Mordechai's Refusal to Bow/2

Mordechai's Refusal to Bow

Exegetical Approaches

This page is a stub.
Please contact us if you would like to assist in its development.

Personal Rivalry

Mordechai 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 Mordechai 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.  Mordechai refused to degrade himself before one who was undeserving. It is possible that there was an element of jealousy in the actions as well; Mordechai 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.  Mordechai should have swallowed his pride and flattered Haman rather than endanger the nation.  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"

• Reason for tattle-telling - 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.
• A fabricated excuse – Alternatively, though Mordechai 's real motives were personal, he pretended that he was acting out of religious concerns as a means of explaining his disobedience.

Mordechai's religious identity – The First Targum of Megillat Esther maintains 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 and thus viewed himself as at least equal to (and, likely, more deserving than) Haman.

"כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים"

Who was supposed to bow down to Haman? These sources do not address the issue. It is possible that the command was on the entire populace.  Mordechai who saw himself as more important than the average layperson and on par with Haman thought himself above the edict.

Why was everyone supposed to bow down to Haman? The action was presumably a show of honor to one who had been promoted to a position of prominence.  Hoil Moshe points out that it was a command of the king, but not signed into law, and thus still possible to be reversed. Modechai was trying to set himself as an example to other members of the court that they too should refuse to honor Haman and instead get the king to annul the command.

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 the reason that Haman had set out to destroy the Jews was because of his personal refusal to bow.⁴

Haman's edict – Haman's decision to destroy a nation due to competition with a single individual is somewhat difficult for this approach.  If the whole story was about personal vendettas, one would think that Haman should have simply found a way to rid himself of Mordechai but leave the rest of the nation alone.

"וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים" – This position would likely suggest that these refers to other laws of the king that the nation differed in, but not to the fact that no other Jews bowed down to Haman.

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 Mordechai'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. Yosef 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?

Why was everyone supposed to bow down to Haman? Esther Rabbah maintains that Haman wanted everyone to bow down to him so that they would thereby be worshiping idolatry.

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

"וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים" – This position might suggest that all the Jews followed Mordechai's lead in not bowing and this is what Haman referred to when he said that the nation did not follow the laws of the king.

Haman's edict – This  approach might suggest that Haman took out his anger on the entire nation because they all refused to bow.¹²

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,¹³ 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

Haman and Mordechai were in two different political camps, one for making peace with the Greeks and one against.  Mordechai refused to submit to the opposition.

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

Historical background – This position identifies Achashverosh with Xerxes, who had been defeated by the Greeks at the beginning of his reign, made peace and then only ten years later rebelled again.  The LXX identifies Haman as a Macedonian,¹⁴ and suggests that he was trying to bring Persia under Greek control.  If so, the Megilla's substory is one of opposing political ideologies regarding the Greek threat.¹⁵

Was Mordechai justified?

"כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא יְהוּדִי"

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 This position likely assumes 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 evil decree, Mordechai had more reason, not fewer, 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.
It should be notes as well, that un his comments at the end of the Megillah, R. Yosef Kara suggests that some of the Jews in Shushan questioned Mordechia's actions and some saw him at fault for their near annihilation.  This is why the verse states that Mordechai was only liked by "most" of his bretheren.

¹¹ He paints 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 occurred 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 See Y. Eldad, פשר מדיני למגילת אסתר, מחניים ס"ד תשכ"ב who questions that if the whole story revolved around contrasting religious ideologies, one would have expected Haman's edict to be similarly religious in nature, calling for the spiritual, rather than physical, destruction of the Jews.  One might respond that Haman's initial desire was in fact to coerce his religion, but seeing that fail, he desired to eradicate all nonbelievers.

¹³ Esther Rabbah holds that there was also a religious prohibition of Idolatry.

¹⁴ It is possible that אגגי mean "אגיי" or Aegean, of the Greek Sea.

¹⁵ Y. Eldad (see article in מחניים cited above), suggests that there was a "peace" camp headed by Haman, who was really a fifth column for the Greeks.  Mordechai and the Jews as a whole, who might have played a role in brokering an alliance with Carthage in the original war against the Greeks, were in the opposing camp.  The plot of Bigtan andTeresh which had been foiled by Mordechai might have also been political in nature and connected to these two warring factions.