible that there was an element of jealousy in the actions as well; Mordechia likely found the promotion more unjust than others since he had just saved the king's life and was ignored!

Was Mordechai justified? The Bavli and Tanchuma  both suggest that Mordechai's actions were not justified.  Morechai should have swallowed his pride and flattered Haman.  In Mordechai's defense, though, he had no reason to assume that his actions would lead to such dire results.  How was he to know that to avenge his honor, Haman would set out to annihilate an entire nation!

"כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי" – This approach might maintain as does the  Northern French Commentary that these words do not explain why Mordechai refused to bow, but rather why the officers informed on him.²  Since he was a Jew, they were jealous and desired his fall.

Mordechai's religious identity – The First Targum of Megillat Esther says that Mordechai was an observant Jew.³ It is possible, though, to say instead that Mordechai was assimilated into Persian society; he had taken on a Persian name and managed to climb his way into a position of power in the king's palace. He viewed himself as at least equal to, but likely more deserving than Haman. 

"כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים"

Who was supposed to bow down to Haman?

Why was everyone supposed to bow down to Haman?

"וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים"

Did Mordechai know what the consequences would be? This position would probably maintain that Mordechai did not know what the consequences of his actions would be, since it is unlikely that he would have sacrificed the whole nation's lives just for his personal pride.  From chapter 5, though, it sounds as if he continued to refuse to pay Haman honor even after the decree, "וְלֹא קָם וְלֹא זָע מִמֶּנּוּ ".  In response, this position might suggest that even after the fact, Mordechai never realized that Haman had set out to destroy the Jews because of his personal refusal to bow.⁴

A Portrait of Mordechai

Biblical parallels

Religious Prohibition

Mordechai did now bow down due to a religious prohibition to bow.  The commentators disagree about what the halakhic prohibition was.

Sources:BavliMegillah 10bMegillah 12b-13aMegillah 19aSanhedrin 61aAbout the Bavli, First Targum of Megillat EstherEsther 3:2About First Targum of Megillat Esther, Esther Rabbah6:27:88:7About Esther Rabbah, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer(Higger) 49About Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, R. Saadia GaonIntroduction to EstherAbout R. Saadia Gaon, RashiEsther 3:2About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, Lekach TovEsther 3:2About R. Toviah b. Eliezer, R. Yosef KaraEsther Version A 3:2Esther Version B 3:2-4About R. Yosef Kara, Ibn EzraEsther Version A 3:2-4About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, R. Y"S ReggioEsther 3:2About R. Yitzchak Shemuel Reggio

What was the halakhic prohibition? The commentators offer two possibilities

• Idolatry – Most of these sources suggest that bowing would have been a violation of the prohibition against idolatry either because Haman wore an idol on him,⁵ or because Haman considered himself a god.⁶
• Bowing down to people – R. Yosef Kara and R. Y"S Reggio instead suggest that Mordechai thought that it was prohibited to bow down to anyone other than Hashem.⁷

Was Mordechai justified?

• Halakhically Justified – Most of these commentators claim that Mordechia's actions were justified since he had a religious obligation to act as he did:
• Idolatry – According to those who assert that bowing constituted worship of idolatry, Mordechai's refusal was justified since the law requires one to die rather than transgress the prohibition (‎‏ייהרג ואל יעבור‎).⁸ 
• Era of Destruction – According to the alternative, it would seem that Mordechai's actions were not necessary since there is no prohibition against bowing to people.⁹  R"Y Kara, though, might suggest that the era was a "period of destruction" (שעת השמד) during which one might be prohibited from doing even the slightest action upon command of another who is intent on the nation's spiritual destruction.¹⁰ 

• Legally Justified – R. Astruc asserts that even according to Persian law, Mordechai had no obligation to bow to Haman, since the kingdom had laws of religious tolerance and a Jew could not be forced to act against his faith.

• Unjustified – R. Reggio claims that Mordechai made a mistake, thinking he was being pious in not bowing to people, when in reality he did not understand the Torah's intentions (טעה בהתחסדות). Moreover, since the law states that one must abide by the laws of the land (דינא דמלכותא דינא), Mordechai was actually obligated to listen to the king's command and bow!

"כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי" – These commentators find support for their position in this verse, understanding that Mordechai had given a religious reason ("הוּא יְהוּדִי") for his actions.

Mordechai's religious identity – According to this approach Mordechai was an observant Jew whose actions were all motivated by his loyalty to his faith..

"כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים"

Who was supposed to bow down to Haman? Everyone.

Why was everyone supposed to bow down to Haman? Esther Rabbah holds that the reason Haman wanted everyone to bow down to him was so they will worship idolatry.

"וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים"

Did Mordechai know what the consequences would be? According to most of these commentators, even if Mordechai knew in advance that Haman would try to annihilate the nation in retaliation, he would have still been obligated to refuse to bow. According to R. Reggio, though, Mordechai was unaware and horrified at the outcome of his actions. He suggests that Mordechai regretted his decision and felt guilty that he had caused the edict of destruction.¹¹ 

A Portrait of Mordechai – Most of these sources view Mordechai as a devout Jew, ready to give his life for the observance of Hashem's commandments.  Reggio, in contrast, paints a somewhat foolish Mordechai, unaware of the intricacies of Torah laws, whose "extra" piety put the entire nation in danger.

Biblical parallels

Political Opposition

Jewish Pride

Sources:Second Targum of Megillat Esther3:3About Second Targum of Megillat Esther, Esther Rabbah7:8About Esther Rabbah,¹² Midrash Panim AcherotVersion B Parashah 3About Midrash Panim Acherot, Yosef LekachEsther 3:2About R. Eliezer Ashkenazi

Was Mordechai justified? Yosef Lekach tries to justify Mordechai's actions by saying that Mordechai was not obligated to bow down to Haman since he was not one of "עבדי המלך".

"כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי" – These commentators explain that "כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי" is the reason why Mordechai did not bow down to Haman.

Mordechai's religious identity – Mordechai was proud of his Jewish heritage but was not necessarily a halakhic observant Jew.

"כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים"

Who was supposed to bow down to Haman? Yosef Lekach holds that only "עבדי המלך" who were "בשער המלך" needed to bow to Haman.

Why was everyone supposed to bow down to Haman?

"וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים"

Did Mordechai know what the consequences would be?

A Portrait of Mordechai

Biblical parallels

Aegean Threat

Sources:SeptuagintEsther section E, vss. 7-14About the Septuagint, Dr. Yisrael Eldad

Was Mordechai justified?

"כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי" – This approach holds that "כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי" isn't the reason for Mordechai's refusal but rather the reason why Haman wanted to kill Mordechai (see Northern French Commentary).

Mordechai's religious identity

"כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים"

Who was supposed to bow down to Haman?

Why was everyone supposed to bow down to Haman?

"וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים"

Did Mordechai know what the consequences would be?

A Portrait of Mordechai

Biblical parallels

¹ The First Targum of Megillat Esther holds that there was also a religious prohibition of Idolatry.

² They likely assume, like R. Ashkenazi and the GR"A, that Haman himself had not noticed that Mordechai had not bowed.  It is only in verse 5, after they tell him to watch Mordechai,  that we read, "וַיַּרְא הָמָן כִּי אֵין מׇרְדֳּכַי כֹּרֵעַ וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לוֹ".

³ Hoil Moshe does not address the issue.

⁴ If so, after seeing Haman's true evil, he would have been even more likely to continue a show of dishonor.

⁵ See First Targum of Megillat Esther, Esther Rabbah, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer and Ibn Ezra who suggest this.

⁶ See Bavli, R. Saadia Gaon, Rashi, and Lekach Tov.

⁷ R. Reggio points out that the first alternative is absent from the book; if the problem was one of idolatry the verses would have said so. Since they speak only of bowing to a person, that in itself must have been the issue.

⁸ Ibn Ezra suggests that, nonetheless, perhaps Mordecha could have averted the problem and ensuing danger by simply leaving the area of the king's gate and thus not being around when Haman passed by.  He answers that Mordechai did not have permission to do so from the king and, as such, leaving his position might have meant his death.

⁹ R. Y"S Reggio brings proof from the fact that Avraham bowed down to the people of the land (Bereshit 23:7), Yaakov to Esav (Bereshit 33:3), Yosef's brothers to him, David to Yonatan and many other similar cases.  Cf. R. Saadia Gaon who also claims that there is no prohibition in a honorary bow leading him to conclude that the problem must have been idolatry. Cf. Second Targum of Megillat Esther and Esther Rabbah who say that Haman told Mordechai to bow down to him since Yaakov bowed down to Esav.

¹⁰ See the discussion in Bavli Sanhedrin 74a-b, which speaks of being killed before violating even a minor command, such as changing one's style of shoelaces.  It is not clear, however, whether Mordechai's refusal actually took place in a setting of "destruction" since there is no evidence of religious coercion in the Megillah; even the physical threat was only after Mordechai's actions.

¹¹ He pains a picture of a man so overcome by guilt that all he can do is cry out in grief.  He suggests that Mordechai was not even capable of thinking clearly;  it never occured to him to pray for salvation nor even to speak with Esther.  It is she who sees him dressed in sack cloth and inquires to the reason; Mordechai on his own had not planned to ask for her help.

¹² Esther Rabbah holds that there was also a religious prohibition of Idolatry.