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Traditional
Congregation Phone: (314)576-5230 Fax: (314)576-1162 Rabbi Seth D Gordon |
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Articles by Rabbi Gordon: March, 2008 |
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Queen Esther Queen Esther. The mere mention of her name fills us with pride. She is probably among the most famous Jewish women of all time, and many Jews are able to summarize the general narrative. And by entitling the scroll “Megillat Esther,” the Jewish people—rabbis and Jews of all stripes and types—have elevated Esther as the title heroine, rather than Mordecai as the hero. Why? Uncle Mordecai appears to be central to the narrative from the outset. He was close enough to the court to have overheard the plot to overthrow the king, close enough to pass on information to save him from harm, and close enough to be the object of Haman’s antipathy (which the evil minister then applied to all Jews). It is Mordecai who gives his niece the advice not to reveal her Jewish identity and who urges her to seize the moment when she seems reluctant. But our scroll is not “Megillah Mordecai.” And the narrative might have been called—“The Tale of Shushan,” or “Evil and Deliverance.” Hollywood or Madison Avenue may yet one day give it a new package. But Megillat Esther won out. Perhaps Esther emerged prominently in the title to provide balance with the many leading males such as Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets, even when the significant roles played by women like Sarah, Rebecca, Miriam, Deborah, and Ruth, were recorded and preserved. Here’s another proposal: Esther (or Hadassah) came the furthest. She was very young, a woman in a court that actively subordinated women, succeeding a queen who was casually deposed. She was to hide her Jewish identity. Yet, she musters courage, employs wisdom, and then acts boldly and decisively to save her community: “Haman is the enemy of the Jews,” she informs the king. Indeed, the special honor of having the megillah named for Esther may be the special recognition that Torah teaching places on crediting each step of our journey. A midrash depicts God giving Abraham credit for each physical step he took in following the divine command to journey “to the place where I will show you.” He had come from an idolatrous family and culture to become a model of faith in God, and these steps earned him God’s love. (Pirke Avot 5:3) His name still inspires. So, too, Esther’s journey earned her God’s love and her name continues to be a role model, especially for women. The Esthers of each generation demonstrate that regardless of our past, we can emerge from the shadows and earn God’s appreciation and the gratitude, honor, and love of the generations that follow.
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