Commentary for Esther 3:4
וַיְהִ֗י באמרם [כְּאָמְרָ֤ם] אֵלָיו֙ י֣וֹם וָי֔וֹם וְלֹ֥א שָׁמַ֖ע אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וַיַּגִּ֣ידוּ לְהָמָ֗ן לִרְאוֹת֙ הֲיַֽעַמְדוּ֙ דִּבְרֵ֣י מָרְדֳּכַ֔י כִּֽי־הִגִּ֥יד לָהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־ה֥וּא יְהוּדִֽי׃
Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.
Rashi on Esther
If Mordechai’s avowal would be sustained. Who said that he would never prostrate himself because he is a Jew, and was admonished against idolatry.3Esther Rabbah 7:8. When his servants told him that Mordechai refused to kneel, Haman remarked that Mordechai’s ancestors, Yaakov, Rachel and their children had prostrated themselves before Eisav, Haman’s ancestor. Upon hearing Haman’s remark, Mordechai replied that he was a descendant of Binyamin, who was born after Yaakov’s meeting with Eisav, and who had thus never prostrated himself before Eisav. Alternatively, היעמדו דברי מרדכי means “whether Mordechai’s words will avail,” i.e., if his actions were successful they would become a precedent for others to follow.
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