Megillat Esther, the story of Yosef and the absence of G-d's name from the Megillah

Many have noted that Megillat Esther has numerous connections with the story of Yosef in the book of Bereshit chapters 37-50. (For example see Gavriel Chayyim Cohen, Introduction to the book of Esther, in Megillat Esther, Hamesh Megilot: Da'at Mikra, 1990.) Both stories occurred outside of the land of Israel and in both cases, a person, Yosef and Mordechai, who was initially in the "outs" rose to become the virtual rulers of the country. Both Mordechai (Megillat Esther 2:5) and Yosef are descendants of Rahel (Bereshit 30:22-24), and both of them saved Jews and non-Jews. Yosef saved his family and all Egyptians from the famine, while Mordechai caused Esther to save the Jewish people, and saved the life of Achashverosh.

In addition, for both Yosef and Mordechai, their rise to power relates to two servants of the kings, the kings’ sleep or attempt to sleep, and there was a delay when Yosef and Mordechai received recognition from the king. Pharaoh had two dreams in his sleep, and because of his desire to understand the dreams he learned of Yosef due to Yosef’s interpretations of the dreams of two of his servants, the steward and the baker, two years beforehand, Bereshit 40:23, 41:1. Similarly, Achashverosh could not sleep and this led him to learn how Mordechai saved his life by overhearing the plot of two of his servants, but as noted by Achashverosh’s servant initially nothing was done for Mordechai, Megillat Esther 2:21-23; 6:1-3. After their rise to power, both Mordechai and Yosef got dressed up, rode through the streets, and people called out to them, Bereshit 41:42,43 and Megillat Esther 6:11. In both stories, the clothing of the protagonists demonstrates both their fall and rise.

In both stories the attainment of power is a turning point in the story. After Yosef rose to power this enabled him to meet his brothers again. Similarly, Achashverosh's knowledge of Mordechai’s good deed was crucial to the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman, see our discussion above on Megillat Esther 6:1, “Sleepless in Shushan” (https://lobashamayim.blogspot.com/2009/03/megillat-esther-sleepless-in-shushan.html) In addition, the dramatic moment in the story of Yosef and his brothers occurs when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers (Bereshit 45:3) and similarly in Megillat Esther (7:3,4) the dramatic moment is when Esther revealed her true identity to Achashverosh. Other linguistic connections between the stories are Bereshit 39:10 with Megillat Esther 3:4, Bereshit 44:34 with Megillat Esther 8:6, and Bereshit 43:14 with Megillat Esther 4:16 (Maybe also Bereshit 45:1 and Megillat Esther 5:10).

Is anything to be learned from the connections between Megillat Esther and the story of Yosef? Is this just an example of history repeating itself? A possible lesson is that both stories teach an important lesson about faith in G-d, and this idea relates to the question why is G-d's name not mentioned in Megillat Esther.

Avraham Korman (2001, p. 20) notes various explanations for why G-d's name is not mentioned in Megillat Esther. One answer is from Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) who suggests that Mordechai and Esther thought that the Megillah would be translated by non-Jews who would insert names of pagan gods by the name of G-d or instead of G-d's name in the Megillah. Thus, they thought it was best to leave G-d's name out of the Megillat Esther. A second answer is from R. Yitzhak Arama (1420-1494) who suggests that the Megillah was first written by non-Jews and only later copied by Mordechai and Esther. Hence G-d's name was not mentioned in the Megillah since the non-Jews did not include G-d's name when they wrote the Megillah. Korman suggests a third answer that initially Mordechai and Esther wrote the Megillah in a foreign language (Greek or Persian) and they did not want to write G-d's name in a foreign language. All these answer are technical since with all the approaches really G-d's name should have been included in Megillat Esther, but maybe G-d's name was not included in the Megillah as part of the message of the book.

