Esther's Relations with Achashverosh/1

Esther's Relations with Achashverosh

Introduction

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How Could She?

Chapter 2 of the Megillah describes how Esther was chosen to replace Vashti as Achashverosh's wife:

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(טז) וַתִּלָּקַח אֶסְתֵּר אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ אֶל בֵּית מַלְכוּתוֹ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָעֲשִׂירִי הוּא חֹדֶשׁ טֵבֵת בִּשְׁנַת שֶׁבַע לְמַלְכוּתוֹ. (יז) וַיֶּאֱהַב הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת אֶסְתֵּר מִכׇּל הַנָּשִׁים וַתִּשָּׂא חֵן וָחֶסֶד לְפָנָיו מִכׇּל הַבְּתוּלוֹת וַיָּשֶׂם כֶּתֶר מַלְכוּת בְּרֹאשָׁהּ וַיַּמְלִיכֶהָ תַּחַת וַשְׁתִּי.  

(16) So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. (17) And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

The marriage has bothered many readers of the Megillah.  How could  Esther marry an idolater?  Why did neither she nor Mordechai protest her being taken? In the words of R. Saadia Gaon:

It is necessary for us to understand why Mordecai did not resist (the removal of) Esther to Ahasuerus' palace, since it is clearly stipulated in the Torah, Do not give your daughter to his son or take his daughter for your son (Deut 7:3).  Though we might aver that he was absolved from guilt because he was forced, according to our Oral Law the use of force does not in fact absolve one from guilt in connection with the three sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, and the shedding of innocent blood.

R. Saadia's question is based on two assumptions: 1) Marriage to an idolater is a cardinal sin for which one is obligated to sacrifice one's life.  2) Mordechai and Esther were observant Jews who would have been bothered by such a transgression.   Both assumptions, however, require further exploration.

The Gravity of the Sin

It is unclear how severe a sin marrying Acahshverosh would have been.  The Torah's prohibition of intermarriage can be found in Devarim Chapter 7:

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(א) כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ י"י אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בָא שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ וְנָשַׁל גּוֹיִם רַבִּים מִפָּנֶיךָ הַחִתִּי וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי שִׁבְעָה גוֹיִם רַבִּים וַעֲצוּמִים מִמֶּךָּ....

(ג) וְלֹא תִתְחַתֵּן בָּם בִּתְּךָ לֹא תִתֵּן לִבְנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ לֹא תִקַּח לִבְנֶךָ. (ד) כִּי יָסִיר אֶת בִּנְךָ מֵאַחֲרַי וְעָבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וְחָרָה אַף י"י בָּכֶם וְהִשְׁמִידְךָ מַהֵר.

And you shall not marry into them, your daughter you shall not give to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son.

However, these verses speak only about marrying members of the Seven Nations of Canaan, and say nothing about Gentiles as a whole.¹  As such, it is unclear how the Torah would view marriage to Achashverosh.  Is it also prohibited by Torah law or only rabbinically?²  Furthermore, even if one posits that it is a Torah level prohibition, it is not certain whether relations with an idolater (ביאת עכו"ם)‎³‏ are included among the illicit relations for which one must forfeit life.⁴ On the other hand, a public transgression can turn even a minor crime into a desecration of God's name.⁵   As such, Esther's very public marriage to Achashverosh, regardless of its severity under other circumstances, might require her to forfeit her life rather than acquiesce.

Esther and Mordechai's Religiosity

How committed to Jewish law were Mordechai and Esther?  Though it is natural to assume that the two were not only observant Jews, but even leaders of the nation, a simple reading of the chapter suggests that they were not bothered by the king's decree.  There is no sign of resistance or struggle, and no mention of attempts to hide or disobey the royal edict. Does this indicate that a "secular" Esther actually went to the king willingly, or are arguments from silence invalid?   Were Esther and Mordechai happy or horrified when she was selected?  For a full discussion of the religiosity of each protagonist, see Mordechai's Religious Identity and Esther's Religious Identity.

¹ Perhaps surprisingly, nowhere else in Torah either is the nation warned against marrying an idolater. 

² Considering that the reasoning given for the prohibition of Devarim relates to the spouse's ability to sway one towards idolatry, it might be logical to conclude that marriage to other idolaters must also be prohibited. However, it might also be possible that not all intermarriages are viewed equally negatively.

³ According to Bavli MegillahMegillah 13aAbout the Bavli Esther was married to Mordechai.  [On the verse, "לְקָחָהּ מׇרְדֳּכַי לוֹ לְבַת", R. Meir remarks, "אל תקרי לבת אלא לבית" (do not read 'as a daughter' but as a 'house').]  If so, sleeping with Achashevrosh would constitute adultery, and according to everyone falls into the category of illicit relations for which one is obligated to forfeit one's life rather than transgress.

⁴ See, for example, Ramban who explains that relations with an idolater is not considered "גילוי עריות" for which one would have to forfeit one's life.  He learns this from the fact that during the Bavli's discussion regarding forfeiting one's life rather than transgressing the three cardinal sins, it does not question Esther's relations on that basis, but only for the fact that the act was public.

⁵ See Rava b. Yitzchak in  Bavli Sanhedrin Sanhedrin 74a-bAbout the Bavlithat a public demand of even a change in custom regarding one's shoelaces would require one to forfeit one's life.