שתי שאלות -
1. איך כתב רש"י שמרדכי והמן היו המלצרים במסיבה של אחשורוש? הלא המן עדיין לא עלה לגדולה!
2. לגבי כתיבת השירות בכתבי הקודש אריח על גבי אריח -= למה לא הזכירו שחוץ מעשרת בני המן ומלכי כנען, גם שירת האזינו נכתבת בצורת אריח על גבי אריח?
תודה, רפי מגיד
Translation -
Two questions -
1. How can Rashi say that Mordechai and Haman were the wine masters at the party of Achashverosh? Wasn't this before Haman attained a high position?
2. Regarding the stylistic method of writing the Shirot in the Kisvei Kodesh in the form of "Ari'ach on top of Ari'ach," why -- besides the writing of the ten sons of Haman and the kings of Canaan -- the song of Ha'azinu is not mentioned?
Rafi Magid
1. Even though Haman had not yet risen to be the second to the king, he was certainly one of the king's attendants, as the Gemara says that "Memuchan (one of the king's advisors) is Haman." Mordechai was also "sitting in the gate of the king," meaning that he was one of the king's attendants. Mordechai's position in the king's palace was independant of Esther's appointment to be the queen; Mordechai was serving the king even before Esther's appointment.
2. The RAN there discusses your question. He answers based on the explanation of Rabeinu Chananel in the Gemara, who explains that an Ari'ach is half of a Leveinah (groups of words that are small, and groups of words that are small). The Gemara is only discussing Parshi'os that have different sizes of word groups. Ha'azinu, though, only has one size of word groups (the Leveinah-size word groups, on the two sides of the column, with nothing in the middle).
M. Kornfeld