Mordechai's Religious Identity/2

Mordechai's Religious Identity

Exegetical Approaches

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Spiritual Leader (גדול הדור)

Sources:SeptuagintEsther section A, vss. 1-11Esther 2:20Esther section C, vss. 1-11Esther section A, vss. 1-11About the Septuagint, Seder Olam Rabbah20About Seder Olam Rabbah, BavliMegillah 12bMegillah 13bMegillah 15aMegillah 16bMenachot 65aAbout the Bavli, First Targum of Megillat Esther2:52:11About First Targum of Megillat Esther, Second Targum of Megillat Esther2:5-64:1About Second Targum of Megillat Esther, Shemot Rabbah38:4About Shemot Rabbah, Esther Rabbah6:27:138:58:7About Esther Rabbah, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer(Higger) 49About Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, RashiEsther 2:5Esther 2:10-11Esther 2:22Esther 3:2Esther 2:22Megillah 16b s.v. שפירשו, מעיקראAbout R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, R. Yosef KaraEsther Version B 2:5-6Esther Version B 2:19-20Esther Version B 10:3About R. Yosef Kara, RashbamEsther 2:6Esther 10:3About R. Shemuel b. Meir, Ibn EzraEsther Version A 2:9Esther Version A 10:3Esther Version B 2:5Esther Version B 2:11Esther Version B 3:4About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, Eshkol HaKoferEsther 2:5-8Esther 2:21Esther 3:4Esther 10:3About R. Avraham Saba

What type of leader? Seder Olam Rabbah asserts that Mordechai was a prophet,¹ while the Bavli and many in its wake² say Mordechai was one of the Sanhedrin.  According to these sources he was actively involved in leading the nation in a Torah lifestyle.  Thus, Esther Rabbah presents him as warning the nation not to join Achashverosh's party and its accompanying promiscuity and has him teaching Torah to both adults and children.

Keeping Mitzvot – According to all these commentators, Mordechai was a fully observant Jew.  R"A Saba notes how virtuous this makes Mordechai considering that he was both in exile and a servant in the king's court, two conditions which would have made many leave their faith.³ Though there is no explicit evidence of this in the Megillah, these sources point to a variety of commandments that Mordechai was involved in including learning Torah,⁴ not bowing to idolatry,⁵ keeping kosher,⁶ and praying.⁷

"אִישׁ יְהוּדִי"

• Many of these commentators suggest that this extra title is intended to highlight that Mordechai's Judaism was one of his defining characteristics. Thus, R. Saba asserts that it shows how he managed to be a Jew in all he did, despite the potential negative influences from the palace and Shushan.⁸
• Others suggest a play on words with Esther Rabbah claiming that Mordechai  "ייחד שם ה'" and the First Targum suggesting that he was always "מודה ומצלי קדם אלהא", thanking  and praying to Hashem.

Why conceal Esther's religious identity? According to this approach, the secret was meant to aid Esther in her Torah observance⁹:

• Rashi asserts that Mordechai thought that hiding Esther's identity would reduce her chances of becoming queen¹⁰ and thus avoid the difficulties that palace life would place on maintaining a Jewish lifestyle. 
• According to Ibn Ezra, Mordechai felt that Esther would be better able to keep Hashem's commandments if her Judaism was not known.¹¹

"וּמׇרְדֳּכַי יֹשֵׁב בְּשַׁעַר הַמֶּלֶךְ" – R. Saba¹² raises a possible criticism of Mordechai for "sitting at the king's gate" rather than involving himself in Torah.¹³  He defends the decision by pointing out that the verse purposefully adds, "בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם" to suggest that this was only during a specific time period, when the nation was in potential danger. Mordechai only refrained form Torah study because the thought that his positioning might save the nation.

Mordechai's refusal to bow – This approach asserts that Mordechai's action was motivated by a desire to avoid violating a religious prohibition.

