בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם וּמָרְדֳּכַ֖י יֹשֵׁ֣ב בְּשַֽׁעַר־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ קָצַף֩ בִּגְתָ֨ן וָתֶ֜רֶשׁ שְׁנֵֽי־סָרִיסֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ מִשֹּׁמְרֵ֣י הַסַּ֔ף וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙ לִשְׁלֹ֣חַ יָ֔ד בַּמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵֽרֹשׁ׃
אין יענע טעג, װען מרדכי איז געזעסן אין טױער פֿון מלך, האָט געצערנט בגתָן און תֶּרֶש, צװײ קאַמערדינער פֿון מלך, פֿון די שװעלהיטער, און זײ האָבן געװאָלט אױסשטרעקן אַ האַנט אױפֿן מלך אַחַשוֵרוֹש.
Kli Yakar
This resolves what they interpreted (Vayikra Rabbah 13:5) “the camel [gamal] — this is Babylon,” as it says (Psalms 137:8) Daughter of Babylon, the despoiled one, who repays you the recompense that you dealt [gamalta] to us. “And the hyrax — this is Media,” because it chews its cud — it raises righteous people, as it says (Esther 2:21) And Mordechai sat at the king’s gate. “The hare — this is Greece,” because it chews its cud. Alexander, when he saw Shimon HaTzaddik, stood on his feet and blessed him, etc. (see Yoma 69a). “The pig — this is Edom,” which has a split hoof — shows itself as kosher, but does not chew its cud — it does not raise righteous people but rather kills them, etc.
One must wonder about this midrash — what reason did it have to remove all these verses from their literal meaning? Rather, certainly its intention was to explain the four instances of the word because [ki] that the Torah mentions, where it makes the sign of purity into a reason for impurity. Undoubtedly, the verse’s intention is to allude to the nature of hypocrites, whose sign of purity adds to their impurity. This interpretation cannot be applied to animals at all, but only to humans. Therefore, the meaning is that whoever eats from these animals absorbs their nature, as the consumed food transforms into the nature of the consumer.
It brings evidence from the well-known fact that all four of these kingdoms, which eat from these four species, all absorbed their natures — they present themselves as kosher, as if their intention is to benefit Israel, but their inner nature is evil and bitter, as all their thoughts are only evil all day long. And Israel was not cautious around them, seeing that they raised some righteous people, but in truth they did so only for their own benefit, while inwardly they were enemies of Israel.
One must wonder about this midrash — what reason did it have to remove all these verses from their literal meaning? Rather, certainly its intention was to explain the four instances of the word because [ki] that the Torah mentions, where it makes the sign of purity into a reason for impurity. Undoubtedly, the verse’s intention is to allude to the nature of hypocrites, whose sign of purity adds to their impurity. This interpretation cannot be applied to animals at all, but only to humans. Therefore, the meaning is that whoever eats from these animals absorbs their nature, as the consumed food transforms into the nature of the consumer.
It brings evidence from the well-known fact that all four of these kingdoms, which eat from these four species, all absorbed their natures — they present themselves as kosher, as if their intention is to benefit Israel, but their inner nature is evil and bitter, as all their thoughts are only evil all day long. And Israel was not cautious around them, seeing that they raised some righteous people, but in truth they did so only for their own benefit, while inwardly they were enemies of Israel.
Rashbam
בסף, a small basin. The word occurs again in Kings II 12,14 as ספות כסף, “silver bowls.” It occurs also in Esther 2,21 as שומרי הסף where its meaning is less clear, more likely meaning ”threshold.”
Ibn Ezra
[Daniel 2:49] v'Daniel bitraʿ malka (וְדָנִיֵּאל בִּתְרַע מַלְכָּא - And Daniel was at the king’s court [lit. gate]): For this is a great status (maʿalah gedolah - מַעֲלָה גְדוֹלָה), because there sat the judges (ha-dayyanin - הַדַּיָּנִין) and the magistrates (v'ha-shoftim - וְהַשֹּׁפְטִים). And likewise: “and Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate” [Esther 2:19, Esther 2:21; Esther 5:9, Esther 5:13; Esther 6:10, Esther 6:12], as I explained in [my commentary on] the Scroll of Esther.