Purim: Why is the book of Esther holy if God isn't mentioned?

• Published date: 15 March 2024
• Author: RABBI AHARON E. WEXLER
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The story tells us of the improbable rise of Esther, a regular Jewish subject of the Persian Empire, to become the wife of Ahasuerus, the Persian king. Her uncle, Mordechai, warns her to keep her Jewish ancestry a secret. At the same time, the wicked, Jew-hating Haman, viceroy of the empire, devises a plan to kill all the Jews in all of the empire's 127 provinces. All of this with the king's knowledge and approval. (As in many matters of state, a nice payoff to the crown is made by Haman in order to get what he wanted.)

Just at the right time, Esther reveals her true heritage and begs the king for a reprieve of Haman's wicked decree. Out of love for Esther, Ahasuerus reverses his decision, saves the Jews, and has Haman hanged on the very tree he prepared for his nemesis, Mordechai.

While the story can be read on the most basic level as a classic story of reversal of fortunes, this is not why it is included in the Bible.

Let us remember what the Bible is. It is the library of the Jewish experience with God. Composed over 1,000 years, it is the story of how God interacts with us and how we interact with Him. To sum it up in a word, it is theology. It may take the form of law, lore, poetry, and history, but it is one thing and one thing only – theology. Even the genealogy tables are not meant to share pedigree but are included to teach us theology.

Which raises the question: How does the story of Esther teach us theology without even mentioning God's name?

As mentioned, the Book of Esther is the last book included by the rabbis in the cannon. Keep in mind that the Jewish bookshelf at the time had many, many more books than what we find in the Bible. Some of them are referenced in the Bible but were lost to history; others didn't make the cut but were preserved by the Christians, usually in their Greek form.

Perhaps the most famous of these is the Book of Maccabees, which, while considered canonical by the Catholic Church as part of their Old Testament, was ignored by the rabbis and excluded from the Tanach.

So what was it about the Book of Esther that not only made the rabbis include it but mandated its public reading every year both on the night of Purim and the next morning?

I THINK the book serves as a final message to the Jewish people.

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