Opinion A queen in the enemy's rear: when Esther went out to save her people Israel today

1.

Apparently there is no way out.

The sentence was signed, and the runners set out urgently at the king's word to spread the news of the final solution throughout the empire.

Mordecai wears sackcloth and ashes and sends Esther an order to "come to the king to beg him and ask him for her people."

Esther hesitates, coming to the king without an invitation is punishable by death.

Mordechai makes it clear that the safety and lives of multitudes of Jews stand in front of her, and in any case, her proximity to the king will not save her, because anti-Semitism is stronger than family ties and evil will reach her as well.

If she does not act, "wind and salvation will stand for the Jews from another place", and she will disappear from the history of her people.

"And who knows if at such a time you reached the kingdom", that is, if she wondered why she was destined to marry a king she did not want, she probably received an answer.

Esther is convinced to go to the king while breaking the law, "and when I lost - I lost".

She wears a regalia and appears in the king's court, who hands her the golden scepter as a sign of desire.

"And Esther said: If it is good for the king, the king and Haman will come today to the feast that I made...".

Our sages wondered, what was her plan?

In the language of the Talmud in tractate Megillah (10 12): Let our Rabbi (we say): What did Esther see when she summoned the manna? Here are the various interpretations - some of them opposite and some of them complementary - that the Talmud brings to her act:

2.

Rabbi Eliezer says: Traps (traps) were laid for him, as it is said "Let their table be a trap before them" (Psalms 9:23).

I mean, the idea was to invite him to a three-way party, with the idea of ​​tripping him up there.

Rabbi Yehoshua says: She learned from her father's house, as it is said (Proverbs 25:21): If you are hungry, let me feed you with bread (and if you are thirsty, give me water to drink. For you are a sin on your head, and God will reward you).

Esther thought to endear herself to Haman by inviting only him to the party with the king.

The end of the second verse "And God will repay you", is interpreted that by inviting your enemy, God will help you make peace with him (play on words yishlam - yeshlim).

Rabbi Meir says: So that he does not take advice and rebel.

Not to give Haman time to organize a rebellion against Ahasuerus, if he hears that the king is angry with him.

Rabbi Yehuda says: So that they don't recognize her as Jewish.

After all, Haman planned the final solution for the Jewish people, and she sought to lull his vigilance, so that he would not suspect her while she was working behind his back with the king.

Rabbi Nehemiah says: So that Israel does not say, "We have a sister in the King's house," and distract them from the mercy.

Let them not think that everything will work out because "we have connections in the palace", but the opposite - that Esther ignores their plight and cooperates with the oppressor, and there is no one to lean on but their Father in heaven, so they will continue to pray.

Rabbi Yossi says: So that it is available to her at all times.

Esther wanted Haman to be present when she accused him, so that there would be no delay between her complaint and the king's examination of the case.

For during the examination the king will calm down from his anger, and he will consider other considerations.

Rabbi Shimon ben Mansia says: Maybe the place (God) will feel it and perform a miracle for us.

God will see that Esther also brings the oppressor closer to her and actually cooperates with him, and then only God's intervention will save the situation.

Rashi gives another interpretation: the invitation of the manna to the feast was an act of flattery. That way God will see to what abyss of humiliation Esther has descended, and then He will have mercy and save.

Esther sowed jealousy in the palace and isolated Haman, while quarreling him with the king and the ministers.

The king was jealous of her;

Suddenly she was competing with Haman for her heart.

And the ministers were jealous of Haman for the special honor that only he received

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha says: I will face him so that he and she will be killed.

Esther will make the king think that there is an affair between her and Haman, then even if he kills her, he will attach Haman to the gallows as well.

Esther therefore intended to give her life to save her people, and went to the feast knowing that she might not leave alive.

Rabbi Gamaliel says: He was a fickle king.

Ahasuerus was not a stable leader, and might go back on his decisions.

That's why it was important to take advantage of the time and not wait, lest he change his mind.

Rashi: "She (Esther) said: Lest I be able to tempt him and kill him, and if (the manna) is not cash - the time will pass and he (the king) will return." In other words: the question of timing, when to tell the king in order to achieve the desired result.

3.

All these reasons did not put the minds of our sages at rest, and they looked for another explanation for Esther's plan.

Rabbi Gamliel said: We still need the cognizant (to interpret it);

Datanya (both of us): Rabbi Eliezer al-Modai says: Be jealous of the king, be jealous of the flesh.

This is the most obvious reason: Esther sowed jealousy in the king's palace, and isolated Haman, while making him quarrel with the king and the ministers.

The king envied her because he began to suspect that something was going on behind his back;

Suddenly he is competing with Haman for her heart.

On the other hand, the other ministers were jealous of Bahman for the special honor that only he received.

Rabbi said: "Before a break - a genius" (and before a failure - a high spirit. Proverbs 16:18).

It is about exploiting a human trait: the meteoric rise makes the evil one believe that there is no end to him and that no one can control him ("hubris"), therefore he is not careful, which creates the conditions for his painful fall, from Igra Rama to Bira Amikata.

My father and Rabbi Damri Teruyaho (both of whom say): "I will quench their drink in their heat" (and the drunkards will be merry, and they will sleep for a year and will not wake up... Jeremiah please, Lt).

The wine feast leads to emotional warming and drunkenness and then to carelessness, and from that to a fall.

Rashi: "Esther said: Out of the two of the wicked comes calamity."

4.

On Purim, we celebrate the miracle of a brave and wise woman, who at the moment of truth knew how to weave the webs in which she would bring down the enemies of her people.

Was it a miracle?

The commentators of the Talmud who have the Tosafs (12th and 13th centuries) define a miracle in four words: "a spirit of valor and the ability to fight" (Baba Metzia ko aa).

Bravery is not enough;

A person can be brave and foolish, because he did not appreciate the magnitude of the danger or the strength of the opponent.

The hero should also be smarter than his enemy.

It is important not to lose your temper at the decisive moment (heroic spirit), but then you have to mobilize your wits and courage to overcome the danger.

The Talmud concludes the discussion as follows: Ashkahia Rabbah Bar Abu La Eliyahu (Rabba Bar Abu met with Elijah the prophet).

He said to him: Kaman hazia Ester wa Abda Hachi (as Esther saw and did so, that is, who is right)?

He said to him: As with all conditions and as with all conditions (according to the opinion of all conditions and conditions).

And after all this, Esther sets out on her life's mission only after she makes sure that the people are united behind her: "Go gather all the Jews... and fast for me... for three days".

Will we learn nowadays?

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