A predatory false campaign against a weak king caused the failure of Mordecai and Esther to persuade Ahasuerus to build the Temple • The Midrash that many do not know and the message for today
Book of Esther
Photo:
David Cohen Ginny
A different look at the story of the scroll.
Not everyone is aware of the fact that the story of the Book of Esther takes place against the background of a long struggle waged at the time of the captivity of the exiles in Babylon.
According to the Midrash, Mordechai was one of the emissaries who came to Ahasuerus in an attempt to persuade him to allow the construction of the Temple in the Land of Israel, which was included in the territory of the Persian Empire.
Haman was a parallel messenger, who tried to persuade the king, upside down.
Because of a predatory false expedition against a weak and not very wise king - a campaign that included forgeries, intimidation and incitement and a lot of Pike News - Mordechai and Esther initially failed diplomatically and failed to persuade to build the temple, because "a letter written in the king's name and signed in the king's ring must not be returned."
The king of then, was supposed to be the ruler of social platforms, was supposed to control messages in means similar to today’s Facebook;
But even Ahasuerus could not withstand the pressure of public opinion, or at least in what seemed so and avoided allowing construction.
Mordechai and Esther do not give up, and in the end their efforts bear fruit.
Every story of the building of the Second Temple and the Return of Zion, every story of the Megillah and many other landmarks in Jewish history teach one thing: when the goal is right, when it is valuable, principled and vital, the obstacles and stumbling blocks can be overcome.
It is very easy to give up on the road and leave the mission, but faith, determination, and striving for a worthy goal end in victory.
In a value situation, even witty posts and sharp tweets will not help, nor will ideas wrapped in a pike of information, which ostensibly conveys credibility.
When the city of Shushan was embarrassed in the face of manifestations of alienation and ignorance and racism - and also in the face of baseless headlines, perceived as truth - the solution required for Mordechai and Esther was to arouse a sense of responsibility and mutual guarantee;
With sensitivity, seriousness and goal-directed professionalism.
The move was built on the personality of one woman, Queen Esther, who passed the test of the result: it is worthwhile and important to learn from her.
Queen Esther has no ego.
She is not suspected of personal ambitions.
"And when it was Esther's turn ... she asked for nothing."
In secrecy and cunning, with good advice and devotion, she achieves her goals.
These are not private goals, not power, honor, money and ... honors, but honor her people and her homeland.
She works so that the same embarrassment that gripped her company will dissipate and disappear.
The struggle against Pike News and the rule of the network - no less important than the struggle against the plague itself.
Purim is not only a time for costumes, but also an opportunity to remove masks and learn a short lesson from history;
Understand and internalize that in the reward of one woman's matter-of-fact personality, and thanks to the egoless, it will also be simpler for us to know that truth and brotherhood and mutual guarantee are several times stronger and more convincing than an artificial card tower woven by one social network or another.
This recognition and realization - they will make the "city of Shushan embarrassed" a country that "rejoiced and happy", and most importantly - a happy and healthy society.
The author is the chair of the national-religious woman movement "Emuna"
