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Given things for purification (Esther 2:9). He suggested that she might be Jewish, which implied some sort of relationship between them, since he was from the offspring of Amalek, the grandson of Esau (Jacobs brother) (Esth. (Viewed on March 4, 2023)
. She was in a foreign land without the protection and support of her people. Commenting on Deuteronomy 11:13-14, which describes rain falling in its season as a reward for keeping the commandments, Sifre Deuteronomy writes (42): In other words, Rabbi Nathan observes that in the days of Queen Shelamzion, the people actually obeyed the commandmentsthey were all good for a change!and God rewarded the Israelites with plentiful rain from heaven. assumed in to the next King's harem (also possiblealthough a In one exegetical expansion, the women in the harem would adorn Esther, for they said to themselves: This one will certainly be married to the king, so it is worth our while to honor her (Midrash Panim Aherim, version B, para. Upset, the king stepped out into the palace gardens. For the name of Esther, a number of etymologies are possible.1) Esther comes from the Persian "setareh," meaning "star".2) Esther comes from the Aramaic "istahar," meaning "moon." Taken to the palace of King Ahasuerus of Persia, she exposed the plot of the evil Haman, who had convinced the king to allow the annihilation of all the Jews in his extensive empire. Esther was born about 492BC and was 14 when she became Queen. According to one tradition, she was forty years old, while another places her age at seventy-four, which is the numerical value of the name Hadassah (Esthers second name), or, according to another calculation of this numerical value, seventy-five (see above). Those were the good old days, the rabbis say, the days of Queen Shelamzion. The Rabbis perceived this going as having sexual connotations, which therefore had tragic consequences for Esther and for Mordecai(BTMegillah16a; see below: Esther Comes to the Rescue of Her People). was the wife of the Persian King Xerxes [aka "Ahasuerus" in many Then the queen gave Haman's estate to Mordecai and prayed the king to deliver the nation of the Jews from the fear for their lives, and she showed him what the letter that had been sent throughout the country by Haman, the son of Ammedatha; for, she said, if her country were destroyed and her countrymen were to perish, she could herself bear to . How old was King Xerxes when he married Esther? - Answers The story of the underdog, of the weaker winning against the stronger, is the quintessential biblical and Jewish theme, but it is not often that Israel is figuredliterarily or in realityas a woman and still praised as pious, divinely appointed, and beloved.[13]. Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96, Buckingham Palace announces Sometimes it was hard for Esther because the other Jews were treated badly. 2). cit.). It was only when Esther came that Ahasuerus removed the likeness of Vashti and replaced it with that of Esther (Esth. The Death of Esther Queen Esther is an orphan raised by her uncle Mordecai and is eventually married to King Ahasuerus. She was living there as part of the harem of the king, but was singled out by the King who was so taken with her beauty that he chose her to be his queen. When her secret was revealed, the whole of Persia, who had had no knowledge of the Jewish people or their plight, was amazed and moved by Esthers courage and selflessness. It is a remarkable moment in Jewish history, in which we can see one of the times when Jews were connecting to each other from Jerusalem to the Diaspora and establishing the holidays that we take for granted today. "And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all who saw her." (2:15). Esther was a good queen. Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI. She had two grown sons (Aristobulus and Hyrcanus II), but she decided not to step aside for them; perhaps she foresaw that the rivalry between the younger and older son would not end well. Scripture is silent on when and how Queen Esther died, and history is also silent on her life, as well. God used her to deliver His people from a wicked plan of total destruction. Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). Weird Things You Didn't Know About Queen Esther - Grunge.com She was a beautiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Another view cites the verse (9:27): the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselveswhat they took upon themselves below was confirmed above (BTMegillahloc. Her jar represented her strength and her resilience and gives a powerful message of hope to all those facing oppression. According to another tradition, he accompanied her to ensure that she did not suffer from sorcery (Esth. Similarly, her son Benjamin knew about the sale of Joseph, but remained silent and did not tell his father. Mordechai later adopted Esther as his daughter after her parents died. As Esther poured her tears and anguish into the jar, it became a bridge between her innermost feelings and the outside world. This status completely changed when Esther went to Ahasuerus of her own free will, in order to persuade him to cancel Hamans decree(Esth. But to approach the king without being summoned was not only illegal, but it could very well result in death for impertinence. Esthers jar was a tangible expression of her emotional devastation, her loss