Q&A: The Book of Esther
The Book of Esther
Question
Do you think that in the Book of Esther there was hidden divine intervention, as the Sages interpret and as most people say, or was there no intervention at all and the story happened through natural events, the way we know them today?
Answer
I have no idea. In that period there were still prophets, and if they tell us there was involvement, then apparently there was.
Discussion on Answer
The fact that you don’t see a deviation from nature doesn’t mean there wasn’t one. If there is a prophet who says there was, then apparently there was. When there is no such prophet and I don’t see deviations, there is no reason to assume there are any.
Which prophet said there was a deviation from nature in the Book of Esther?
Esther was said with divine inspiration. The tradition says these are things that need to be included in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh).
But it doesn’t seem like there was any supernatural event there, and you usually say that divine involvement necessarily means a change in nature. So in what way is there involvement?
And if in a case like this, when no visible involvement is seen, you accept that there was involvement, then why shouldn’t we accept that there is involvement now in the same way?