The Book of Esther tells of Esther marrying King Ahasuerus of Persia and therefore becoming his queen. Esther's Origins and Her Adoption by Mordecai. The Scroll of Esther is read on Purim from a parchment scroll. Esther becoming queen was a massive step up in the world, but that was probably because her husband was The King You Didn't Mess With. Elizabeth reigned for almost forty-five years and was the last monarch of the Tudor Dynasty, having died childless. Happy Womens History Month! The BT lists a number of possible reasons: (1) she wanted Haman to be near her (so that she could say what she wanted about him at the appropriate moment); (2) she wanted to set a trap for him; (3) she planned to act toward Haman in a way that would lead Ahasuerus to suspect that she had engaged in an improper relationship with the former and thus cause the king to kill them both. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Her jar allowed her to find a voice in a situation where she could feel voiceless. Esther and her cousin Mordecai (who had once saved the king's life) later persuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of the Jews in his vast realm, which had been plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman. [8] See Helena Zlotnicks discussion of Esther inDinahs Daughters: Gender and Judaism from the Hebrew Bible to Late Antiquity(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), 87. According to tradition, the book of Esther was written in the mid-4th century BCE, and was made part of the canon which was sealed a couple of decades after.Esther was queen for about 11 years.The name of Mordecai is the Judaised pronunciation of Marduka, which is attested in the Persepolis Texts as the name of officials in the Persian court during the period of Xerxes I. 20). if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-leader-2','ezslot_12',154,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-leader-2-0');Throughout the course of the story, Esther suffers from a major depressive episode, possibly accompanied by severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules). Esther also spoke of her merit for observing the womens commandments of the taking ofDuring the Temple period, the dough set aside to be given to the priests. She had two grown sons (Aristobulus and Hyrcanus II), but she decided not to step aside for them; perhaps she foresaw that the rivalry between the younger and older son would not end well. According to one tradition, he could not find a wet nurse and he himself miraculously had milk and nursed her(Gen. Rabbah30:8). By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Just as a wolf seizes its spoils, so did Esther seize the throne; similarly, Mordecai and Esther divided Hamans spoils among them (Gen. Rabbah[ed. The Coronation of Queen Esther, from the 1617 Scroll of Esther from Ferrara, Italy. Similarly, her son Benjamin knew about the sale of Joseph, but remained silent and did not tell his father. According to the tradition that she was previously unmarried, she was now married to and lived with a non-Jewish king. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff following the queen's death. According to the Bible, Mordechai was a Jew who lived in the Persian city of Susa, the modern-day city of Shush, Iran. Esther was taken to the royal harem despite her being married, which further aggravated her sorry condition. Queen Esther died in 473 BCE, so she was likely in her late fifties or early sixties at the time of her death. Mordecai, the leader of the Jewish community in the city of Susa, heard the news of the decree and went to Queen Esther, his cousin, to plead with her to plead to the king on their behalf and to save them from the impending danger. We need to put the Book of Esther into an historical context to better understand Esther's choice. Like many Jews today, she had two names, one Hebrew and one Greek. One of these officials was the biblical Mordecai. Before she went to Ahasuerus, Esther uttered the prayer: O Lord, the God of Israel, who has reigned from days of yore and created the universe, help, please, Your handmaiden who has remained an orphan without father and mother, and who is compared to a pauper who begs from door to door. Then the king made a great feast of Esther, for all his . Rabbah28:6). The bleeding jar in Esthers story is significant because of the deep symbolism behind it. In contrast, the BT also cites a tradition that Esther had a greenish [sallow] complexion, and therefore was called Hadassah; according to this tradition, Ahasuerus was drawn to her because she was endowed with great charm (BTMegillahloc. How Did Queen Esther Die? In this article: Her Name Early Life Palace Life Esther and Mordechai Save the King's Life In their commentary on the Book of Esther, the Rabbis expand upon and add details to the Biblical narrative, relating to her lineage and history and to her relations with the other characters: Ahasuerus, Mordecai, and Haman. In the Book of Esther, Mordecai plays a major role in the events leading up to the deliverance of the Jewish people from their enemies. The jar symbolizes Esthers