Why Did Mordechai Hurry to Fast Specifically on the Night of the Seder? • Taanis

Today, the 13th of Adar, is Taanis Esther (the Fast of Esther) in memory of the fast observed in the days of Achashverosh. However, back then, it was the night of the Seder, and Mordechai instructed to cancel all the mitzvos (commandments) of the Seder night in order to fast. The Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) explains with great depth and pleasantness why Mordechai the Tzaddik hurried to instruct the cancellation of the Seder, and also what Esther insisted upon even after they hanged Haman the wicked:

Queen Esther says, "I want to taste a drop of wine, the four cups! All my life I have tasted the wine, all my life I have drunk the four cups." Mordechai said to her, "No, there is no cup, we are not tasting the wine; now we begin to fast."

Esther said to Mordechai, "Why? Let us start fasting at one in the morning, what’s the matter... until Chatzos (midnight), until one, we will finish the four cups, we will finish the Maror (bitter herbs), we will finish Korech (the matzah and maror sandwich). Even women are obligated in Heseiba (reclining). And we need..." He says, "No, we start now; right now they are already strangling Jews in the streets."

When Hitler rose to power, they were already killing Jews all over the world; they didn't wait for the Nazis to enter. The Ukrainians killed Jews before the Nazis arrived. They didn't wait—don't you read the stories? They went from house to house, took out children, infants, girls, and just shot them like that. They slaughtered them, tortured them, cut off their hands and legs; all of them took pleasure in this delight of cutting people into pieces. They killed a million and a half Jews like this even before the Nazis arrived. Zvi Yehuda Zotolovsky told me what happened in Kremenchuk and everything; I know everything that happened, I have a book of it all, everything exactly what they did there. How they killed thirty thousand Jews in Uman and after that they even went with horses and trampled them—the greatest tortures, it is impossible to describe it.

Now they are hanging Haman, and Haman—what did he do, Haman? I don't understand what he did? Everything he asks the King, everything he consults with the King, how to do and what to do; now he builds a gallows, he asks permission from the King. Such Derech Eretz (proper conduct) had never been seen in the world, such honor for the King, such a disciplined person had not existed since the creation of the world. And after he is so disciplined, suddenly Esther says to hang him! Why hang him?? What did he do to her? He asks the King, the King told him it's permitted! "Take the ring"—he received the ring. He made seal after seal, and everything was approved by the King. Esther says, "Hang him." Why hang him? There is a trial; bring him to court, let him apologize, let him speak, a person wants to explain... Why...? No! Charvona said! Who is this Charvona? The Midrash says: He was a student of Haman, and suddenly he realized that everything had flipped, so he flipped in a second. He was so quick, he had such a brain, an electronic brain like that, three hundred thousand [miles] speed per second. He immediately said, "I'm switching to Mordechai." He says to him, "Here, here is the gallows." The gallows was fifty cubits high. Why fifty cubits? Why not thirty cubits? Twenty cubits? Why do you need fifty cubits? The height of a building? Rather, he wanted them to see him from all sides of the city. And that was the miracle—that the King saw the gallows and he lost his mind...

"What??? Mordechai the Tzaddik??? The one who saved me?? The one who knows seventy languages??? Aha, Haman is afraid that he will reveal his secrets—now I understand the whole dream I had at night." Because Esther was a psychologist, and she said, "I will invite Haman and he [Achashverosh] will dream a dream at night." He had golden dreams, rosy dreams. And he dreams that Haman is standing with a sword, and he hears the rustling under the window as he screams, "Save me from Mordechai, Mordechai." What did Mordechai do to you? What... Ah, no, he sees your secrets—now I've caught him, now I've seen the gallows. Wow, no trial, nothing! What is this?

But it didn't help at all, even though she already hanged Haman, even though they already hanged Haman, the King said to her, "And seal it with the King's ring, for it cannot be revoked." We signed one hundred and twenty-seven letters! It's not just one letter, it's copies. Because it is written there that there were two letters: one letter was "to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate." But that was secret, just as Hitler did; "to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate" was only for the mayors, for the heads of the Gestapo. To the rest of the world, it was just "work camps," "convalescent camps," "children to schools"—but the children didn't study. They took children and said these would be orderly schools. Here they are shooting, here there are missiles, everything is arranged most beautifully. But it was only secret. The same thing with Haman—there were one hundred and twenty-seven letters, one hundred and twenty kingdoms, letters, seals. Esther says, "Ribono Shel Olam (Master of the Universe), what is happening here?" Achashverosh says, "Forgive me, you are my eyes..." Why is it written: "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King..."? He would say to her, "You are my eyes." You are my eyes? "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King"—I am your eyes, so do something! He says it is impossible to do anything, "And seal it with the King's ring, for it cannot be revoked." We signed one hundred and twenty-seven letters, it is impossible to cancel the decree. Achashverosh says to Esther: "You are my sweetest one, but it won't help you at all, a law is a law! You must submit to the law, to go according to the law." Esther said: "Nothing interests me, I will fall here, I am not moving from here, I will kiss your feet day and night until you cancel the decree." "And Esther spoke yet again before the King, and fell down at his feet, and wept, and besought him..." "My G-d, my G-d, why have You forsaken me...".

(These pearls are collected from several lessons and have undergone slight editing. If an error has occurred, it should be attributed to the editor and collector and G-d forbid not to the Rav shlit"a; and if we have erred, may our error remain with us.)