The Disappearance of God The Case of Esther AJR: Torah Study as a Spiritual Practice Session IV February 24, 2022

(1) When Mordecai learned all that had happened, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went through the city, crying out loudly and bitterly, (2) until he came in front of the palace gate; for one could not enter the palace gate wearing sackcloth.— (3) Also, in every province that the king’s command and decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing, and everybody lay in sackcloth and ashes.— (4) When Esther’s maidens and eunuchs came and informed her, the queen was greatly agitated. She sent clothing for Mordecai to wear, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he refused. (5) Thereupon Esther summoned Hathach, one of the eunuchs whom the king had appointed to serve her, and sent him to Mordecai to learn the why and wherefore of it all. (6) Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the palace gate; (7) and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and all about the money that Haman had offered to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. (8) He also gave him the written text of the law that had been proclaimed in Shushan for their destruction. [He bade him] show it to Esther and inform her, and charge her to go to the king and to appeal to him and to plead with him for her people. (9) When Hathach came and delivered Mordecai’s message to Esther, (10) Esther told Hathach to take back to Mordecai the following reply: (11) “All the king’s courtiers and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any person, man or woman, enters the king’s presence in the inner court without having been summoned, there is but one law for him—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the golden scepter to him may he live. Now I have not been summoned to visit the king for the last thirty days.” (12) When Mordecai was told what Esther had said, (13) Mordecai had this message delivered to Esther: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. (14) On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” (15) Then Esther sent back this answer to Mordecai: (16) “Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!” (17) So Mordecai went about [the city] and did just as Esther had commanded him.

And the seven prophetesses that prophecied to Israel, who were they? Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther. Sarah as it is written (Gen. 11, 29) The father of Milcah and the father of Yiscah. And R. Isaac said: "Yiscah refers to Sarah, but why was she called Yiscah? Because that signifies seeing, and she was a seer through the Holy Spirit and this is derived from the passage (Ib. 21, 12) Whatever Sarah tells you hearken to her voice. Miriam, as it is written (Ex. 15, 26) Then took Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron. Was she then Aaron's and not Moses' sister." "This means," said R. Nachman, in the name of Rab, "that she had prophecied even when she had been only Aaron's sister [before Moses' birth] saying, 'In the future my mother will give birth to a child that will deliver the Israelites.' Finally, when Moses was born, the whole house was filled with light, and her father arose, and kissed her on her head, and saying to her, 'My daughter, thy prophecy is fulfilled.' Afterward, when he was cast into the river, her mother rose, saying to her, 'My daughter, what has become of thy prophecy?' And thus we understand the passage (Ib. 2, 4) And his sister placed herself afar off, to ascertain what would be done to him, to mean to know what would be the outcome of her prophecy." Deborah, as it is written (Jud. 4, 4) Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth. R. Isaac said: "This means that she prepared wicks for the lights in Mishkai. Hannah, as it is written (I Sam. 2, 1) And Hannah prayed and said, 'My heart is glad in the Lord, my horn is exalted through the Lord.' My horn is exalted, and not my flask. This refers to David and Solomon, who were anointed with oil taken from a horn, their dynasty endured; but Saul and Jehu, who were anointed with oil from a flask, their dynasties did not endure. (Ib. 2) There is none holy as the Lord; for there is none besides Thee; Neither is there any rock like our God." R. Juda b. Manassia said: "Do not read, Ein Biltecha [none besides Thee] but read Ein Lebalathecha [nothing could wear you out] . Come and see that the nature of the Holy One, praised be He! is not like the nature of frail man. The work of frail man exhausts its maker, but the Holy One, praised be He! is not so; He exhausts His work." Neither is there any rock like our God; Do not read Ein Tzur (rock), but read Ein Tzayer, (there is no sculptor like our God) for the custom of the world is to form a shape on the wall, but he can put into it neither breath, nor soul, nor entrails, nor bowels, but the Holy One, praised be He! He forms a shape within a shape (creates a body within a body) and puts into it breath, soul, entrails and bowels. Abigail, as it is written (I Sam. 25, 29-31) And the soul of my lord will be bound in the bond of life with the Lord thy God. When she departed she said to him. And when the Lord will do *** ood my Lord. She prophecied that he would be king. R. Nachman said: "This is the meaning of the current statement, 'A woman handles the shuttle while she talks,' or 'the duck bends its head down in walking, and its eyes look all around (it follows two pursuits at the same time.'" Huldah, as it is written (II Kings 22, 14) And Chilkiyaha the priest, and Achikam, and Achbor and Shaphan and Assahyah went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah. But how did Huldah prophecy in the place where Jeremiah lived? At the school of Rab it was explained that Huldah was a relative and therefore he was not particular about it. But why did King Joshiyah himself ignore Jeremiah and send a committee unto Huldah? R. Shila said: "Because women are compassionate." R. Jochanan said: "Because Jeremiah was not there, for he went to bring the ten tribes back [from the exile]." And whence do we infer that he did bring them back? It is written (Ex. 7, 13) For the seller shall not return to that which is sold. It is possible that the prophet should prophecy the suspension of the jubilee law when the law had already been abolished? We must therefore say that Jeremiah had caused the return [of the ten tribes] and Joshiyah b. Amon reigned over them. Whence do we infer this? It is written (II Kings 23, 17) What king of monument is that which I see? And the men of the city said to him, "It is the grave of the man of God, who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which thou hast done against the altar of Beth-El.' What had Joshiyah to do with the altar of Beth-El? From this we infer that Jeremiah returned [the ten tribes] from captivity when he began to practice the jubilee law and Joshiyah was king over them. And Esther, as it is written (Est. 5) Now it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on her royalty. It should be written, royal apparel. "Infer from this," said R. Elazar, in the name of R. Cahnina, "that she clothed herself in the Holy Spirit. Here it is written Vatilbash (she put on) and there (I Chr. 12, 18) A spirit, labsha (invested) Amassai. [Just as in the latter place the word Labsha is employed to signify the Holy Spirit, so here also Vatilbash signfies the Holy Spirit]." R. Nachman said: "Pride does not- fit women. Two women were proud, and they both had unlovely names; one was call Bee (Deborah) and the other was called Cat (Huldah). Of Deborah it is written (Jud. 4, 6) And she sent and called Barak but she did not go to him, and of Huldah it is written (II Kings 22, 15) Say unto the man that hath sent you to me; and she did not say, tell the king."

"And they stood at the bottom of the mountain (Exodus 19:17)-" Rabbi Avdimi the son of Chama the son of Chasa said, "This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, held the mountain over them like a barrel and said, 'If you accept the Torah, it is good. And if not, here shall be your graves.'" Rav Acha Bar Yaakov said, "From here there is a great claim against the Torah!" Rav said, "Even so, they accepted it again [willingly] in the days of Ahasuerus, as it is written, (Esther 9:27) 'They upheld and accepted' - they upheld what they already accepted."

They also asked Rav Mattana: From where in the Torah can one find an allusion to the events involving Esther? He replied to them that the verse states: “Then My anger shall be kindled against them on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day: Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? And I will hide [haster astir] My face on that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned to other gods” (Deuteronomy 31:17–18). They also asked him: From where in the Torah can one find an allusion to the greatness bestowed upon Mordecai? He replied: As it is written with regard to the anointing oil in the Tabernacle: “And you shall also take the chief spices, of flowing myrrh [mor deror]” (Exodus 30:23); and we translate mor deror into Aramaic as: Mira dakhya, which resembles the name Mordecai.