Mordechai's Religious Identity/1

Mordechai's Religious Identity

Introduction

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Assumptions of 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 do either Mordechai or Esther protest Esther's being taken to the king or express reservations about her sleeping with a non-Jew.² How should this omission of religious practice and ideals be interpreted?

Additional Questions

• Mordechai's title – Mordechai is introduced specifically as an "אִישׁ יְהוּדִי".  Does this suggest that his Judaism marked him and was evident for all to see, or does the phrase more simply suggest that he hailed from the province of Judah?
• Mordechai's name – Mordechai's name recalls that of Marduk, a Babylonian God, and seems an odd choice for an observant Jew.  Is this evidence of assimilation?
• Position at the king's gate – The Megillah shares that Mordechai "sat at the king's gate", normally a position of power in Tanakh.  If Mordechai was a political leader, how did that impact on his Torah lifestyle?  Did he purposefully position himself so as to abet his brethren, or was he interested solely in Persian affairs?
• Mordechai's Refusal to Bow –Why did Mordechai refuse to bow down to Haman?  Was he motivated by religious concerns or personal ones?
• Concealing Esther's Identity – What led Mordechai to instruct Esther to hide her identity? Was this going to help or hinder her observance?

 

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.  The absence is further highlighted when looking at the retelling of the story in the Second Targum and Septuagint which both add an account of Mordechai's prayer.

² This lack is emphasized by other accounts of the story, like that found in the Septuagint, which present Mordechai as warning Esther to remain loyal to her faith before going to the palace.  See also the Second Targum which has Mordechai attempt to hide Esther so that she would not be taken.