The Megillah contains a fascinating phrase that’s easily overlooked but proves extremely perplexing once noticed. It states (4:17): “Mordechai went over (vaya’avor) and he did all that Esther had commanded him.”
Where did Mordechai go from, and where did he go to? What is the significance of this relocation?
In Hamikrah v’Hamesorah, Rabbi Reuben Margolies zt”l famously suggests that Mordechai moved from Shushan the Persian capital to Shushan the Jewish city. But this assertion has no basis in the text.
A more compelling interpretation emerges from context. Throughout the fourth chapter, commands fly back and forth between Mordechai and Esther like a tennis ball across the court, each attempting to instruct the other. Mordechai struggles to persuade Esther to risk herself to save Am Yisrael. Finally, she agrees to sacrifice herself for her people.
At that point comes a dramatic shift. Now Mordechai follows all the orders he received from Esther. He “jumps over the net” and goes over to her side, ending the struggle between them. This is the meaning of “vaya’avor Mordechai,” as indicated by the continuation of the verse.
Mordechai makes a powerful statement: If Esther is prepared to put her life on the line for her people, then she is the true leader of Am Yisrael. Mordechai accepts that he must take orders from her. A careful reading of the Megillah indicates a major shift in Esther’s standing vis-a-vis Mordechai and her role in the events and authorship. But we’ll leave that for another time.
When the Rambam (Yesodei HaTorah 5:4) depicts the exalted status of those who sacrifice their lives for the sanctification of G-d’s Name, he provides a list of historical examples:
“When anyone about whom it is said: ‘Sacrifice your life and do not transgress,’ sacrifices his life and does not transgress, he sanctifies [G-d’s] name. If he does so in the presence of ten Jews, he sanctifies [G-d’s] name in public, like Daniel, Chananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues. These are those slain by [the wicked] kingdom, above whom there is no higher level. Concerning them, [Tehillim 44:23] states: ‘For Your sake, we have been slain all day, we are viewed as sheep for the slaughter,’ and [Tehillim 50:5] states: ‘Gather unto Me, My pious ones, those who have made a covenant with Me by slaughter.’”
Other than Rabbi Akiva and his peers, none of the heroes listed by the Rambam actually died sacrificing their lives for the sanctification of G-d’s Name. The clear implication is that being prepared to sacrifice one’s life for G-d is as great as actually sacrificing one’s life for G-d.
The Rambam defines waging war for the defense of the Jewish people as a case of sanctification of G-d’s name: “Anyone who fights with his entire heart, without fear, with the intention of sanctifying G-d’s name alone, can be assured that he will find no harm, nor will bad overtake him… He will also merit eternal life in the world to come as it states: ‘G-d will certainly make my lord a faithful house, for my lord fights the wars of G-d and evil will not be found with you… and my lord’s soul will be bound in a bond of life with G-d’” (Hilchot Melachim U’milchamot 7:15; see also 5:1).
A soldier who was prepared to die for the defense of Am Yisrael is viewed as having given his life for the sanctity of G-d’s name even if he emerges unscathed. The Rambam’s words reinforce those of Megillat Esther and together provide a clear directive: We must treat those who risk their lives in defense of the Jewish people with the utmost reverence. IDF soldiers are the “holy of holies” of our nation and should be treasured as such. To do otherwise would be a tragic and monumental betrayal of the Torah’s values.
Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky is the author of Amittah Shel Torah on Chumash and Amittah Shel Torah 2 on the Torah Year, www.realtorah.com, and scores of published articles in Gemarah, halacha, Tanach and machshava. He currently teaches in MMY, YU Israel, Mizrachi Lapidot and Lamdeinu. Before making Aliyah, he taught in many institutions including the Frisch Yeshivah (where he was Chairman of the Tanach department), YU, the Princeton and Columbia batei midrash and in Moshava.