Returning to the parallels between Megillat Esther and the story of Yosef, both stories occurred after G-d's presence became much less apparent. G-d spoke to the patriarchs, but G-d did not speak to Yosef. Similarly, Megillat Esther takes place after the destruction of the first Bet ha-Mikdash, (Megillat Esther 2:6) which also signaled a reduction in the presence of G-d in the world. The greatness of Yosef is that he constantly mentioned G-d, even when he was before Pharaoh, Bereshit 41:16, as he never lost his faith in G-d. Similarly, while G-d’s name is not mentioned in the Megillah, it is clear that the people had faith in G-d. For example, Mordechai told Esther that if she did not act to save the Jewish people, the people would be saved in another manner, Megillat Esther 4:14. Also, when Esther and the people fasted for three days (Megillat Esther 4:16) this fasting was their prayer to G-d. (Many understand that the Jewish people prayed when they fasted, which could be true, but the fasting itself was a form of praying.)

A lesson to be learned from both stories is that even if G-d’s presence is not apparent as it had been previously, still one must keep having faith in G-d. This lesson is enhanced due to the absence of G-d's name in Megillat Esther since this absence indicates a lack of G-d's presence in the world and still the people showed their faith in G-d.

In addition, both stories teach us what it means to have faith. Yosef did not depend on miracles but asked the steward to remember him to Pharaoh and this is how he rose to power, see our discussion on Bereshit 40:14,15 "Help." Similarly, Mordechai and Esther did not just rely on fasting, but Esther devised a very clever plan to reverse Achashverosh’s agreement with Haman. Her idea of a double banquet made Achashverosh inquisitive and then G-d arranged that in the middle of the two banquets, Achashverosh learned of Mordechai’s good deed. We learn from both stories that while we must believe in G-d, faith also means that we also must act in a rational manner to help ourselves without relying on miracles.

Megillat Esther 3:6,13 - The wealth factor

3:6 records that Haman decided to attempt to kill all the Jewish people because Mordechai would not bow down to him. This decision is illogical since Haman should just have wanted to kill Mordechai, as in fact Zeresh later suggests, 5:14. Yet, it could be that Haman always wanted to kill the Jewish people, and then Haman's anger at Mordechai's stubbornness not to bow down to him was just the final straw that stirred Haman to act.

Haman planned to kill the Jews on the 13th of Adar, 3:13. Why did Haman only plan to attack the Jews on one day? The Malbim (on 9:21) suggests that the permission was not limited to one day as really the 13th of Adar was to be the start of the campaign against the Jews and it was open-ended. Yet, if this was true then the Jews should have been worried about their lives after the 13th of Adar (or after the 14th of Adar in Shushan) since Haman's decree was never rescinded. Also, if the decree was open-ended, why did Haman wait for the 13th of Adar, he should have begun immediately after he had permission from Achashverosh?

Another problem with an open-ended decree is that the country would have descended into anarchy. If the decree was just limited to one day, then there would be anarchy for only one day, but afterwards the country would resume again as a normal country. Thus, the most Haman was able to get from Achashverosh was one day of mayhem. This concern for order in the realm is also evident when Vashti disobeyed Achashverosh, and Achashverosh was advised to banish/ kill her because otherwise all the women would not listen to their husbands, 1:17.

Once Haman was only able to get permission to kill the Jews on one day, did he really think that all the Jews could be killed on one day? The Crusaders, Chmielnicki and Nazis did their best to kill the Jewish people but still they were unable to kill everybody in one day. I doubt that Haman really thought he could kill all the Jews on one day. What was to be with the Jews who survived by hiding on the 13th? Could they have continued living afterwards as if nothing happened?

My guess is that Haman's real goal was to reduce the Jewish people's wealth and hence influence in the country. This could occur due to the deaths of the people, but because the decree was limited to one day, most of the people would survive by hiding. Thus, there was a second aspect to the decree that the general population was allowed to plunder the Jewish people's homes (end of 3:13). While this aspect seems to be secondary it really was the crucial aspect of his plan. Even if the people hid on the 13th, they would be impoverished when they returned from hiding, and this impoverishment would reduce their influence in the country.

