Esther's Religious Identity/1

Esther's Religious Identity

Introduction

Reading in Religiosity

Many readers of Tanakh tend to assume that its heroes and heroines were halakhically observant Jews.  The text, though, generally provides little information about any individual character's observance of specific commandments.  Tanakh's silence may be due to the fact that the issue is often irrelevant to a story's larger message, or because the observance is simply assumed.  Either way, it leaves room to question the religiosity of individual figures, especially when the story line might actually imply non-observance, as in the case of Megillat Esther.

Where is Hashem?

Overt religious messages are conspicuously absent from the Megillah. The lack of Hashem's name from the scroll is well known; neither the narrator nor any of the protagonists ever mention it or attribute any events to the hand of Hashem.  There is also no indication that either Esther or Mordechai even pray to Hashem after hearing of Haman's edict.¹  Moreover, nowhere does Esther protest being taken to the king or express reservations about sleeping with a non-Jew.  How should this omission of religious practice and ideals be interpreted?

Contrasting Stories

The conduct of Mordechai and Esther can be contrasted to the actions of other Biblical characters in exile who attain similar positions of prominence.²  Daniel, in stark comparison to Esther, refuses to eat of the king's foods and risks his life to pray to Hashem. Yosef not only rejects Mrs. Potiphar's advances, but also constantly points to Hashem's guiding hand.³

The Septuagint's recounting of the Esther tale may serve as the sharpest foil, for it interpolates into the narrative these missing elements of religious observance.⁴ It presents Mordechai as warning Esther to remain loyal to her faith before going to the palace, and it also includes the prayers to Hashem of both Mordechai and Esther following Haman's decree.  Do these foils demonstrate that Esther was not a religiously observant Jew, or are these arguments from silence inconclusive?

Ramifications

Esther's religious identity impacts on our understanding of various aspects of the Megillah:

• Becoming queen and marrying Achashverosh – Did Esther willingly go to the palace and desire to become queen?  Should she not have sacrificed herself rather than unlawfully sleep with the king?  See Esther's Relations with Achashverosh for a full discussion.
• Observance in the palace – Did Esther try to keep the Torah's commandments while in the palace?  If so, how was this possible?  See How Did Esther Conceal Her Nationality for elaboration. 
• Hiding her identity – What led Mordechai to instruct Esther to hide her identity?  Was this going to help or hinder her observance?  See Why Conceal Esther's Nationality for details.
• Esther's dual name – Esther's original name was Hadassah.  Her Persian name, Esther, seems to be derived from the name of a Mesopotamian goddess, Ishtar.  Does this name imply that Esther had assimilated into Persian society even before becoming queen, or is this merely a name which she received upon becoming queen?

¹ Even when the verses mention the nation fasting and crying, it never says that these actions are meant for Hashem to see and hear.  This stands in contrast to the book of Yonah, where the people of Nineveh similarly attempt to ward off evil, and the verses explicitly state that they called out to Hashem as they fasted and donned sackcloth.  See also the Second Targum4:1About Second Targum of Megillat Esther which adds to the story an account of Mordechai's prayer in which he tells the people to follow in the path of the people of Nineveh, and compare to the discussion of the Septuagint below.

² For further development of the parallels between these stories, see Yosef and Megillat Esther.

³ For example, when interpreting Paroh's dreams he claims, "בִּלְעָדָי אֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶה אֶת שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה" and later, upon revelation to his brothers, he calms them by saying, "אַל תֵּעָצְבוּ... כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם".

⁴ See similarly the more religiously oriented expansions of the narrative in the Second Targum.