From Princess to Queen: Sarah to Esther
The title of this blog should have made you think of the Midrash that ties these two women of Tanach together: Bereshit Rabbah 58:3:
רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא הָיָה יוֹשֵׁב וְדוֹרֵשׁ וְהַצִּבּוּר מִתְנַמְנֵם בִּקֵּשׁ לְעוֹרְרָן אָמַר מָה רָאֲתָה אֶסְתֵּר שֶׁתִּמְלֹךְ עַל שֶׁבַע וְעֶשְׂרִים וּמֵאָה מְדִינָה, אֶלָּא תָּבוֹא אֶסְתֵּר שֶׁהָיְתָה בַּת בִּתָּהּ שֶׁל שָׂרָה שֶׁחָיְתָה מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים וָשֶׁבַע וְתִמְלֹךְ עַל מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים וְשֶׁבַע מְדִינוֹת.
Rabbi Akiva was once sitting and lecturing. When his audience began to doze off, he sought to rouse them and said: ‘Why was Esther seen fit to reign over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces? The explanation is: Let Esther, who was a descendant of Sarah, who lived one hundred and twenty-seven years, come and reign over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.’
The usual way this is taught is that Rabbi Akiva wanted to impress on his sleepy students how precious every moment of life is: Sarah used all her 127 years well, and so laid the groundwork for her descendant, Esther, to get to rule over a province for each year. The message was not to sleep through opportunities to make the most of your time on earth.
A princess and a queen
I'd like to take a different approach here that finds more in common between the two than the number 127. Let's start with what's referenced in the title. Sarah's name was changed from Saray, transforming the meaning from the more limited "my princess" to "princess" in general. Her descendant became Queen Esther who was not a queen just for her people but of the entire Persian empire.
The two women were also brought into the palaces of a king who wanted them for their beauty alone and didn't appreciate what they were about. In Sarah's case, it happened twice. Both times Avraham told his wife not to reveal who she really was so that she could pass as his sister.
On both occasions, a miraculous intervention protected her from being touched by the king. That Esther who was also a tzadekes did not get that kind of protections made it clear to Mordechai that this situation must have a higher purpose that only came to light years later when he instructed her to take the risk of approaching the king to thwart Haman's decree.
Likewise, as Rashi note on 3:7, according to the Midrash, Esther was married to Mordechai, though that relationship was kept secret when she was taken to Achashverosh. She also listened to his instruction to remain silent about her identity and then to take a 180 degree turn from her survival tactic in the fifth chapter of the Megillah.
She who must be obeyed
And that is when Esther truly came into her own a queen I would say that it is also where she most clearly channels Sarah. in 5:15 we see her for the first time tell Mordechai what to do and what to order the Jews to do, too. Mordechai obeys her, 5:17:
וַֽיַּֽעֲבֹ֖ר מָרְדָּכָ֑י וַיַּ֕עַשׂ כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוְּתָ֥ה עָלָ֖יו אֶסְתֵּֽר
Mordecai passed and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.Side note: you see the contrast between Mordechai and Achashverosh here. When Vashti refused to obey the summons to appear at the king's party, Achashverosh couldn't deal with the affront to his authority. That's why it wasn't enough for him to toss Vashti; his advisors picked up on the king's feeling of insecurity and recommended that he decree that all women must obey their husbands.
That is what led to the first series of letters to go out in the Megillah 1:22: וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח סְפָרִים֙ אֶל־כָּל־מְדִינ֣וֹת הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־מְדִינָ֤ה וּמְדִינָה֙ כִּכְתָבָ֔הּ וְאֶל־עַ֥ם וָעָ֖ם כִּלְשׁוֹנ֑וֹ לִֽהְי֤וֹת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ שֹׂרֵ֣ר בְּבֵית֔וֹ וּמְדַבֵּ֖ר כִּלְשׁ֥וֹן עַמּֽוֹ And he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every nationality according to its language, that every man dominate in his household and speak according to the language of his nationality.
That form of patriarchy has not been the Jewish tradition. We see that going all the way back to the first Matriarch, Sarah. She spoke up and told Avraham what to do when she wanted him to take on Hagar and then when she wanted Hagar and Yishmael expelled. Even though the famously kind and hospitable Avraham was troubled by the apparent cruelty of throwing out his son along with Hamthat, Hashem told him to listen to his wife.
