א"ר יוחנן משום רבי יוסי בן קסמא גדולה לגימה שהרחיקה שתי משפחות מישראל שנאמר (דברים כג, ה) על דבר אשר לא קדמו אתכם בלחם ובמים ורבי יוחנן דידיה אמר מרחקת את הקרובים ומקרבת את הרחוקים ומעלמת עינים מן הרשעים ומשרה שכינה על נביאי הבעל ושגגתו עולה זדון
And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Zech. X, 11. It is not clear how this applies to Micah. Rashi gives two explanations: (i) When Moses cast the Divine Name into the sea in order to bring up Joseph's coffin, Micah stole and hid it; subsequently, he crossed the Red Sea together with the Israelites, bearing this Divine Name with him, by means of which he was able magically to make the Golden Calf (v. p. 446, nn. 9, 10); the verse is accordingly translated: And he passed over the sea with that which was to be a source of distress; (ii) Micah made his graven image (which he subsequently set up in his private sanctuary) whilst yet in Egypt, and took it with him when Israel crossed the Red Sea. The translation will be similar to the first.
');"><sup>32</sup></span> R. Johanan observed: This refers to Micah's graven image.
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
Esther realised that the Jews were more fragmented than they had ever been in their history, and she considered this a major cause of the disaster facing them. This is why she counteracted Haman by calling for the unification of her people. She was certain that the fragmentation of the Jewish people stemmed from their laxity in religious observance. We are told in the Midrash Esther Rabbah 7,18 that eighteen thousand five hundred Jews of Shushan participated in the feast king Ahasverus gave for the population of Shushan. According to this Midrash, Mordechai had warned the Jews not to attend the feast, and had told them that they had only been invited in order that their free-will participation would be used by Satan as an accusation against them before the Celestial Tribunal. The Jews did not heed Mordechai's warning, however. This demonstrated that whereas the Jews were fragmented in their relations with G–d and the Torah, they were united when seeking rapprochement with their Gentile rulers and neighbours. We know from Sanhedrin 103 that eating and drinking creates separation between those who had been close prior to their feast, whereas it brings together people who had previously been strangers. This is why the sin of the Jews who attended the feast was many times greater than it had been before when they were estranged from G–d without having become particularly close to the Gentiles. The only way to rehabilitate themselves was by means of another meal, the one Esther prepared for Ahasverus and Haman, which aimed at reversing the process of becoming close with the Gentiles. This is why the miracle of Haman being hanged occurred during the meal.
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