EXOD201 Even though people think of anti-Semitism in negative terms, sometimes there can be a positive end to this hate. The Talmud Megillah 14a says that the anti-Semitism displayed by Achashverosh in decreeing against the Jews in the Purim story did more to inspire the Jews than the prophecy and admonishings of all forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses. What does this mean? The negative acts of Achashverosh woke up the Jews and inspired them to do good, as no prophet did, says the Talmud, because it is often the negative acts against the Jews that bring them together and wake them out of their spiritual slumber. The decree of a wicked king mobilized the Jews to become more Jewish, where the prophets could not. This idea is alluded to in the Torah. After the Jews left Egypt, the verse says that Pharaoh drew closer to the people as he chased them. But the tense for the verb "drew closer" actually reads "he brought them closer" as a causative, hif-il. Thus, according to some commentaries, the Torah is actually telling us that Pharaoh (and not any other action by Moses) brought the people closer. That is what happened with both Achashverosh and Pharaoh. Even in modern times, this phenomenon can be seen. It was only after the progroms and anti-Semitism in Europe during the 1880s that the Jews started seriously to move to Palestine and actualize the Zionist dream. In more recent times, after the establishment of the State of Israel, the desire to come on aliyah has not usually been strong enough to track the masses to the State. The massive aliyah of Jews from Arab countries, from Russia, and from Ethiopia has come about because of anti-Semitism. Once again, the terrible pain of anti-Semitism has led to a positive result, aliyah.