Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig: Megillat Esther in the Shadow of Joseph
The Book of Esther is a travesty of Jewish values. And that’s precisely why it was included in the Bible. If that sounds shocking to you, read on and you’ll find out what’s the true message of this strange biblical book.
Most Jews understand that Purim is a strange holiday, and nothing is stranger than its central piece: Megillat Esther. On Purim, we dress up as someone else – just as Esther hid her identity (the name “Esther” is a cognate of “hester” – in Hebrew, to hide). Moreover, on this holiday we are even “mandated” to get drunk!
As for Megillat Esther itself, it’s the opposite of what one would expect from a canonical Jewish book. First, Mordechai makes no attempt at all to hide his niece from the beauty contest officials – knowing what will happen to Esther if she wins, and she has a good chance of doing so because she’s very beautiful (Ch. 2: verse 7). She does indeed end up marrying the Gentile king. That’s “Jewish”?
Second, it is the only one of the 24 biblical books where there’s no mention of God! And third, there’s Mordechai: no other biblical Jewish hero is as self-aggrandizing and full of himself. And he admits it in his own writing (10:2): “And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordechai…”.
So what were the second century (CE) Rabbis thinking when they decided to include this “Jewish anomaly” in the Bible? Weren’t they aware of how non-Jewish all this sounded? Of course they understood this – which is precisely why they included Megillat Esther in the biblical canon! Moreover, the Jews in the Land of Israel at that time they knew their Bible well – certainly the Five Books of Moses (“Torah”). Thus, the Rabbis were sure that the common folk would easily pick up any “echoes” of a prior biblical story, entirely changing the flavor – and underlying message – of the Esther story.
Which brings us to Joseph in Egypt, that the Book of Esther clearly “echoed.” The numerous parallels between Joseph’s story and Megillat Esther run along two levels: 1- narrative/plot elements; 2- textual similarities in verses.
First, their respective plot elements have quite many similarities:
- A) Both heroes and later their “Jewish” brethren are in a foreign country because of the bad situation in their homeland.
- B) Both stories take place in a foreign ruler’s court.
- C) Both heroes end up as the second most powerful personages despite being in a foreign land.
- D) Both reach the pinnacle because some local officials messed up badly.
- E) In both stories, that local official dies by hanging.
- F) Both heroes change their names to something foreign.
- G) In both, a gentile ruler forgets who saved his neck.
- H) At some point, the gentile rulers issue an edict to kill Jews.
- I) Both stories “turn” at night (Pharaoh’s dreams; Ahasuerus can’t sleep and calls for a history reading).
- J) Both heroes hold a festive meal – but the purpose is hidden from those invited.
- K) Both heroes save their brethren from death.
There are also two striking textual similarities in the two stories: And Joseph was of beautiful form, and fair to look upon (Genesis 39: 6); … and the maiden was of beautiful form and fair to look on (Esther 2: 7).
Then this parallel: And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him: ‘Abrech’; and he set him over all the land of Egypt (Gen. 41: 42-43); And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy (Esther 3:10). And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman (8:2).
One final parallel: Esther married the gentile king; Joseph married an Egyptian priest’s daughter! But it is here that the two stories diverge: Joseph is bothered by his situation (Mordechai and Esther are not). He is facing an existential struggle, a conflict of identity – a split between his inner being and his external appearance. Despite many years in Egypt, Joseph could not avoid carrying a mental picture of his youth, i.e., his Hebrew identity.
The conclusion of Megillat Esther is very upbeat – indeed, for any Jew knowing anything about Jewish history, it is far too upbeat. But even if you didn’t know much history, the parallel Joseph story says it all: the brothers’ descendants spend a couple of centuries in bondage because they stayed in Galut (exile) i.e., they didn’t return to their homeland.
And that is the message of Megillat Esther, albeit thru the parallel resonance of the Joseph story. Don’t stay in Galut, even when it seems that your situation or position is ideal. It’s not merely “background” to the Esther story that when she is introduced with Mordechai, the Megillah states: There was a certain Jew in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordecai the son of Yair the son of Shim’ee the son of Kish, a Benjamite that had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away (2: 5-6). The Megillah is telling us from the very start: this story is centrally about exile and living in Diaspora.
Joseph was acutely aware of this. Think about Joseph at the end when he weeps one last time (Gen. 50: 17). What’s he crying about? The answer: the paradoxical weakness of power. Joseph realizes that he is paying a steep price for reaching the top, but in a foreign land. It’s a double price: on a personal level (he cannot return home and his brothers still don’t trust him!), and also on a family/national level (because of his stature, his family stays in Goshen/Egypt and become slaves).
How, then, is the “negation of the Diaspora” to be learned from the upbeat Megillat Esther? The answer is to recall all the “echoes”, the real underlying message: Don’t think that the Purim story ends happily for the Jews, just because Megillat Esther ends well. Remember that the immediate end of the Joseph story was also very positive: Pharaoh invited Joseph’s family to settle in Egypt (Goshen) and treated them well. But once a new Pharaoh came to power (and Joseph was no longer around to help them), the situation changed radically. In short, the Rabbis were saying indirectly but clearly: this won’t last. The Land of Israel is the place to be.
But why the need for such a roundabout message? The answer: There was serious competition between the rabbinic tradition in Israel and that found in Babylon as the 2nd century CE was coming to an end – just when the Israel Rabbis were deciding which books would be included in the Bible. The center of rabbinical authority was starting to shift from Israel to Babylon. Having a Book of Esther with resounding (pun intended) Joseph echoes would serve as a warning to those considering moving from Israel to Babylonia – without declaring “all-out-war” between the two rabbinical camps.
The bottom line: looking at Megillat Esther, its Joseph story echoes, and the period in which it was placed in the biblical canon, the only reasonable conclusion is that the Rabbis included this book not as an encomium, but as a dire warning as to what happens Jewishly to anyone not living in their own homeland. This is an interesting case where the Book itself (Megillat Esther) is the “drash” (alternate text). It’s not designed to make us happy but rather deeply disturbed, and from there to consider what is the narrative’s true message: beware of Galut life!
