1. The Communication Crisis and the Need for Trust
The lecture opens by describing the disconnect between Queen Esther (isolated inside the royal palace) and Mordechai (mourning out in the city square). Esther’s initial attempt to contact Mordechai using anonymous maids and chamberlains fails; Mordechai refuses to accept the clothes she sends or explain the reason for his mourning, likely because he does not trust these anonymous messengers with a matter of life and death. Realizing the need for a highly trusted intermediary, Esther turns to "Hasach," a specific senior chamberlain appointed by the king to attend to her.
2. The True Identity of Hasach
According to the Talmud (Tractate Megillah), Hasach is actually the biblical prophet Daniel. The Sages debate the etymological meaning of the name "Hasach" (התך), which shares a root with the Hebrew word for "cut":
Rav's View: It means he was "cut down" (demoted) from his former greatness. According to tradition, Daniel was punished with a demotion because he previously advised the wicked King Nebuchadnezzar to give charity to avoid divine punishment.
Shmuel's View: It means that all royal matters were "cut" (decided) by his word. Despite being under foreign rule, he retained immense power and influence in the kingdom.
3. The Textual Mystery: The Disappearance of Hatach
The lecture highlights a striking textual anomaly. Hatach successfully relays the initial messages, discovering Haman's plot and bringing a copy of the decree to Esther. However, when Esther sends her response back to Mordechai, the text suddenly shifts to the plural (Esther 4:12): "And they told Mordechai Esther's words," rather than stating that Hatach told him. From this moment on, Hasach completely disappears from the Megillah, and Esther's subsequent messages are sent through other, unnamed people.
4. Resolving the Mystery: Where did Hasach go?
The class presents several major commentaries to explain this sudden shift to the plural and Hatach's disappearance:
Assassination by Haman (Midrash / Targum / Tosafot): Haman noticed Hasach acting as a liaison between Esther and Mordechai. Recognizing the threat this posed to his plot, Haman intercepted and killed Hasach. Consequently, the message had to be delivered by others, hence the plural "they told."
Espionage and Tactical Secrecy: The Persian court was a dangerous place, filled with Haman's spies. Sending a high-profile figure like Hasach back and forth repeatedly would have drawn fatal suspicion. Therefore, Hasach acted clandestinely. He went into the city, blended into the crowd, and used intermediaries to pass the message to Mordechai (hence "they told"). Esther also intentionally switched messengers to cover her tracks and maintain operational secrecy.
Divine Intervention (Ruach HaKodesh): Some commentators suggest the plural implies that the Divine Presence (the Holy Spirit) was involved in conveying the message alongside the human messengers, emphasizing that the salvation was being orchestrated from Heaven.
Conclusion:
The lecture demonstrates how a subtle grammatical shift in the Megillah (from singular to plural) uncovers a hidden, intense drama of political intrigue, espionage, life-threatening danger, and the self-sacrifice of individuals (like Daniel/Hasach) operating behind the scenes of the royal court to save the Jewish people.
