The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand. [Note - this week, Rabbi Frand said both parsha and megilla vorts. I have chosen to reproduce the Megillah vort in this post].
The last pasuk of Megillas Esther (10:3) begins with the word "Ki" which is generally translated as "because." The pasuk states that "Because Mordechai the Jew was an assistant to King Ahasverus, he was a great man to the Jews and was accepted by most of his brothers, he sought good things for his people and was concerned for all of their offspring."
R' Frand quoted the sefer Manos Levi (written by R' Shlomo Alkabetz and distributed by him with his shalach manos) who asked why was this the final pasuk of the megillah? Additionally, why does the pasuk begin with the word "ki" which is the answer to a question - what was the question that it is answering?
R' Frand then said that he had seen (but could not remember where) a pshat that the Jews logically should not have accepted Mordechai and followed his counsel to fast and daven for Esther. After all, Mordechai was the reason that the Jews found themselves as targets of the king's decree, since Mordechai's refual to bow down to Haman was the impetus for the decree. So why did the Jews follow Mordechai at all?
R' Frand answered this last question by borrowing from chumash. He quoted a vort in the name of the Ponovitzher Rav in relation to Yaakov and his interaction with the shepherds at the well, prior to his meeting Rachel (Bereishis 29:1-8). The Torah details that Yaakov essentially said to the shepherds - why are you bringing the sheep in now, its not the end of the day. Rabbi Frand then stopped and said to the audience - you try going to a construction site or road project and ask the workers why they are all standing around the hole. Still, the shepherds did not react negatively to Yaakov. Why? Because he used the language "Achai" - "my brothers." Yaakov was able to demonstrate to the shepherds through the conversation that he genuinely cared about them and their well being.
Similarly, Mordechai was able to interact with the Jews of Paras and Madai and convince them to follow him in fast and prayer because he demonstrated that he genuinely cared about them. It is for this reason that the Megillah uses the language "because" to start the last pasuk and it is for the same reason that the pasuk contains vivid descriptions of how Mordechai was accepted by his brothers ("Echav") because he was genuinely concerned about them. How was the Purim miracle accomplished? Because Mordechai caused the Jews to come together and fast and daven to Hashem. As a result, Hashem put into play the miracle which saved the Jews of Paras and Madai.
It is my hope that our fast and prayers next week can accomplish the same form of achdus and caring for one and other so that we can hasten the ultimate redemption.
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