11 Mar PURIM: REVERSE INHERITANCE

Tradition teaches
that Mordechai was
a descendant of King
Shaul, who lived
centuries earlier and
was the first king of Beneh Yisrael. As
we read in Sefer Shemuel I (15), King
Shaul had the kingship taken from him
and his family because he disobeyed
G-d’s command with regard to the
nation of Amalek. The prophet, Shemuel,
conveyed to Shaul G-d’s command that
he lead a battle against the evil nation of
Amalek, leaving no member of Amalek
alive. Shaul mobilized an army and went
out to war, but, violating the prophet’s
instructions, the soldiers brought back
Amalek’s cattle as spoils of war, and they
also brought back the king of Amalek,
Aggag, as a captive of war. For disobeying
G-d’s command, Shaul forfeited the right
to the kingship, and it was transferred to
Dovid.
Rav Moshe Alshich (1508-1593)
comments that Mordechai, Shaul’s
descendant, achieved a “Tikkun”
(“rectification”) of his ancestor’s mistake
by leading the Jews to victory over

Aggag’s descendant – Haman, and his
followers. By waging this battle, and
killing the Jews’ foes, Mordechai rectified
the mistake made by Shaul. This explains
why, as the Megilla emphasizes on
several occasions, the Jews did not take
any spoils after defeating their enemies
– “U’ba’biza Lo Shalehu Et Yadam.” As
this battle served to correct the mistake
made by Shaul, they abstained from the
spoils – to atone for Beneh Yisrael’s
having taken spoils after their battle
against Amalek led by King Shaul.
Indeed, the first letters of the words
“U’ba’biza Lo Shalehu Et” are the letters
that form the name “Shaul,” alluding to
the fact that it was because of Shaul that
the Jews abstained from the spoils.
This is also the reason why Mordechai
was appointed second-in-command of the
Persian Empire after Haman’s downfall.
Shaul forfeited rights to the kingship for
failing to eradicate Amalek, and so once
Mordechai rectified this mistake, royalty
could now return to Shaul’s family.
After the sin of the golden calf, in
response to Moshe’s pleas on behalf of
Beneh Yisrael, G-d pronounced what

is known as the “thirteen attributes of
mercy.” In this context, G-d said also that
He is “Poked Avon Abot Al Banim Ve’al
Beneh Banim” – that G-d remembers a
person’s sins for future generations, with
regard to his descendants. At first glance,
this hardly sounds like an attribute
of mercy. How is it merciful that G-d
punishes people for their ancestors’ sins?
The explanation is that G-d allows us
the opportunity to have our sins atoned
through the good deeds performed by
our descendants. When a person leaves
this world, it appears as though he no
longer has any possibility of atoning for
the wrongs he had committed during
his lifetime. But this is not true. G-d,
in His infinite mercy, allows these
sins to be rectified through the Misvot
performed by the deceased’s children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and
all future generations. This is, indeed, a
remarkable attribute of kindness.
We might call this process “reverse
inheritance.” Normally, we think of a
deceased parent as bequeathing assets to
his offspring. But in truth, the offspring
also “bequeath” to the deceased. The

Misvot they perform are “deposited”
into the deceased’s heavenly “account,”
enabling him to avoid punishment and
earn reward, even many years after he
departed from this world.
By working to raise our children along
the path of Torah and Misvot, we prepare
them and all their future offspring for a
life of religious devotion, and also lay the
groundwork for our own “Tikkun,” our
own atonement, for all eternity.