The Mishnah (Megillah 2:3) records an interesting argument as to how much is one obligated to read of the Megillah on Purim. R. Meir says that one must read the entire Megillah, R. Yehuda says that one must read from 2:5 onwards and R. Yossi states that one must read from 3:1 onwards. The Talmud (Megillah 19a) quotes a fourth opinion, R. Shimon bar Yochai that really one must only read from 6:1, “on that night the king could not sleep,” onwards. (The Talmud states that the halakhah is like R. Meir.)
The Talmud quotes two explanations, from R. Yochanon and Rav Huna, for the four different opinions. While R. Yochanon and Rav Huna differ as to the sources for the different opinions, they both agree that R. Shimon bar Yochai’s position is based on the idea that there occurred some miracle relating to 6:1. Yet, the Talmud does not specify what was the miracle.
One possibility is that the miracle was that Achashverosh was unable to sleep. Esther Rabbah (10:1) writes that G-d disturbed Achashverosh’s sleep as G-d caused him to dream of Haman seizing a sword to kill him. Siftei Chachamim (on 6:1) provides a reason why this inability to sleep was considered a miracle. He suggests that people naturally fall asleep after a big banquet, so we would have expected Achashverosh to have slept well after Esther’s first banquet. However, not everybody agree that Achashverosh’s sleeplessness was a miracle. The Talmud (Megillah 15b, quoted by Rashi on 6:1) quotes Rava that Achashverosh was unable to sleep the night between the two banquets since he was worried that Esther and Haman were planning together to overthrow him.
The Malbim (on 6:2) suggests a different possible miracle. He writes that the divine providence was the timing of the events that on that particular night between the two banquets Achashverosh happened to learn of Mordechai’s loyalty and this occurred just when Haman came to ask him for permission to hang Mordechai. (Note, the Alshich writes that Haman came at night, but it seems that Haman came to Achashverosh first thing in the morning, and that Achashverosh had learned about Mordechai at the very end of the night.)
One could also combine these two possibilities, and claim that the miracle was both Achashverosh’s sleeplessness and the ensuing events of the night. Yet, what was the importance of Achashverosh’s sleeplessness and the ensuing events of the night?
Rav Soloveitchik (1973) explains that 6:1 is the turning point of the Megillah since it led Achashverosh to suspect Haman due to Haman’s mention of wearing the royal garb, horse, and crown, (6:8) and/ or his failure to reward Mordechai. Thus, “on the next day when Esther charged Haman with treason, the king willingly accepted the accusation,” and Haman’s fate was sealed when Achashverosh’s suspicion was raised even further when he saw Haman on Esther’s couch.
Yet, it is not clear if Haman’s fate was really sealed when Achashverosh saw Haman with Esther. Maybe he still could have bribed or talked his way out of the accusation. Instead, his fate was definitely sealed when Charbona reminded Achashverosh that Haman wanted to hang Mordechai, 7:9, and this is one explanation why we say Charbona of blessed memory on Purim (see Zlotowitz, 1976, on 7:9). Due to this possibility, Sasson (1987, pp. 340,341) adds another element to the importance of Achashverosh’s inability to sleep. He writes, “By itself, Esther’s accusation might have led the king to investigate the matter as he did earlier in similar circumstances (2:23). The king himself might not have decided to hang Haman if he had not recently remembered Mordechai’s loyalty. With Charbona’s revelation, right after Haman’s clumsy lurch at the queen, that Haman had prepared a hanging for Mordechai, the evidence for a conspiracy fully crystallized in the king’s mind.” Sasson also suggests that because Haman had to honor Mordechai he was so shaken that he was not able to “react coolly to Esther’s accusation.”
Accordingly, Achashverosh’s inability to sleep was crucial to the narrative since his lack of sleep caused Achashverosh to accept Esther’s accusation of Haman.
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