(כו) עַל־כֵּ֡ן קָֽרְאוּ֩ לַיָּמִ֨ים הָאֵ֤לֶּה פוּרִים֙ עַל־שֵׁ֣ם הַפּ֔וּר עַל־כֵּ֕ן עַל־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הָאִגֶּ֣רֶת הַזֹּ֑את וּמָֽה־רָא֣וּ עַל־כָּ֔כָה וּמָ֥ה הִגִּ֖יעַ אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ (כז) קִיְּמ֣וּ וקבל [וְקִבְּל֣וּ] הַיְּהוּדִים֩ ׀ עֲלֵיהֶ֨ם ׀ וְעַל־זַרְעָ֜ם וְעַ֨ל כָּל־הַנִּלְוִ֤ים עֲלֵיהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א יַעֲב֔וֹר לִהְי֣וֹת עֹשִׂ֗ים אֵ֣ת שְׁנֵ֤י הַיָּמִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה כִּכְתָבָ֖ם וְכִזְמַנָּ֑ם בְּכָל־שָׁנָ֖ה וְשָׁנָֽה׃
(20) Mordecai recorded these events. And he sent dispatches to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far, (21) charging them to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, every year— (22) the same days on which the Jews enjoyed relief from their foes and the same month which had been transformed for them from one of grief and mourning to one of festive joy. They were to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking, and as an occasion for sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor. (23) The Jews accordingly assumed as an obligation that which they had begun to practice and which Mordecai prescribed for them. (24) For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the foe of all the Jews, had plotted to destroy the Jews, and had cast pur—that is, the lot—with intent to crush and exterminate them. (25) But when [Esther] came before the king, he commanded: “With the promulgation of this decree, let the evil plot, which he devised against the Jews, recoil on his own head!” So they impaled him and his sons on the stake. (26) Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come unto them, (27) the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselves and their descendants, and all who might join them, to observe these two days in the manner prescribed and at the proper time each year.
(ג) וּמָה הִגִּיעַ אֲלֵיהֶם. מָה רָאָה אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בִּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ, "וּמָה הִגִּיעַ אֲלֵיהֶם": שֶׁבָּא שָׂטָן וְרָקַד בֵּינֵיהֶם וְהָרַג אֶת וַשְׁתִּי. מָה רָאָה הָמָן שֶׁנִּתְקַנֵּא בְמָרְדְּכַי, וּמָה הִגִּיעַ אֵלָיו: שֶׁתָּלוּ אוֹתוֹ וְאֶת בָּנָיו. מָה רָאָה מָרְדְּכַי שֶׁלֹּא יִכְרַע וְלֹא יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, וּמָה רָאֲתָה אֶסְתֵּר שֶׁזִּמְּנָה לְהָמָן:
(3) And what happened to them as a result. What did Achashveirosh see that he used the sacred vessels, “and what happened to them as a result,” that Satan came and danced among them and slew Vashti. What did Haman see that he became jealous of Mordechai, “and what happened to him as a result,” that they hanged him and his sons. What did Mordechai see that he did not kneel or prostate himself, and what did Esther see that she invited Haman?8Maseches Megillah 19a.
Aviva Zornberg, The Murmuring Deep, p. 112
The four main characters act of out motives that are fully explicated in the text: this is the claim of this verse, according to Rashi. However, Rashi's comments point at precisely the areas where motive is enigmatic. In the case of Ahasuerus's use of of the Holy Vessels, indeed, the narrative recounts nothing of this "fact": Rashi assumes that the reader is familiar with teh body of midrashic material about Ahasuerus's plundering the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. To claim that this is written in the text is, in fact, to draw attention to an elaborate reading practice that aims to fill the the gaps in the text. In fact, those highly detailed accounts in the book of Esther of the "vessels" of the royal banquet seem rather meaningless; it is midrashic fictions that attach Ahasuerus to a moment of historical crisis in Jewish memory, lending it intense and private meaning for the Jewish reader. And it is only in such midrashic readings that Ahasuerus's motives in plundering the Temple are indicated.
Similarly, Haman's motive for jealousy is nowhere explained. Indeed, even the idea that he was jealous does not emerge obviously from the narrative; he seems simply to be piqued by Mordecai's lack of respect. And Mordecai's motive for refusing to bow to Haman is likewise withheld; as is Esther's in inviting Haman to her feast. All these gaps in the text are highlighted by Rashi, precisely because he refers to midrashic material that offers to fill them. Without these midrashic narratives, the written narrative stands exposed with all its bald patches, its failure of causality, of plausible motivation.