• Idolatry – Most claim that Haman had either proclaimed himself a deity¹⁴ or worn an idol on his clothing.¹⁵
• Bowing to a human – On the other hand, R. Yosef Kara says there is a religious prohibition to bow down to an human, unconnected to worship of idolatry.¹⁶

"וַיִּזְעַק זְעָקָה גְדוֹלָה וּמָרָה"

Mordechai's name

Religious identity of the whole nation

Absence of Hashem in the Megillah

"וְרָצוּי לְרֹב אֶחָיו" – Bavli Megillah 16b¹⁷ explains that Mordechai wasn't acceptable to all his brethren rather to only some, because some of the Sanhedrin withdrew from him once he became second in command and stopped learning.  R"Y Kara says people were angry at Mordechai that he didn't bow to Haman and caused them to be sentenced to death, and Ibn Ezra suggests similarly that it is impossible for someone to please everybody.  Finally, Rashbam understands that the verse refers to all his brethren.

Simple Jew (עם הארץ)

Sources:R. Y"S ReggioEsther pp. 6-10Esther pp. 15-16About R. Yitzchak Shemuel Reggio

Keeping Mitzvot

"אִישׁ יְהוּדִי"

Why conceal Esther's religious identity?

"וּמׇרְדֳּכַי יֹשֵׁב בְּשַׁעַר הַמֶּלֶךְ"

Mordechai's refusal to bow – R. Reggio suggests that Mordechai mistakenly assumed that one may not bow to a human and that he endangered the entire nation due to his erroneous piety.

"וַיִּזְעַק זְעָקָה גְדוֹלָה וּמָרָה"

Mordechai's name

Religious identity of the whole nation

Absence of Hashem in the Megillah

"וְרָצוּי לְרֹב אֶחָיו"

Assimilated Persian

Sources:R. Yaacov Medan¹⁸

Keeping Mitzvot

"אִישׁ יְהוּדִי"

Why conceal Esther's religious identity?

"וּמׇרְדֳּכַי יֹשֵׁב בְּשַׁעַר הַמֶּלֶךְ"

Mordechai's refusal to bow

"וַיִּזְעַק זְעָקָה גְדוֹלָה וּמָרָה"

Mordechai's name

Religious identity of the whole nation

Absence of Hashem in the Megillah

"וְרָצוּי לְרֹב אֶחָיו"

¹ Cf. Bavli Megillah 15a.  See also the Septuagint and Esther Rabbah 8:5 who present Mordechai as having a prophetic dream about two dragons coming to destroy a small nation who in the end is saved.

² See, for example, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Rashi, R"Y Kara, Rashbam, and R. Saba.

³ He even notes that Mordechai might have been exempt from keeping the commandments since he had a status similar to that of a slave.
B. Walfish in his book, Esther in Medieval Garb, (New York, 1993): 174-177, suggests that R. Saba's words might be an implicit critique of his contemporaries who compromised their beliefs and practices to advance their careers in the king's court. He points them to Mordechai who managed to maintain his piety and nonetheless succeed in public office.

⁴ See Esther Rabbah 6:2 and 8:7.

⁵ See the point below about Mordechai's refusal to bow.

⁶ R. Saba suggests that Mordechai was upset that the people had eaten at Achashevrosh's party.

⁷ See Septuagint, Second Targum 4:1, Esther Rabbah 8:7, and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer.

⁸ See also the second Targum who asserts that it aludes to Mordechai's sanctifying Hashem's name or Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer who points to his learning of Torah.

⁹ For a full spectrum of approaches to this issue, see Why Conceal Esther's Nationality?

¹⁰ He assumes that Esther was of royal lineage, being a descendant of Shaul, and wanted to hide this fact from the king.

¹¹ Ibn Ezra assumes that if her religion were known the king would have actively forced Esther to transgress commandments, but if no one knew, they might not notice if she observed commandments in secret.

¹² Cf. Bavli Megillah 16b and Rashi who say similarly, but with regards to Mordechai's appointment to second in command.

¹³ The Bavli suggests that when the Megillah ends by saying that Mordechai was "desired by most of his brethren" this implies that some of his fellow members of the Sanhedrin were upset at this decision. See point below for other understandings of the verse.

¹⁴ See Bavli and Rashi.

¹⁵ See Esther Rabbah, Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer,  Ibn Ezra and R. Saba.

¹⁶ For a full discussion of Mordechai's refusal see Mordechai's Refusal to Bow.

¹⁷ Followed by Rashi.

¹⁸ See his article, "‏ומרדכי לא יכרע ולא ישתחוה" – מדוע?‏", in הדסה היא אסתר, (Jerusalem, 1997): 151-171.