Chazal observed that Sarah wasn't just speaking out of her own emotional response. She was clear-sighted and even had superior prophetic vision than her husband had. (See Rashi on Bereishis 21:12) And Esther merited that, too. Rashi quotes Chazal (Megillah 15a)say about 6:1 וַתִּלְבַּ֤שׁ אֶסְתֵּר֙ מַלְכ֔וּת that Esther' donning royal garments here mean that she had ruach hakodesh Divine inspiration. Indeed, Esther ranks among the prophetesses of Tanach.
Misplaced mercy results in cruelty
Like Sarah, Esther wasn't just following her instincts but tuned into her unique mission in assuring the survival of Am Yisrael. Sometimes that calls for what may appear cruel. Sarah knew that, and Esther knew it, too. She also knew that part of her mission was fixing the error of the first king of Israel who lost a kingdom* for trying to be kinder than G-d and sparing the Amalekite animals and Aggag. As a result, Shaul demonstrated Chazal's warning that those who are kind to the cruel will be cruel to the kind when he massacred Nov, the city of kohanim.
Generations later, there arose a new manifestation of Amalek in Haman the Aggag. And in the Purim story, it took a queen to rectify the first king's fatal error. She doesn't only call for Haman's death, she demands the right for Jews to stand up against every single person who wanted to participate in the genocidal plot. That turns out to be 75,000 across the provinces plus 800 in Shushan on top of Haman's 10 sons.
Notice that even though 500 were killed in Shushan on the 13th of Adar, Esther asked for an addition al day to kill the remaining 300 who had eluded the Jews that day. It seems so at odds with what you'd expect. Weren't the Jews already safe? Why did they need to extend the time of fighting?
They extended the fighting because leaving the rot of those who were gleeful at the opportunity to massacre the Jews meant they remained in danger, hidden though it may be -- like when a fire travels behind the walls of a house. Consequently, there could be no ceasefire until they were certain that all the evil had been rooted out. Misplaced mercy toward the guilty results in cruelty toward the truly innocent. That was a truth that Sarah grasped with her clarity of vision and one that Esther also upheld.
*On Shabbos, it struck me when I heard the Haftorah For Parashat Zachor that the words Shmuel uses in telling Sahul that he has lost the kingship that will be transferred to someone who is better than he - 15:28 וּנְתָנָ֕הּ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ הַטּ֥וֹב מִמֶּֽךָּוּ are echoed in the Megillah's account of Vashti's losing her position f queen that will be taken up by Esther 1:19: וּמַלְכוּתָהּ֙ יִתֵּ֣ן הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִרְעוּתָ֖הּ הַטּוֹבָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנָּה.
Seeing The light
Yet Jews still persist in committing the error of Shaul again and again. They want to appear enlightened and kind and so end up being benighted and cruel, enabling those who seek to wipe out the Jews to gain leverage and cause untold harm. The only counter to that is to accept the leadership of someone with the clarity of Esther.
Forget about how it doesn't look good to throw out a feverish teen who threatened your son's life or how it seems so nice to extend clemency to your enemy. That's not the story of Purim or of Jewish survival that is predicated on unity and moral compass directed by Torah -- the orah [light] that the Jews experienced at the time of the Purim story -- rather than what's in fashion in politics.
Speaking of that, you must see this video:
If we accept that and come together as this nonfrum but proud Jew said he intends to do for Shabbos Parshas Zachor.
We had a Yom Tov that was turned into a time of eivel and we now need to turn that around. We should all merit the geula we need now and again experience לַיְּהוּדִ֕ים הָֽיְתָ֥ה אוֹרָ֖ה וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה וְשָׂשׂ֖ן וִיקָֽר The Jews had light and joy, and gladness and honor.
Related:
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2015/03/purim-when-we-were-all-heroes.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2018/02/on-second-thought-doubling-of-purim.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/02/hoisted-by-their-own-petard.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2016/03/purim-countering-confusion-of.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2015/03/good-will-and-good-works-on-purim.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2016/04/word-association.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2010/02/thoughts-on-purim-and-unexpected.html
http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2008/03/thoughts-on-mishloach-manos.html
agazine.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-power-of-half-shekel.html
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