The Purim Shpiel

As we are all getting ready for Purim, we review the story told in the Megillah in our minds. We all remember the sticky situation Queen Esther was put into when Achashverosh agreed to Haman's plot to destroy all the Jews of the known world, and how Esther and Mordechai made their own plan of how to overturn the decree: All the Jews fasted for 3 days and strengthened themselves and their connection to Hashem, and then Esther approached the king. At a glance, this plan seems a bit strange- If the Jews had Mordechai, who 'would sit at the gates of the king,' and Esther, who 'found favor in the king's eyes,' close to the king who could stop the decree, why didn't they simply go straight to Achashverosh and demand he revoke the decree? If Esther was such a favorite, why didn't she just walk up and say, "Achashverosh, I don't like Haman. Let's kill him?" Instead, Mordechai put on sackcloth and ashes, and rallied the Jews to repent and come closer to Hashem. And if Esther's main goal was to get on the good side of the king, why did she fast for 3 days beforehand, which would automatically make her weaker and less attractive?
The reason for Mordechai and Esther's unusual course of action can be explained as follows: Modechai and Esther realized this decree was unnatural- they recognized it came about only as a result of the Jew's sin of going against Mordechai and joining Achashverosh's party. They also understood that in order to overturn the external decree of Haman, they had to tackle the heavenly decree first: First they directed their teshuvah towards the Real Boss, and then the boss Achachverosh and the decree would just disintegrate. In order to rectify the sin of eating, drinking, and partying with Achashverosh for three days, going against the rule of Mordechai their leader, Esther instituted a three- day fast where eating and drinking were strictly forbidden. Only through the rectification was the heavenly decree removed, and then the earthly problem of Haman and Achashverosh's Jew-massacre was very easy to topple.
A very important lesson can be learned from the actions of Mordechai and Esther:
In a tough time, there are those who take the natural course of events- If a person wants a certain job, he calls and applies and makes sure the people on top know who he is and that he really wants the job. This is the natural course of events to ensure he gets the job. The Megillah tells us this is step number 2: The first priority must be to strengthen himself in his connection to Hashem- in our example, a person should first pray, asking Hashem to grant him a good job so he can put food on his table and educate his children: He must first make a vessel to spirituality before making a vessel to physicality. We must always trust in Hashem to show us the correct path and to help us accept His blessings, in whatever form they come.
May we all have the strength to get to the root of the 'problem' and may all the little obstacles just melt away.
Happy Purim!!