Megillat Esther is full of apparently chance events that all seem to work out perfectly in the end. This series of very fortunate coincidences is ultimately what paves the way to the salvation of the Jewish people from the genocidal plot of Haman. Taken as a whole, we can see how each and every element in the story – the selection of Esther, the foiled assassination plot against Ahashverosh, the failed attempt by Haman to have Mordekhai hanged, etc. – was absolutely necessary in order for the narrative to unfold the way it did.
There is one fascinating aspect of the tale, however, that seems altogether superfluous – the detailed description of the beauty pageant through which the king chose his new queen. In particular, there is a specific detail that the text of the Megillah highlights:
“When each girl’s turn came to go to King Ahashverosh at the end of the twelve months’ treatment prescribed for women…whatever she asked for would be given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. She would go in the evening and leave in the morning for a second harem in charge of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, guardian of the concubines…But when the turn came for Esther – daughter of Avihayil, the uncle of Mordekhai, who had adopted her as his own daughter—to go to the king, she did not ask for anything but what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, guardian of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.”
The contestants could ask for anything they desired when it came to their “date” with Ahashverosh, and their wishes would be honored. Esther made no requests of her own but deferred to the advice of Hegai, the official guardian of the women. This description of Esther’s conduct raises two questions: First, why does the Megillah see fit to mention it at all? Second, why are we informed of Esther’s lineage and background (Esther, the daughter of Avihayil, etc.) all over again before being told about it?
I believe that this seemingly inconsequential point reveals something fundamental about Esther, something that helps us understand not just how she managed to win the heart of Ahashverosh, but how she eventually saved the Jewish people from destruction.
It stands to reason that the women being evaluated in Ahashverosh’s pageant desperately wanted to win it. This is not only because any woman would probably love to be queen, but also because the alternative was a “life sentence” imprisoned as a mere nameless concubine in the harem of Ahasheverosh. Therefore, given the opportunity to have intimate time with the monarch, most women would want to plan their “dream date” – an encounter that they believed would accentuate their own strengths and cast them in the most favorable light possible in the eyes of the king.
Esther, however, recognized that she had very little knowledge of the king’s personality, interests and taste, and that whatever requests she might make would be based on her own speculation and imagination. Therefore, she consulted with Hegai, someone actually familiar with Ahashverosh’s predilections, and followed his instructions to the letter. She planned an encounter with the king that was designed to fulfill HIS desires and cater to his wishes, not her own. This strategy proved highly effective, and Ahashverosh was immediately smitten with Esther.
Interestingly, rather than simply inform us that Ahashverosh loved Esther after their date, the text tells us that “Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” This suggests that, just as she “deferred” to Ahashverosh during their first meeting, Esther likewise held herself back in her interactions with others, not giving the people around her any specific, defined sense of who she was. Employing the same strategy she did with the king, Esther kept her identity a secret and her true persona a mystery, inviting others to see in her whatever they desired to see.
What might appear like a passive or weak approach to engagement with the public was actually rooted in a profound grasp of human psychology. Openly identifying with a certain ethnic group, political ideology, or religion is, by definition, attractive to some but distasteful, disappointing, or off-putting to others. We all prefer to believe, and tend to imagine, that the figures we admire share more in common with us than they probably do in reality.
Celebrities today are keenly aware of this and many of them seek to preserve their broad appeal by keeping their “personal lives” hidden from view to the extent that they can. This way they avoid alienating members of their fan base while endearing themselves to the greatest number of “customers” possible. Esther accomplished the same effect by cultivating a “mystique” about herself. In fact, the Talmud tells us:
“Rabbi Elazar said: ‘And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.’ This teaches that she appeared to each and every one as if she were a member of his own nation.”
We can now understand why, when telling us that Esther sought nothing for her date with the king other than what she was advised to request, the Megillah also reminds us of her lineage and family background. Esther’s consultation with Hegai was not a mere one-time tactic she employed in an attempt to win the heart of Ahasheverosh using inside information; rather, her remarkable sensitivity to the complexities of human psychology guided her in all of her social and political interactions. By mentioning her relationship with Mordekhai in this context, the Megillah impresses upon us that this way of thinking was not just a momentary “stroke of genius” on her part. It was a systematic application of the tradition of Torah wisdom she had received from her illustrious cousin/adopted father.
Indeed, it was Esther’s ability to objectively assess, evaluate and respond intelligently to the personalities and motives of the people around her that informed her every move throughout the Megillah. Her awareness of the volatility of Ahashverosh’s temperament and the constantly shifting nature of alliances in politics, for example, inspired her to insist that Mordekhai’s service to the king be properly recorded for posterity:
In those days, when Mordekhai was sitting in the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, of the guards of the threshold, became angry and sought to lay a hand on King Ahashverosh . And the matter became known to Mordekhai, and he told [it] to Queen Esther, and Esther told [it] to the king in Mordekhai’s name. And the matter was investigated and found to be so, and they were both hanged on a gallows, and it was written in the records before the king.
Although there was no reason at the time to suspect that Mordekhai, or the Jewish people as a whole, would need to “call in” a favor with the king in the near future, a wise person like Esther realized that such pleasant circumstances could change in an instant. When a relationship between two parties in love, business or politics is positive and warm, the endless details included in a written contract between them seem absurdly overwrought. However, if and when their relationship sours, suddenly the resolution of a dispute between a husband and wife, an employer and an employee, or between a landlord and a tenant, may depend upon a passage, a word, or even the placement of a comma in the text of that same agreement. “Get it in writing” is golden advice in business and politics. True to form, Esther did not allow herself to be deluded by the fantasy that relations between Mordekhai, the Jewish people, and Ahashverosh would always be wonderful. Hence, she was adamant that the report that saved the king’s life be officially recorded “in the name of Mordekhai.”
Similarly, it was her recognition of the insecurities and weaknesses of both Haman and Ahashverosh that enabled Esther to place the two of them on a collision course with one another and to save the Jewish people from annihilation. Perceiving Haman’s insatiable hunger for honor and praise, she inflated his ego even further by personally inviting him to her royal luncheon with the king. She knew that it was precisely when Haman felt the most secure, comfortable and admired that he would be most likely to let his guard down and make mistakes. At the same time, through extending the special invitation to Haman, she played upon Ahashverosh’s natural tendency to self-doubt and paranoia, feeding into his fitful jealousy and sowing seeds of suspicion in his mind toward his once-trusted confidant. Esther laid the ideal groundwork for an explosive conflict between Ahashverosh and Haman to emerge, such that the revelation of the nefarious plot against her people was all it took to push the now anxious, fearful and temperamental king over the edge.
The most classic question on Megillat Esther is “where is God in the story of Purim?” Although there are no supernatural miracles in its narrative, the Divine hand that guides the unfolding story is unmistakable. It is found in the profound Torah wisdom that the brilliant Esther utilizes as she leads her people to salvation, victory, and redemption.
Recent Comments