19 Mar PURIM: HAMAN’S OFFER OF SILVER SHEKELS

The Symbolism
of Haman’s Offer
of Silver Shekels
The Megillah
[Esther 3:9] states
that Haman offered to increase the
King’s coffers by 10,000 kikar silver
in exchange for the right to get rid of
the Jews. (Tosfos in Tractate Megillah
[16a] indicates that this was a half
Shekel for every Jewish person.) The
simple analysis of Haman’s offer is
that Haman was afraid that
Achashverosh would object to the
loss of Jewish tax revenue if he killed
them all. To pre-empt that financial
objection, Haman was ready to
sweeten the deal for the King by
making an offer of ten thousand kikar
silver.
On the metaphysical level, however,
the Rabbis tell us that Haman was
trying to negate the merit of the Jews

annual half Shekel contribution to the
Temple’s upkeep. The Gemara
[Megilla 13b] says that since HaShem
knew that Haman would offer Shekels
to Achashverosh to ‘purchase’ the
right to destroy the Jews, HaShem
pre-empted Haman’s contribution
through the half- shekel. The merit of

the Jews contributing the annual half-
shekel protected them (in the future)

against Haman’s evil designs.
I once heard an interpretation of this
Gemarah in the name of the Yismach
Yisrael. Haman’s potential for
destroying the Jewish people was
hinted at in his own description of the
nation: “There is a people that is
dispersed and divided…” [Esther
3:8]. It is only because there is division
and unjustified hatred within the
Jewish nation that their enemies have
the ability to harm them.
When the Jews are divided, they

represent only
individuals — not a
Klal [a communal
entity]. When that
happens we have lost
our strength.
Haman’s whole plot
was based on the
division of the nation.
That is why G-d
insisted that each Jew
should give exactly
one half shekel. The
symbolism of the half shekel is that
each Jew is only a fraction of the
entity. He needs to combine with his
fellow Jew to make a significant
contribution. If we think we can be
‘an entire shekel unto ourselves’, that
is not going to work. Our strength is
through the recognition that we need
each other, and the realization that we
need to set aside our petty differences

to come together to provide a complete
shekel.
This is the strength that ultimately
saved the Jewish people. Because of
the terrible calamity that was hanging
over them as a result of Haman’s
decree, they decided to put away those
‘dispersions and divisions in the
nation’ and came together as a unit
and as a whole.