나훔 2:11 미드라쉬: Aggadat Bereshit & Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer

[3] Another interpretation: "And there was one man. The verse states (Isaiah 55:8), 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.' The attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, are not like the attributes of flesh and blood. A mortal king does not wield his scepter himself, nor does he ride his horse himself. He is not called Augustus like Caesar. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so. His eye is not evil toward His creatures. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'I have a scepter. When will Moses come and use it?' As it is stated (Exodus 4:20), 'And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.' His horse is a storm, as it is written (Nahum 1:3), 'The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm.' Elijah will come and ride upon it, as it is stated (2 Kings 2:11), 'And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.' My throne, as it is stated (1 Chronicles 29:23), 'Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king.' My name, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:4), 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.' Eleazar the righteous will come and call out in it, 'And there was one man.' And so he cried out, 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.'" (Isaiah 55:8).

Rabbi José said: Haman was an astrologer, and he wrote letters on slips, and cast lots by the constellations to know the distinction between one day and another, and between one month and another, and between one constellation and another, as it is said, "They cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month" (Esth. 3:7). He wrote and sent throughout all the provinces to destroy and to slay and to exterminate all the Jews on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, on the third day in the constellation Leo. Mordecai heard (thereof), and rent his garments, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and he went forth into the midst of the city, as it is said, "And Mordecai knew all that was done" (Esth. 4:1); and he cried before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: Sovereign of all the worlds ! Thou didst swear to our fore-fathers to multiply their seed like the stars of the heaven, and now hast Thou given them like sheep to the slaughter. "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel… to whom thou swarest… I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven" (Ex. 32:13). Esther heard (thereof), and her strength failed, as it is said, "And the queen was exceedingly enfeebled" (Esth. 4:4). She sent and called for Hathach, the trusty (servant) of her household, to know what had been done to Mordecai. Hathach went forth to Mordecai, who told him the words. (Hathach) went in and told Esther. Haman saw Hathach coming and returning, and he slew him, and Esther did not find another man faithful enough to send to Mordecai. She said that it was her || desire to return answer to Mordecai. She said to him, "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days" (Esth. 4:16). These (days) were the thirteenth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth of Nisan. Mordecai said to her: Is not the third day (of the fast) the day of Passover? She said to him: Thou art the elder in Israel. If there be no Israel, wherefore is the Passover? Mordecai hearkened to her words, and he agreed with her. "So Mordecai transgressed" (Esth. 4:17). What is the meaning of the expression, "So he transgressed"? That he transgressed the festivals and Sabbaths. On the third day (of the fast) Esther put on the royal apparel, and sent and invited the king and Haman to the banquet which she had prepared on the fifteenth of Nisan. When they had eaten and drunk, Haman said: The king exalts me, and his wife aggrandizes me, and there is none greater than I am in all the kingdoms; and Haman rejoiced very much in his heart, as it is said, "Then went Haman forth that day, joyful and glad of heart" (Esth. 5:9).