What impels him to publicly disobey Haman’s orders and provoke and insult him? And did he have halachic and moral justification to so endanger the Jewish community by his behavior? There is opinion in the Talmud that showing homage to Haman was not necessarily forbidden by Jewish law. And Mordecai had other practical options such as hiding and not appearing publicly when Haman appeared.

 

Yet Mordecai emerges in Jewish history and tradition as a hero and an exemplary role model for his courageous defiance of Haman. He is viewed as being the one whose behavior saved the Jewish people and not as one whose behavior was an endangerment. Rarely do we find potentially foolhardy and bravado behavior universally judged as being heroic, necessary and most praiseworthy.

 

We do find him being mildly criticized by some of his colleagues on the Sanhedrin for deserting them to enter public governmental life. Yet on the main issue – the central theme of the story of Purim itself – Mordecai is essentially the hero of Purim. The Torah in all of its books gives no one a free pass.  Everyone’s faults and mistakes are referred to and commented upon. Yet Mordecai, in the Book of Esther, appears to us to be without blemish or error.

 

Perhaps the main, practical reason for this is that ultimate success and triumph are sufficient to erase all doubts as to the wisdom of past decisions and behavior. Mordecai’s persistence, fortitude and stubbornness eventually topple Haman (actually hangs him high) and destroys him.  Mordecai’s actions strengthen and enhance the status and position of the Jewish people as a minority in the polyglot Persian Empire.

 

Success always brings its own rewards. Heaven has a vote in all human activities, even if unseen and unrecognized. And there is no doubt that Heaven, so to speak, sided with Mordecai in his public stance against Haman and the idolatry and tyranny that he represented. That is the only possible explanation for the otherwise unbelievable series of events that make up the Purim story.

 

The traditional view of Purim is that it was a miraculous event, even though the miracles were hidden, incremental and cumulative and not of the purely supernatural kind, as those of the Exodus from Egypt. And, Mordecai’s behavior is part of this hidden miraculous story. Heaven apparently responds favorably to sincere acts of courage and loyalty. And those were the qualities that Mordecai exhibited throughout the Purim story.

 

Mordecai’s behavior was perhaps inscrutable and not understandable to the average onlooker. But, so was and apparently is Heaven’s reaction and behavior to his actions.

 

There is an interesting and highly volatile concept in Jewish tradition that countenances behavior which somehow contradicts accepted halachic practice. Based upon the verse that appears in Psalms: “It is a time to take action for the sake of God; they have violated Your Torah.” The Talmud allowed for a reinterpretation of the verse to state: “When it is time to act for the sake of God and save the Torah and Israel then in such extreme circumstances, the Torah itself can apparently be violated.”

 

This rare exception to traditional norms was invoked by Mattisyahu in rebelling against the Syrian Greek oppressors and their Jewish Hellenist allies. Based on this principle, the great Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi allowed the Oral Law to be written down and disseminated as a book though the Torah itself counseled that the Oral Law should forever remain in its oral state.

 

However, this concept is very dangerous in its application, as all of Jewish history has shown us. Those who consistently violate or ignore halacha and tradition doom themselves to eventual assimilation and extinction. In all instances in Jewish history there have been very few times when this principle has actually been used.

 

Only rare and holy people have successfully behaved in such circumstances and I believe that Mordecai must be counted in that group.  Mordecai saw that it was a time to do something for God, to save the Jewish people and to alter the course of history. As pointed out above, Heaven agreed with his decision and hence our joy in commemorating the Purim holiday.

 

Shabbat shalom