grief, fear, and pain, which stems from her captivity in King Xerxes harem. The Book of Esther was probably written in the 2nd centurybce. In common parlance, the braided loaves blessed and eaten on the Sabbath and Festivals.hallah from dough,niddah, and the kindling of the Sabbath candle, even in the palace of Ahasuerus (Midrash Tehilim, onPs. Esther took her turn after 12 months of preparation, and she was chosen as queen: "She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. Guy Siverson Graceful Touch | Massage Therapy Therapist (s) | Rapid City Author has 5.2K answers and 2.7M answer views 7 mo Esther 2:7 King James Version The midrash compares Esther to a hind and to the dawn, based onPs. [1] In preparation for Purim and the reading of Megillat Esther, the story of this forgotten Jewish queen is worth recounting. It is most unlikely that there ever was a Queen Esther, in which Like many Jews today, she had two names, one Hebrew and one Greek. There is support for this too in the Talmud (Yoma 29a).4) Esther comes from the Median "astra," meaning "myrtle." Instead, Haman was hanged, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. Because of Haman's law, she and all the Jews in the kingdom would be killed. The Rabbis add that Esther found favor in the eyes of both heaven and humans (Esth. [8]Once there, she does not plead for help but carefully petitions the king, setting in motion a plan to undermine Haman and save the Jewish people.[9]. 6:6), or the definite statement, that could be known only to God: but they did not lay hands on the spoil (9:10). Upset, the king stepped out into the palace gardens. Meir, Tamar. Persian King would have probably not been interested in a 35 year does not give many details of Esther's life, Persian records do. When Esther sought to deliver up Haman, she revealed her identity as a Jew in the act. The Rabbis describe at length Esthers activities after she learned of Hamans decree against the Jews. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. The combined symptoms in Esther signify that she was suffering from a serious psychiatric illness, but the precise diagnosis remains unclear. She was 96 years old. She and her cousin Mordecai persuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of Jews in his realm, plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman. Save the flock of Your pasture from these foes who have arisen against us, for nothing prevents You from winning a victory by many or by few. The midrash relates that Esther asked theTorahscholars to Write of me for all time. The Rabbis replied that it is forbidden to add to what is written in the Torah, and it is not possible to include another book in Scripture, or to establish a new holiday. As Ahasuerus enjoyed only 14 more years on the throne, we conclude that Esther was but 28 years. Mordecai was elevated to second-in-command in the kingdom. Esther illuminated Israel like the light of dawn, while this light itself was like darkness for the nations of the world (MidrashTehilim, onPs. Esther was born about 492BC and was 14 when she became Queen. The moral of the story of Esther is to stay true to yourself and never give up on your beliefs. Her death is believed to have been around the age of 57. This meant the king was happy to see her and would not put her to death. window.location.replace(""); A new decree to save the Jews. In Jacobs blessing to his sons, he blesses Benjamin(Gen. 49:27): Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he consumes the foe, and in the evening he divides the spoil, which the Rabbis applied to Mordecai and Esther. The Rabbis view this as self-sacrifice on Esthers part, since she was willing to die herself, provided that Haman would also perish; (4) Esther sought to turn Haman into her ally, so that he would not rebel against Ahasuerus the king (and thereby become even more dangerous); (5) Esther wanted to obscure her identity and prevent any suspicion of her being a Jew (since Haman was an antisemite); (6) Esther desired to arouse the Jews to pray and cry out to God, so they would not think that her presence in the royal palace sufficed to neutralize Hamans activity; (7) Esther sought to arouse Gods compassion, to show that the Jews did not oppose Haman, that no one stood in Hamans way, and therefore only He could deliver Israel; (8) Esther hoped that Ahasuerus, who was a capricious king, would change his opinion of Haman (BTMegillahloc. Kings David and Solomon had many wives, some more influential than others, but they are never represented as ruling in their husbands stead. Rabbah30:4). According to other traditions, her bowels were loosened (BTMegillahloc. The Book of Esther relates that Esther told no one of her Jewish origins, as Mordecai had ordered her. Decades ago, the historian Elias Bickerman drew attention to a marvelous coincidence: a postscript in the Greek translation of Esther tells us that in 78 or 77 BCE, just one year before Queen Shelamzion began to rule by herself, Megillat Esther was translated into Greek and sent to the Jewish communities of ancient Alexandria.
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