The Medrash
explains to us that Achashverosh merited ruling over 127 states because
HASHEM saw that he was to marry Esther, who was from the lineage of Sarah
Imenu. Since Sarah lived 127 years, it was proper that someone from her
lineage should rule over 127 countries.
The most coveted of positions
Throughout the ages, the most coveted of positions are those of power and
glory. Soldiers have risked life and limb; rulers have risked fame and
fortune, all for a bit of honor. In the history of mankind, few individuals
merited the type of status and position that Esther did, queen over the
greatest empire in her time. Whether she wanted the position or not, she
enjoyed fantastic honor and accord.
The
Medrash is telling us that the reason that Esther merited this prestige had
nothing to do with her. It was because she was from Sarah Imenu’s lineage.
Since Sarah lived 127 perfect years, it was only appropriate that one of her
descendants should rule over most of the earth. Esther enjoyed the greatest
respect of mankind because she was born into the family of Sarah.
This
Medrash becomes difficult to understand when we take into account its
ramifications. First off, Esther lived more than 900 years after Sarah. And
secondly, the fact that Sarah lived 127 years doesn’t seem that relevant to
charting the course of world events. There was much that she accomplished
during her life, there were many milestones that she reached, but the fact
that she lived to be 127 doesn’t seem of any great significance. In short,
what relevance does Sarah’s living 127 years have to Esther’s ruling over
127 countries?
How HASHEM views the world?
The
answer seems to be based on the value system with which HASHEM judges the
world. There is nothing that HASHEM lacks, and therefore there is nothing
that man can give to HASHEM. HASHEM created the world for one purpose: to
give to man. When man follows the system laid out in the Torah, he reaches
perfection and is able to receive his reward in the World to Come. The
ultimate good is realized when man leaves this earth. The state of
perfection that he acquires here, he is able to enjoy for in the World to
Come.
HASHEM
is the ultimate Giver. HASHEM created the entire cosmos to give of His good
to man. As this is the reason that HASHEM created all of matter and
physicality, the accomplishments of man have greater value to HASHEM than
anything else. The only thing in this world that gives nachas to HASHEM is a
person’s Maasim Tovim.
Therefore, HASHEM greatly values the actions of the Tzaddikim. They have
merit and importance in front of HASHEM, as they use this world for its
intended purpose, and for them alone, HASHEM created this world. In the
history of mankind, there has not been a woman like Sarah; she lived 127
perfect years. It was almost as though HASHEM were saying, “I want to pay
tribute to this great woman.” To do this, HASHEM, if it could be, was
looking for something that would be an appropriate recognition for those
perfect 127 years. If someone from her lineage were to rule over 127 states,
that would be a type of monument. Of course, that isn’t a direct
correlation, and certainly not a payment, but on some level it is a tribute
to the woman.
If it
could be, HASHEM was waiting for centuries to pay honor to Sarah, and it
wasn’t until Esther came along that this came to fruition. Esther became
Empress of the World, not because of anything that she did, nor because of
her own merit, but strictly because she was a descendent of Sarah.
We are all the children of Avos
This
concept has great relevance to us because we too are children of Avrohom,
Yitzchak, and Yaakov. We have their merit working for us. There may be times
that we question whether we are worthy of the things we ask for. “Do I have
the right to ask HASHEM for my needs? Do I deserve that HASHEM should change
around this situation just because of me? Do I merit that HASHEM should even
listen to me?”
This
thinking might be correct. It might well be that based on who I am and what
I have done, I am not worthy. It might in fact be true that it is not fit
for me to ask, let alone to expect, that HASHEM will change things for me.
Yet Chazal tell us that we should ask, and we have the right to ask, not in
our own merit but in the merit of the Avos and Imahos who came before us.
When
Chazal crafted the Shmoneh Esreh, it was with this understanding. We begin
our entire request to HASHEM by mentioning the merit of Avrohom, Yitzchak,
and Yaakov. This was instituted as a manner of invoking their merit so that
when we ask HASHEM, we begin by saying it isn’t in our merit that we ask,
but in the merit of our fathers.
When I daven
What
this means in plain language is that I have the right to ask for whatever I
need, knowing that I have a reason to expect HASHEM to listen. I am the
child of the Avos. Like the son of an old and trusted friend who appears in
front of the king, I turn to HASHEM and make my requests. And my requests
may well be granted and great blessing may come my way, not because of
anything that I have done, nor because of any merit that I have, but simply
because I am of the lineage of Avrohom and Sarah. It is that Yichus, that
great lineage, that we rely on when we stand in front of HASHEM.
For more on this topic please listen to Shmuz
#25 - Purim – They
Don’t Make Anti-Semites Like they used to
