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The Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his Keren Yeshu’a commentary to Megilat Ester, writes that Haman sought to kill Mordechai and the Jewish people with the spiritual forces of impurity. These forces are symbolized by the letter "Nun," the final letter of Haman’s name. This letter represents the word "Nahash" ("snake"), referring to the primordial snake that lured Adam and Hava to sin and thereby brought curse to the world. The way to oppose these forces, the Ben Ish Hai explains (based on the teachings of the Arizal), is through the recitation of Shema – twice in the morning, and twice in the evening. (In the morning, we recite Shema once during the Korbanot section, and again in the section of "Yoser Or"; in the evening, we recite Shema both at Arbit and before going to sleep.) The first verse of Shema – "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokenu Hashem Ehad" – consists of twenty-five letters, and thus each pair of recitations (one in the morning and one in the evening) consists of a total of fifty letters. Hence, the Shema recitations each morning and each evening have the capacity to oppose and resist the forces of impurity represented by the letter "Nun," which has the numerical value of fifty.
For this reason, the Megila relates (5:14) that Haman’s wife and comrades advised him to come to the king "in the morning" to plan for Mordechai’s hanging. The Midrash explains "in the morning" to means before the time of the Shema recitation; the advice to Haman was to plan Mordechai’s demise before the Jews recited Shema in the morning. Realizing the power of the Shema recitation to undermine the effects of Haman’s forces of impurity, Haman’s advisors urged him to act quickly, early in the morning, before the Jews had a chance to recite Shema and thwart his plan. What they did not realize, however, was that the Jews had already recited Shema twice the night before, and had therefore neutralized the evil spiritual forces. Haman’s plot was thus foiled in the merit of the Jews’ nighttime recitation of Shema.
Indeed, the Megila states (6:1) that on that night when Haman planned to hang Mordechai, "Nadeda Shenat Ha’melech" (literally, "the king’s sleep left him," meaning, he could not sleep). The word "Nadeda" could be read to mean, "Nun Dada" – "the fifty startled." Meaning, the fifty letters of Shema which the Jews read that night "startled" Haman; they interfered with his nefarious plot, and led to the king’s being unable to sleep, which in turn resulted in the Jews’ salvation.
This insight demonstrates the power and effect of the Shema recitation. It must be emphasized, however, that this power depends upon one’s proper concentration while reciting Shema, particularly the first verse. The Gemara in Masechet Sota tells that Golyat, the Philistine general, would come to terrorize Beneh Yisrael every morning and evening around the time of the Shema recitation. He hoped that his taunting and threats would interfere with their Kavana (concentration) during Shema, so that they would lose the merits of the Shema recitation, thus enabling him to launch a successful attack.
The verse in Tehillim (119:98) states, "Me’oyebai Tehakemeni," which may be read as, "You make me wise from my enemies." We have much to learn even from our sworn enemies like Golyat and Haman. If they understood the power and merits of the Shema recitation, then certainly we must recognize the significance of this Misva, and ensure to recite the Shema twice each morning and twice each night, in its proper time and with proper concentration.
