Was Mordechai Right in Not Bowing Down to Haman? A shiur in commemoration of the sheloshim for my beloved Saba, Mordechai Ben Yosef Halevi z"l

(1) After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. (2) And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed down, and prostrated themselves before Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not down, nor prostrated himself before him. (3) Then the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai: ‘Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment?’ (4) Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. (5) And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down, nor prostrated himself before him, then was Haman full of wrath.

Was Mordechai looking for quarrels or disobedient to the King's command? Rather when Achashverosh commanded that everyone needed to bow down to Haman, the latter affixed an idolotrous image on his chestfor the purpose of causing all to bow down to a foreign god.

...instead of Haman who made himself into an idol

What did Mordechai say to them, to those who said “why are you going against the king’s law”? ... “And they told it to Haman etc.” Haman said to them “say to him did his ancestors not bow down to mine? As it says “and the concubines come forward etc. and afterward Yosef and Rachel came forward and bowed.” He answered “Binyamin had not been born yet”. And they told him. That is what it means when it says “and they told Haman”

(29) Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee.

(1) And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. (2) And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. (3) And he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

The entire house of Israel are commanded regarding the sanctification of [God's] great name, as [Leviticus 22:32] states: "And I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel." Also, they are warned against desecrating [His holy name], as [the above verse] states: "And they shall not desecrate My holy name."

What is implied? Should a gentile arise and force a Jew to violate one of theTorah's commandments at the pain of death, he should violate the commandment rather than be killed, because [Leviticus 18:5] states concerning the mitzvot: "which a man will perform and live by them." [They were given so that] one may live by them and not die because of them. If a person dies rather than transgress, he is held accountable for his life

All the above [distinctions] apply [only in times] other than times of a decree. However, in times of a decree - i.e., when a wicked king like Nevuchanezzar or his like will arise and issue a decree against the Jews to nullify their faith or one of the mitzvot - one should sacrifice one's life rather than transgress any of the other mitzvot, whether one is compelled [to transgress] amidst ten [Jews] or one is compelled [to transgress merely] amidst gentiles.

R. Shimon B. Yochai was asked by his disciples, Why were the enemies of Israel (euphemism for Jewish people) of that generation deserving of extermination? He said to them: You answer your question. They said: Because they enjoyed the feast of that evil man. He said to them: If so only those in Shushan should have should have been killed but those in the rest of the world should not be killed. They said to him: Then you give an answer. He said to them: It was because they bowed down to the image.They said back to him: Then why did G-d then show them favoritism? He replied: They only pretended to worship and G-d only pretended too exterminate them.

(10) And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

(3) For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren; seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.

“They stood at the foot of the mountain.” (Exodus 19:17) Rav Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa said: This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, covered them with the mountain as though it were an upside-down barrel, and said to them: “If you accept the Torah, fine. But if not, this will be your burial place."

…Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written: "And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day?" (Genesis 1:1) Why do I need the extra letter "hay" ("the")? It teaches that the Holy One, Blessed is He, made a condition with the words of the Creation, saying to them: If the Jewish people accept the Torah, you will endure. But if they do not accept the Torah, I will return you to chaos and emptiness.