She wasn't beautiful, at least not in the classic sense of the word. In her day there was no Photoshop, softening lenses, and calculated effects. You know what, she was as green as the vegetables she ate. Not to mention the three days she didn't put anything in her mouth. Try fasting for three days.
No amount of makeup will blur the consequences.
But worst of all was the fact that she was a Jew who did not belong to any feminist sect. On the contrary, a primitive one, for example. One who did exactly what her man told her to do.
On the Jewish Home exam at the seminary, she would probably get a hundred with sentences like "And Esther did according to Mordecai's command," or with the unfortunate custom of doing "as Mordecai commanded her." And as if that weren't enough, she had to submit to the man's scolding, "Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?".
A difficult thing for any person and anyone who is close to a sensitive woman, let alone a queen.
Wait. Wait. If that's the case, our sages should have named the scroll after Mordechai. No? Why isn't the scroll called 'The Scroll of Mordechai', or even 'The Scroll of Mordechai and Esther'? After all, she followed his instructions, and why is the scroll called after her name – 'The Scroll of Esther'?
So that's it. No.
All Mordechai did was discover Esther's hidden powers (the powers that were hidden). After her powers were discovered, it became clear that her virtue was greater than his, and therefore the scroll was named after her name and only her name.
Mordechai and Esther are a symbol of the relationship between husband and wife, of the people of Israel and the Torah.
My notes for generations
Midrache symbolizes the Torah and this was his entire world. He gathers communities to engage in Torah, despite the sword of destruction above their heads. He gathers tens of thousands of infants of Rabban's household and does not engage with them in the approaching threat, but in the study of our holy Torah. "Midrache in his generation is like Moses in his generation.".
She - Esther - symbolizes the people of Israel, and therefore her name was called Hadassah, after the righteous of Israel - "and all your people are righteous" who were likened to hadassah.
The power relationship between the two expresses the relationship between the Torah and Israel. The Torah is the one that charts the path for the people of Israel, but it is the one that reveals their virtue in the world. Israel's own virtue is greater than the virtue of the Torah, as our sages of blessed memory said, that the thinking of Israel preceded everything, including the Holy Torah. Therefore, the world that was created after the Torah (I looked into the Torah and created the world), was created only for Israel, so that they would keep the Torah.
It's pretty clear that the chauvinists among us, especially those who call themselves Torah scholars, will have a hard time digesting these things.
Notice what happens after Esther's virtue is revealed: after she does "as I have commanded her," she is the one who gives him instructions - "Go, gather all the Jews together, and fast for me." The leadership of the people is entrusted to the man - Mordechai - but the one who stirs him up is the woman, Esther.
When Esther asks the sages to write her "scriptures for generations," the sages consider the matter, because, as mentioned, the leadership of the people is entrusted to the hands of the wise.
But in the end they do as she says, after finding "a scripture written in the Torah" (it is written as a memory in the book).
Educating for generations
Women preceded men at the Mount Sinai ceremony - "Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob," and only afterwards "speak to the children of Israel." Also in the miracle of Purim, after which "the Jews received what they had begun to do," who returned and received the Torah in the days of Mordecai and Esther - "They received it in the days of Ahasuerus.".
And this is expressed in the verse, "The Jews had a light," and that light is Torah.
The old Rebbe, the author of the Tanya, asks why "Ora" is written in the feminine and not Torah "Or" in the masculine - and explains: Torah Or is the written Torah. This Ora is the oral Torah. The decree issued by Haman was against the oral Torah, hence the wording of the verse "The Jews had light.".
The virtue of the women of Israel is also expressed in the name of the scroll, which is named after Esther and not after Mordechai, and also in the use of the word "light." Because the role of the women of Israel is to transmit the Torah "orally." Not by passing on the teachings from generation to generation, but by doing actual deeds, in which they educate (from the word "initiate") the next generation to a life of Torah and mitzvot.
Many have difficulty understanding the determination of the great men of the previous generation that girls should study teaching, and forget the role of women in the Jewish people. True, teaching is a trivial profession, devoid of glamour, and it is very difficult to build a glamorous "career" on it.
But this is the central mission of Bat Yisrael, to educate the next generation. And as long as she can do that, what's better?.
Moreover, it is the woman, with her intelligence and sensitivity, who believes in the unity of the people and the family, as Queen Esther taught us in her command to Mordecai, "Go and gather all the Jews.".
• Part of the column is based on the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe | The writer is the owner of "My Choice", an event host, lecturer, and radio broadcaster. | For comments: [email protected]
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