But Mordechai, the leading sage at the time, had forbidden the Jews to go. The kashrus was never in question, as there were no concerns about the acceptability of the food and drink that was served (Esther 1:8). Still, Mordechai was concerned over potential lewdness at the feast and the unhealthy sociability their involvement would engender.
Further, it soon became clear that the king’s primary objective was to celebrate the non-fulfillment of Daniel’s “seventy year” redemption prophecy and he even utilized the vessels of the Beis HaMikdash as part of the festivities (Megillah 11b).
According to Esther Rabbah (7:13), the Jews of Persia were threatened with extermination “because they partook of the feast of Achashveirosh.”
The attendees seemed not to have been bothered by their decision. If anything, the situation was further enhanced when Vashti was removed from the throne and a young Jew, Esther, was selected to replace her. Try to imagine how they must have felt at that moment. They were just shown the highest royal honors at the banquet and now one of their daughters would represent them in the palace. Mordechai must have been wrong after all.
But just as things seemed to be looking up, the Jews’ fortunes were sharply reversed. After promoting Haman to chief minister, Achashveirosh gladly removed his signet ring in exchange for a sizable fortune. The two men drank to their hearts’ content while “the city of Shushan was bewildered.”
We see more evidence of uncertainty elsewhere – for example, with the strong disagreement among the Jews about how to deal with Haman. The people as a whole chose to demonstrate respect by prostrating every time they crossed paths with the egotistical minister. Understandably, the people were enraged with Mordechai’s refusal to pay him any obeisance.
Such turmoil was felt on a personal level on both sides of the struggle. Achashveirosh, for one, repeatedly demonstrated confusion. His interactions with Vashti, Memuchan, Haman, and others demonstrate foolhardy, ineffective leadership.
Haman’s story is also uneven. His status as royal adviser did not satisfy him when faced with the brazen disregard of Mordechai. His attempts to annihilate his enemy blew up in his face multiple times, first when he was forced to escort the Benjaminite around Shushan and then when he was hanged on the gallows that he had prepared.
Esther’s rise to power is also a bit bumpy. She rises quickly and suddenly, as if without warning. When she is finally given an opportunity to make an impact, she expresses a lack of clarity, balking at the opportunity (at least at first) to step up and save her beleaguered nation (Esther 4:11).
In fact, the only character of significance who seems to avoid confusion and haziness was Mordechai. He was clear from the outset as to what needed to be done to combat the glittery lure of Achashveirosh’s feast and then the existential threat of Haman.
When Esther hesitated, Mordechai responded with one of the most powerful statements in the annals of Jewish history, a jarring declaration that spoke not only to the Jews’ collective peril at the time, but to the capacity of each individual to impact their own future and perhaps even their nation’s:
Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? [Esther 4:13-14]
