Q:
What does it mean when you said the act of putting the king’s ring on Haman’s finger was a benefit for the Jewish nation?
A:
Now we come to the story of one of the greatest benefactors in our history, a man who helped us most, accomplished more than anybody else and that’s our friend, Haman. He’s truly our friend. The Gemara says that Haman accomplished more than all 48 nevi’im. What Haman did for us, nobody could accomplish for us. גדולה הסרת טבעת – how great was that moment when the ring was taken off the king’s finger and was put on the finger of Haman, יותר – was more than the teachings, than the rebukes and the guidance of 48 nevi’im. Because we did a big teshuva because of that.
So now we know why Haman was there. אחרי כן גידל המלך אחשורוש את המן. Why did the melech elevate Haman? Not the melech Achashveirosh. HaMelech Hakodosh Boruch Hu elevated Haman because He wanted to accomplish a tremendous achievement for His people. You have to understand that.
Now, the time that Haman became the mishneh lamelech, it was very difficult for people to think it’s a benefit of the Am Yisroel. The tzorer haYehudim, now he’s wearing the king’s ring and he can stamp any kind of decree that he wants and he’s known as the tzorer haYehudim. What’s worse for us than that? And we fasted for three days and three nights as a result of Haman’s ascendency to power. But now we know the results, that the Am Yisroel gained such a perfection of character as a result, they did such a teshuvah, there was never before or after equal, even at Matan Torah. It was outdone by Haman! וקימו וקיבלו היהודים – it was even a bigger kabolas haTorah.
Of course Haman wasn’t the one who gave us the push. Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave us a push. Only He pushed us with a stick. The stick was Haman.
I’ll tell you. A similar thing happened not too long ago in Persia. Jews lived comfortably in Persia. There was a Shah. There was law and order. It was comfortable. Jews were making a living, some were wealthy. And very many were going lost. They lived in peace. Nobody bothered them and that’s why they were going lost. They didn’t have yeshivos in Iran. They didn’t know anything. They were very ignorant.
So along came a meshugener, Khomeini, alav hashnubbel, and he made a revolution, and the Shah had to run away to save his life. And now the Iranians became very big adversaries of the Jews. Great hatred. And the Jews fled. They understood that from now on, it won’t be safe in Persia. When the Shah was deposed so he fled for his life, and when he fled, Jews began to flee too. Everybody had to run to save his life.
But they saved more than their lives. Because the Jews who fled from Persia, now they had an opportunity to come to the places of Torah which were not present in their previous environment in Iran. They were going lost in Iran. They came to America, some came to Eretz Yisroel and were saved.
The Iranian Jews came to America and now you have Iranian Jews who look like real bnei Torah. Some like chassidim, a big beard with black hats. It would never have happened before. Many talmidei chachamim. Many of them married with frum girls, Iranian girls too, and they have families, frum families. Today there are so many frum Persian boys and girls and they married frum, having children already. They wouldn’t have dreamed of that in Persia. In Iran, they would have been lost. They were lost! It’s mamash a geulah. How did the geulah come? There came Khomeini and he redeemed us from the galus of Iran.
It’s a remarkable story. They have to thank Khomeini! אילו לא היה שם לא היו נגאלים! It’s only because of Khomeini that you have so many frum Iranian boys and girls who are really a credit to our nation. I saw a young man, Iranian. A beard, a black hat, he learns in a kollel. I have derech eretz for him. He told me he’s an Iranian which means a few years ago he was a zero! Iran didn’t have any yeshivas! Today many Iranian couples are raising frum families only as a result of the deposing of the Shah.
And so the whole revolution was only because of us. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s as true as can be. Now you say not all Iranian Jews became good? It was their fault. Opportunity was offered to them and the good ones became good.
And so when Haman came to power that awakened the Am Yisroel to teshuvah. Same thing, Khomeini. It wasn’t them of course. It was Hakadosh Baruch Hu and these two wicked people were His stick. But the result was a salvation for the Jews, a kabolas haTorah.
(June 1990)
