Religious School

February, 2010 Ma'aseem - The Book of Esther: A Persian Soap Opera

1/27/2010
It has all the elements of a great novel. There is the beautiful young orphan girl who rises from obscurity to become queen. She even hides a secret that could bring about her demise. Then there is the ambitious villain whose passion is to destroy the innocent. Finally, the story line involves a power struggle, romantic love, and a startling exposé. But in the end, the point of this true story is clear: once again the Israelites' God had miraculously saved them from certain destruction.

It's The Book of Esther. And if it wasn't a novel, these days it would be the perfect script for a TV soap opera or a theatrical release at your local multiplex. This is the Megillah, the scroll we read from every Purim. Here we recount the multi-plot story of Queen Esther, Mordecai, Haman, et al. Children (and many free-spirited adults) dress up as their favorite hero or villain. We are commanded (by our Sages, not by King Ahasuerus) to hear the reading of the Megillah, and to drown out the name of the vile Haman each time his name is mentioned.

But who wrote this intriguing book? The identity of the author of Megillat Esther is unknown. However the writer was thought to be Jewish and lived in Persia, sometime around 465 BCE. A strong Jewish spirit pervades this work, particularly evident in the account of the establishment of the festival of Purim. Moreover, the author was acquainted with Persian culture, as the extensive descriptions of the palace complex at Shushan and the domestic details about the reign of King Ahasuerus indicate. For these reasons, some rabbis have ascribed the authorship of the book to Mordecai, one of the principal characters.

But why has this book always stimulated such diverse commentary from our Sages? Why is God never mentioned in the entire book, where God's hand certainly is evident in the rescuing of the Jewish people? What about the heavily feminist issues that course through this story? What kinds of symbolism have our Jewish commentators found over the ages in the Book of Esther? And what about King Ahasuerus...did he know what was going on behind his back? Was he dumb, sly or totally indifferent to the whole story?

There is a wealth of interesting and controversial interpretation regarding the story we read about on Purim. If you are interested in either Purim stories for children or more "adult" interpretations, I have a list of websites and books for your enjoyment. Please contact me.

And don't forget our TBI Night of Purim which will include the entire Religious School on Saturday night, February 27.

Donald Cohen
Education Director
eddirector@tbibluebell.org


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