Esther: Grappling with the Hidden

Duality is the created nature of our world, a place where there is light and darkness, joy and sorrow, physicality and non-physicality.

Looking at this through a spiritual lens, it’s a world of the concealed and revealed. That which is apparent to our visible eye, hides that which stretches infinitely beyond our imagination.

A table is solid, a material object, right? Actually not. It’s mostly made of space, with molecular matter flitting here and there…unseen by our eyes. Yet, there.

In the Megillah [scroll] we read on Purim, the very first time we’re introduced to Esther, it’s with a hint of the dual nature of things. The text [Esther 2:7] reads:

וַיְהִ֨י אֹמֵ֜ן אֶת־הֲדַסָּ֗ה הִ֤יא אֶסְתֵּר֙ בַּת־דֹּד֔וֹ כִּ֛י אֵ֥ין לָ֖הּ אָ֣ב וָאֵ֑ם וְהַנַּעֲרָ֤ה יְפַת־תֹּ֙אַר֙ וְטוֹבַ֣ת מַרְאֶ֔ה וּבְמ֤וֹת אָבִ֙יהָ֙ וְאִמָּ֔הּ לְקָחָ֧הּ מׇרְדֳּכַ֛י ל֖וֹ לְבַֽת׃

He was foster father to Hadassah—that is, Esther—his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother.

There are deep spiritual messages here. The name Hadassah הֲדַסָּ֗ה in Hebrew is from the root for myrtle (a kind of branch) called Hadas / הֲדַ֖ס but also means to ‘make a mark’ (among other things). In Isaiah’s prophetic teachings (41:19, 55:13) the myrtle branch is a sign of restoration and transformation. Myrtle branches are used to this very day on the holiday of Sukkot¹, and form one of the species of the Lulav, made of the palm, myrtle and willow branches.

So the text immediately tells us that Hadassah’s identity was changed, to the Persian name Esther. We can only imagine the times which would have called for that switch, and the text just assumes that we will understand. In times when Jews are not ‘outing’ themselves (which is the crux of the story as a response to antisemitic hatred), alternate names are used².

So, Hadassah’s name became the more Persian Esther, which the Hebrew root letters s-t-r (אֶסְתֵּר֙ /samekh, tav, reish) mean nothing other than hidden! The text tells us that often we need to hide from our true selves, due to circumstances.

In spiritual terms, both of Esther’s names were invested with the ruach / spirit of the The One, since both the Hei / הֲ in the beginning of Hadassah and Aleph / אֶ in the beginning of Esther, are markers. We can surmise that no matter the outward name, there is an internal reality which can not be denied. Do so, and there is risk to your very integrity. Esther’s internal reality was that was aligned with a higher state—-but as we learn in the Megillah, she struggled with this (fasting and praying and asking others to do the same), until she gained this insight for herself.

The verse above, through the Hebrew, tells us that Mordechai was not only her caretaker in a physical way, but also fostered her connection with Hashem. How do we discern this?

The beginning of the verse tells us וַיְהִ֨י אֹמֵ֜ן אֶת־הֲדַסָּ֗ה / Va’yehi Oman et Hadassah….which the text translates as ‘He [Mordechai] was foster father to Hadassah. What the Hebrew hints at is that Mordechai also imbued within her a sense of Emunah, which shares the same root (a-m-n / aleph - mem- nun / אֹמֵ֜ן). He directed his efforts toward her inner education as well as his outward caretaking.

In the Megillah, Esther is chosen as queen, but keeps her identity a secret.

“Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had told her not to reveal it.” Megillat Esther, 2:10

But hatred for her people comes to a climax, and soon there is a crisis where she has a choice to make. She can either speak up and be in alignment with her true self and her people, or stay hidden—-from herself and her spiritual purpose.

“Haman then said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of any other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; and it is not in Your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them.” Megillat Esther, 3:8

What is the basis for the hatred? The answer given is that were were living among everyone…and everywhere! We were not living apart, cloistered and secluded, but instead, trying to ‘blend-in’.

We were trying to be like others, but not acting like others. That, Haman says, is not to be tolerated. The answer that we, as a people, sought in order to be accepted and to not make ourselves distinctive and unique, did not work in the face of bold hatred.

It still doesn’t. And we have to make a decision now that Esther made then.

Mordechai makes it clear to her that she has a choice. He tells her that though she has changed her name, and her very status, she will share the fate of other Jews:

“Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace.”Megillat Esther 4:13

Nothing changes who we are. Not by assuming Christianized names or customs. Not by abandoning our traditions. Esther had to come to this realization on her own. Mordechai goes on to tell her:

“On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” Megillat Esther 4:14

Mordechai tells here that even though she has a decision to make, all does not rest on her alone….there are events that are beyond what she can now fathom.

Famously, Hashem’s name is never directly mentioned anywhere in the Megillah. But here, there is an allusion to her purpose beyond what she can see. Here, she has to draw on her Emunah / Faithfulness in what Mordechai taught her as a young girl.

We have decisions to make also, both as a people and as individuals. We can either choose to live within our traditions that seek to uplift us, and society as a whole, or turn our backs, in favor of not ‘standing out’. We are a ‘certain people’, a distinct people who ideally should be proud of who we are and what we’ve brought to the world—-and continue to bring.

There is also a connection that each person has with the All-One. Every soul has a special and unique role to play in this world, and shirking our responsibility means that we have lost an opportunity to bring out our truest self.

May you be imbued with guidance from Above, to also bring out your true and inner self with joy and happiness.

1. Sukkot itself is a time of restoration, a time when we received an inscription for life in a New Year, cleansed of our past wrongs and guilt…and by sitting in an unprotected space (the Sukkah), and connecting with the world that Hashem created, we can be transformed.

2. I can definitely relate to this issue. We moved into an area that was predominantly Christian. So, not wanting my daughter to ‘stand out’, we chose an Anglicized name for my daughter. It was a pareve name, popular, but definitely not Jewish, nor Hebrew. Ironically (or not) her Hebrew name speaks to who she really is, at her essence, and is much more beautiful and also meaningful.