of hope, and her feelings of utter helplessness. The midrash tells that when Esther came to Ahasueruss palace the spirit of divine inspiration left her, and she then prayed to God. Mordecai held a position inside of the king's palace, and he went their every day to perform his duties. Her name was Shelamzion Alexandra. The day before, the 96-year-old queen pulled out of a virtual Privy Council meeting after her doctors advised her to rest. In common parlance, the braided loaves blessed and eaten on the Sabbath and Festivals. When we celebrate Purim, may we laugh with Esther and Mordecai, but also remember Queen Shelamzion Alexandra, praise her example, and wish that Eretz Israel may experience those heavenly rains of peace again in our time. Esther would have been in her early to mid 60's when the The short answer is that we'll never know. Esther: Bible | Jewish Women's Archive In the midrashic expansion, on her way to the king Esther encountered various obstacles and she had to pass through seven departments in the palace. Have an update or correction? Yes, Mordechai was indeed Esthers cousin. Like the moon, that is born after thirty days, Esther, too, said(Esth. Nehemiah probably knew of Queen She Jewish Women's Archive. Rabbah6:4). Queen Elizabeth Dead 2022: How She Passed Away, Cause of Death 2:7 ). I told her not to tell anyone she was an Israelite, though, because a lot of people still didn't like Israelites and I thought King Xerxes might not pick her to be the new queen if he knew she was an . The more prevalent Rabbinic opinion is that Hadassah was Esthers second name, with a plethora of interpretations built on the similarity of the myrtle (hadas) to Esther: Esther was so called because she was righteous, and the righteous are called myrtles; she was of average height, like a myrtle, which is neither short nor long; she had a greenish (sallow) complexion, like a myrtle (BTMegillahloc. Abase him before me, for You abase the proud (Esth. According to other traditions, her bowels were loosened (BTMegillahloc. Dont miss the latest essays from TheTorah.com. Haman, having become incensed thatMordecai, aJew, held him indisdainand refused obeisance, convinced the king that the Jews living under Persian rule were rebellious and should be slaughtered. Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. Esther may or may not have reflected the historical reality of the Persian period, but her story provided a model for a new reality in Shelamzions lifetime. Queen Mother dies peacefully, aged 101 | UK news | The Guardian The Book ofEsther (2:11)relates that Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring. The Rabbis understood Mordecais escorting of Esther as his providing her withThe legal corpus of Jewish laws and observances as prescribed in the Torah and interpreted by rabbinic authorities, beginning with those of the Mishnah and Talmud.halakhic guidance, for he would rule for her in questions ofMenstruation; the menstruant woman; ritual status of the menstruant woman.niddah (the laws governing menstrual purity, and, more generally, family purity; see below: Esthers Personal Status"). Esther was taken from her home and came to live in the palace along with many other girls of the harem. Jewish Queens: From the Story of Esther to the History of Shelamzion When she relayed Mordecais information to the king, she attributed it to Mordecai(Esth. How can a woman test for infertility at home? Horev], chap. The king wanted to honor Esther, so he showered her with gifts, including a crown and royal robes. Women in the Old Testament: Queen Esther How old was Sarah when she gave birth to Isaac? - Aleteia Updates? He also arranged for the Jews to gather and fast for the protection of their lives. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. And lest you think I am making an argument about gendered skills (i.e., what women do vs. what men do), the following from the late biblical scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky is noteworthy: With these two queens, the Torah and Jewish history model another way of being successful in the world, both for men and women. Queen Esther and Bella Abzug: Costumes, Leadership, and Identity, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. Esther and Mordecai then obtained a royal edict allowing Jews throughout the empire to defend themselves on the day set for their extermination. Though she may have been elderly at the time of her death, her legacy continues to live on. Mordecai would walk about in front of the harem in order to rule for Esther regarding menstrual spotting; another exegetical exposition has Esther showing the spotting from her menstruation to theTorah she-bi-khetav: Lit. The Rabbis relate to Esther as the one responsible for the deliverance of Israel and compare her to the moon, which shone for Israel in the darkness of night. Some may have stumbled upon the street named after her in downtown Jerusalem, but otherwise, she is generally only briefly mentioned, marginalized, and almost written out of the historical record. What is the reflection of the story of princess urduja? Mordecai stopped at the gate because he wanted to tell the king about a plot to kill him. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. She never forgot her cousin Mordecai and she never forgot that she was one of God's children. Yet another tradition maintains that she was eighty years of age(Gen. Rabbah39:13;MidrashAbba Gurion, para.