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MARCH 17, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Delving into the Daf
Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, on Megillas Esther By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow
H
aRav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, typically answers questions in a short, concise fashion. HaRav Zev Aryeh Steiglitz, shlita, had the opportunity to ask him many questions about Megillas Esther. Below is an adaptation in English of a selection of the questions and answers HaRav Steiglitz recorded. Please attribute any errors to the English adaptation. Q. Chazal tell us that Yishmael’s sins were forgiven on the day he married Machalas. Were Achashveirosh’s sins forgiven on the day he married Esther? A. No. They say regarding Achashveirosh, “May his memory be blotted out.” Q. The Medrshas states that “they did not allow” Achashveirosh
to sit on Shlomo’s throne. Who didn’t allow him? Wasn’t he the king? The throne became animated and prevented him. Q. The Gemara (Megilla 12a) states that Achashveirosh wore the bigdei kehuna. Rashi comments that he wore the garments of the Kohen Gadol. How did he know this? A. The garments of a regular kohen aren’t exceptional. Presumably, Achashveirosh wanted to honor himself with the choicest clothing of the kohanim. Q. Chazal tell us that Achashveirosh was punished for using utensils of the Beis Hamikdash at his party. Why wasn’t Achashveirosh punished for wearing the
sacred garments of the kohanim? A. The punishment he received was for this as well. Q. Why doesn’t the Megillah mention that there were musical instruments at the party? A. The Megillah did not give an exhaustive list of all the details of the party. Presumably, there was music at the party. Q. The Gemara (ibid.) states that Mordechai worked at Achashveirosh’s party. Wasn’t this misleading? Wouldn’t other Jews attend because they saw him attending? A. No. He already warned them not to attend. Q. Rav Chaim explained elsewhere that Mordechai attended
the party to watch the wine that Jews drank. However, the prohibition of Stam Yayin wasn’t instituted until much later in history. A. Meticulous Jews kept the law anyway even before it was officially enacted. Q. Why is Vashti sometimes referred to in the Megillah as “Queen Vashti” and other times as “Vashti the Queen”? A. Sometimes she was honored because of who she herself was, and sometimes she was honored due to her current royal position. Q. Can one use the horn that grew on Vashti’s head to fulfill the mitzvah of Tekias Shofar? A. The Gemara does not say that she grew a horn, only a tail. In any event, it would be invalid for the
