The second essay in the Zera Shimshon on Megillat Esther opens with a passage from the Gemara in Masechet Megillah, on the first page: Rav Acha bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: The Holy One, blessed is He, incited the wrath of masters against their servants in order to fulfill the desire of a righteous man, and the wrath of servants against their master in order to fulfill the desire of a righteous man. Masters against servants - as it is written, "And Pharaoh was angry with his servants," to fulfill the desire of a righteous man, and who was he? Yosef, as it is written, "And there was with us a Hebrew youth." Servants against their master - as it is written, "Bigtan and Teresh were angry," to fulfill the desire of a righteous man, and who was he? Mordechai, as it is written, "And the matter became known to Mordechai."
Let us explain the words of the Gemara. The Holy One, blessed is He, incited masters against their servants: Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and as a result the chief cupbearer was cast into prison, where he met Yosef. Later, when he returned to serve the cup before Pharaoh and Pharaoh dreamt his dreams, he remembered and said, "And there was with us a Hebrew youth." That entire wrath was intended to bring Yosef out of prison. And conversely, the Holy One, blessed is He, incited servants against their master: Bigtan and Teresh became angry with Ahashverosh, and because of this Mordechai overheard them, went and told the king, and the matter was recorded in the book of chronicles. From there, the entire turnabout unfolded: the king's sleep was disturbed, they read before him from the book of chronicles, and Haman was forced to proclaim, "Thus shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor" - and this was the beginning of his downfall: "If you have begun to fall before him, you will surely fall." All of this was for the sake of Mordechai the righteous.
The author asks: This requires examination. Why was it necessary for the Holy One, blessed is He, to cause this anger, and why did the righteous care about this anger? In other words, what was the purpose of having the master become angry with the servant, or the servant become angry with the master? What benefit does the righteous man derive from the fact that one was furious with the other? After all, the entire sequence of events could have been orchestrated without the anger. Yet the Gemara indicates that the anger itself was an essential element - and we must understand why.
The answer is that Yosef said to the chief cupbearer: "And here too I have done nothing, that they have put me into the dungeon." On the surface, who would believe him? Surely there is no reason to assume that a master would become furious with his servant and cast him into prison for no reason at all. Yosef had been accused in the affair of Potiphar's wife, and slaves were notorious for illicit behavior - a slave assaulting his mistress was by no means an unbelievable story. There is no complaint against Yosef for telling his story, for he was telling the truth; but how did he hope to convince anyone?
However, when people saw that Pharaoh himself became enraged at the chief cupbearer even though no sin or wrongdoing was in his hand - as the Midrash states, it was possible that a fly fell in without his knowledge, and the proof is that he was ultimately restored to his post - they realized that it was equally possible that Yosef's master merely assumed Yosef had sinned, when in truth he had not sinned at all. What caused the wrath against the chief cupbearer? A fly had fallen into Pharaoh's cup. This happened through no fault of his own; a person can serve a cup, and at that very moment a fly lands in it, entirely beyond his control. This differed from the chief baker, in whose bread a pebble was found - that was negligence, and for that one paid with his head before the king of Egypt. Ultimately, it became clear that the chief cupbearer was blameless, and therefore he was restored to his position.
From this, people drew an analogy to Yosef's situation: just as Pharaoh thought the chief cupbearer had sinned when in fact he had not, so too Potiphar assumed Yosef had sinned, while in truth he was entirely innocent. Thus, that entire episode of wrath was designed to clear Yosef of suspicion. This offers a completely fresh perspective: the anger was not merely a mechanism to land Yosef in prison so that the cupbearer would later say, "And there was with us a Hebrew youth" - which is only the superficial view - but rather so that through that very outburst of anger, everyone would recognize that the accusation leveled against Yosef was groundless and false.
בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וּמָרְדֳּכַי יוֹשֵׁב בְּשַׁעַר־הַמֶּלֶךְ קָצַף בִּגְתָן וָתֶרֶשׁ שְׁנֵי־סָרִיסֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ מִשֹּׁמְרֵי הַסַּף וַיְבַקְשׁוּ לִשְׁלֹחַ יָד בַּמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹשׁ׃ (ב, כא) - "In those days, while Mordechai sat in the king's gate, Bigtan and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of the keepers of the door, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahashverosh." (Esther 2:21)
וַיִּוָּדַע הַדָּבָר לְמָרְדֳּכַי וַיַּגֵּד לְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה וַתֹּאמֶר אֶסְתֵּר לַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשֵׁם מָרְדֳּכָי׃ וַיְבֻקַּשׁ הַדָּבָר וַיִּמָּצֵא וַיִּתָּלוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עַל־עֵץ וַיִּכָּתֵב בְּסֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ (ב, כב-כג) - "And the matter became known to Mordechai, who told it to Queen Esther; and Esther informed the king in Mordechai's name. And when the matter was investigated, it was found to be true, and they were both hanged on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king." (Esther 2:22-23)
בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיֹּאמֶר לְהָבִיא אֶת־סֵפֶר הַזִּכְרֹנוֹת דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים וַיִּהְיוּ נִקְרָאִים לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ (ו, א) - On that night, the king's sleep was disturbed, and he ordered to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. (6:1)
The same applies to Achashverosh. Our Sages of blessed memory commented in the Midrash on the verse, "On that night, the king's sleep was disturbed," that throughout that entire night it appeared to Achashverosh as though Haman was standing before him with his sword drawn in his hand, and the king was terrified by this. Yet this is difficult to understand: what did he have to fear? Does reason suggest that after elevating him above all the ministers, Haman would be so ungrateful as to seek to kill him? Even if he saw such a thing in a dream, he should have said: dreams speak falsehood!
After all, it is evident from the Megillah that Achashverosh was well-versed in all the plans and maneuvers; if he was so thoroughly familiar with Masechet Megillah, he surely had time beforehand to study Masechet Berachot, where it is explicitly stated that dreams speak falsehood! Why, then, was he so alarmed?
The very premise of the question - how could it enter one's mind that Haman would be so ungrateful? - requires clarification. A story is told of a man who fiercely persecuted the Chasam Sofer, to which the Chasam Sofer remarked: "I do not understand why he persecutes me so much; I do not recall doing him that many favors." That is to say, sometimes precisely the person you have benefited becomes your greatest persecutor. The psychology is simple: a person does not want to be indebted with gratitude - and one bound by gratitude is still a prisoner. Saying, "What did he really do for me? I owe him nothing," is the easiest way to cast off that obligation, for otherwise one must repay the favor, show appreciation, and speak with respect. Still, from Achashverosh's perspective - why would he suspect someone he had benefited so greatly?
וַיִּמָּצֵא כָתוּב אֲשֶׁר הִגִּיד מָרְדֳּכַי עַל־בִּגְתָנָא וָתֶרֶשׁ שְׁנֵי סָרִיסֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ מִשֹּׁמְרֵי הַסַּף אֲשֶׁר בִּקְשׁוּ לִשְׁלֹחַ יָד בַּמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ׃ (ו, ב) - And it was found written that Mordechai had reported about Bigtana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains from the guards of the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on King Achashverosh. (6:2)
Rather, once he found in the book of records that even Bigtan and Teresh, his two beloved chamberlains, had sought to kill him, he realized that Haman might do the very same, and therefore he became terrified. Presumably, they were beloved to him, for to appoint someone as a chamberlain guarding the royal threshold, one chooses specifically those who are deeply trusted. Here again we see the same line of analogy: if the two closest and most beloved individuals sought to assassinate you, it is no wonder that Haman would try as well, and the notion is not strange at all.
For this reason, the author explains, it was necessary for servants to become furious at their master in order to fulfill the will of Mordechai, for without this, Achashverosh would have paid no attention to such a dream. This is the inner meaning of the Gemara: the Holy One, blessed be He, causes servants to become angry at their masters and masters at their servants to fulfill the will of the righteous, for it was only through the precedent of that anger that Achashverosh understood that even someone exceptionally close might still attempt to assassinate him.
It is also possible that for this very reason he commanded to bring the book of records, the chronicles, before him - to see if there was any precedent of an ally who had rebelled against the king. That is to say, this may have been the motive behind his request from the outset: the idea seemed so implausible to him - how could someone favored by the king, whom the king had elevated, seek to assassinate him? "Bring the book of records; let me check if such a thing has ever occurred." If it turned out that it had, he would realize that the same could happen here. And so it was: he found the episode of Bigtan and Teresh, and immediately understood that the same story was unfolding here - that Haman, despite all that he had received from him, sought to assassinate him. And the words of a wise man's mouth find favor.