[Avodah] In defense of Haman -- NOT Purim Torah

[Micha Berger]

So the following line of thought his me this morning, and it makes me
wonder about exactly how much of a rasha Haman haRasha was.

What if:

There is a nation out there that almost a millennium prior took an oath
to wipe your nation.

About 500 years ago they nearly succeeded in doing it.

Your nation has been on the verge of extinction for the past 150 years
by a forced assimilation program imposed by a conquering empire.

You reach a position of power, but one of thsoe guys sworn to genocide
your entire people refuses to show you the respect your office commands.

You had enough. "They want us-vs-them? I got power, no problem!"

So, okay, Haman was indeed a rasha. But he wasn't simply attempting to
exterminate an entire nation -- he was attempting to exterminate an
entire nation that was out to exterminate his own people.

And yet Chazal portray him as some unfathomable monster. "Harasha"
puts him in a pretty select group.



(All of the above assuming "haAgagi" is a genetic statement, and not
describing his ideology. As a follower of Agagi ideology, the whole
thing would explain both his being a rasha, and give him more personal
blame for picking on the Jews.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
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