This week we were introduced to three more characters in the story of Ester. We met Haman, Mordechi, and Ester. As we were introduced to each one, we got a little insight into their lives. We can see from Mordechi and Ester's names that they, along with the rest of the Jews, are assimilating into the culture around them. Instead of going by Hadassah, she goes by her Persian name, Ester. Instead of having a Jewish or Hebrew name, Mordechi is named after a god.

One of the strange things we learned this week was the way Haman approached the king to ask if he could destroy all the Jews. Haman goes to Achashvarosh and says there is a spread out nation whose laws are different than all other nations. He says they do not keep the laws of the king. Haman says that nothing good can come from this. Why is Haman explaining the Jews in this weird way? As we already learnt, the Jews were supposed to be back in Yerushalyim during this point in history. When Haman says they are not following their king, he is not talking about Achashvarosh. Haman is really talking about Hashem because they were assimilating and did not go back to Israel like He wanted.