Q&A: Questions about the Book of Esther
Questions about the Book of Esther
Question
1. In the Book of Esther we see the Jews kneeling and bowing to Haman because Ahasuerus had so commanded. Is that permitted?
(In what cases is it permitted?) And if it is forbidden, how were they not punished for it?
2. The Sages established that Mordechai married Esther. How, then, was she considered a virgin when she was sent to marry the king if she had already been married to Mordechai? (After all, it says that he took her as a daughter, and also, “he was raising Hadassah, that is, Esther.”)
3. How did many of the peoples of the land become Jews so quickly? After all, it is a process…
4. Since Esther was Jewish and married a non-Jew, her children would be Jewish, but how did she agree in the first place to marry an uncircumcised non-Jew? And Mordechai even recommended it? Doesn’t that contradict the education she received? (In the Torah, the story of Shechem and Dinah says, “for that is a disgrace to us” regarding uncircumcision.)
5. What seems to you the most plausible reason that the Megillah entered the canon of books?
Happy Purim
Answer
Sorry for the delay. I didn’t see it.
- If the kneeling is not on account of idol worship, there is no problem with it. There are midrashim saying that it involved idol worship, but the plain sense is not that way.
- Does “he took her as a daughter” or “he was raising her” mean that he married her? The idea that Mordechai was married to her is a midrash, not the plain meaning of the verses. And perhaps they did not know that she was not a virgin.
- Who says it happened in seconds? Besides, the process is not really so important. As long as there is serious intent, one can convert immediately. I seem to recall that Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun has an article about mass conversion of huge groups through immersion in the sea.
- What do you mean, she agreed? She was taken. Esther was passive ground. Where did Mordechai recommend it?
- I do not know.