This goal of impoverishing the Jews is evident when Haman offered Achashverosh 10,000 silver talents, 3:9. This was a colossal sum of money. (Goldman, 1946, p.212, quotes from Herodotus that this was approximately the income of the entire Persian empire for a year.) How would Haman have been able to get such a large sum of money? It seems that this money was to come from the Jews who would be plundered, see Amos Chacham, 1990 on 3:9 and Hazony, 2000, p.229.

Megillat Esther 8:11 - The counter decree

8:11 records that Achashverosh made a second decree that the Jews could defend themselves and plunder their enemies. Why was the second decree necessary? Were the Jewish people so beaten down that they could not envision fighting back without the decree? This would not accord with their later actions that when given the chance they were able to kill 75,000 people in one day (9:16). Also, if the Jews were able to defeat their enemies, why were they worried after Haman's decree?

I used to think that it was the army that changed sides after the second decree, as initially the army was prepared to attack the Jews but in the end the army defended the Jews. Yet, the second decree only allowed the Jews to defend themselves and nothing is mentioned about a change in the role of the army.

One answer is that most of the people were not rabid anti-Semites. R. Moshe Alshich (16th century) argues that the allowance for the population to plunder the Jewish people's homes in Haman's decree was an incentive for the people to murder. According to this idea, Haman realized that not everybody was a rabid anti-Semite and then the permission to plunder the Jew's wealth was to obtain the general population's acquiescence to his decree. The second decree that allowed the Jews to defend themselves was then crucial not to the Jews but for the general population who were not rabid anti-Semites. After the second decree most of the general population who were not rabid anti-Semites decided not to attack the Jews since they could have been killed and lost their possessions if they attacked the Jews because the Jews were now allowed to defend themselves. The Jews could not have defended themselves against the entire population, but after the second decree, only the true anti-Semites attacked the Jews, and against this smaller number, the Jewish people were able to organize and defend themselves, 9:2.

Another possible answer is based on the peculiar nature of the decree that it was limited to one day, which meant that the Jews had the option of hiding on the 13th and surviving with a loss of their possessions. Prior to the second decree, had the Jews successfully defended themselves against their attackers, then they would have been tried for murder. Accordingly, if the Jewish people attempted to protect their property then they could not have won since either they would be killed or they would be considered murderers. Their only option was to escape and forgo their possession. However, the second decree allowed the Jewish people to legally kill anybody who attacked their property, and hence only with the second decree were they willing to fight back.

Megillat Esther: Esther's fast - Three continuous days?

Megillat Esther (4:16) records that Esther told Mordechai that he should tell all the Jews of Shushan to fast for three days and nights and that she and her maidens would also fast. This fast included not drinking water as well as not eating. 4:17 records that Mordechai did as Esther commanded and 5:1 records that Esther went to see Achashverosh on the third day, which presumably was the third day of the fast. This fasting is difficult. How many people can survive 72 hours without food or water? Was this a reasonable request by Esther for all the Jews of Shushan to fast for three days? How could Esther been able to see Achashverosh after three days of fasting?

Ibn Ezra (on 4:16) attempts to limit the fast since he notes that she came to Achashverosh on the third day which means that she “only” fasted two full days. He notes that even by the third day, her face would have been gaunt from fasting but that she trusted in G-d and not in her beauty. Yet, even two days of fasting is difficult, and the people who acceded to her request to fast for three days would not have known to stop after Esther met Achashverosh.

S. Goldman (1946, on 4:16) writes, “The fast need not have been a continuous fast for three days. The Midrash asserts that food was taken at the sunset of each day.” I do not know the source of this Midrash, but it seems difficult because 4:16 explicitly records that the fast was for days and nights. Instead, Goldman’s first suggestion, that the fast was on three separate days, seems very reasonable. Esther went to Achashverosh on the third day that she fasted, but she was able to speak to him and was her usual radiant self since she had "only" been fasting for half a day.

There is an interesting support for this understanding from Masekhet Soferim (9th century? 17:4 and 21:1, see also Shulchan Arukh, Orah Chayyim 666:3), which quotes that by Purim there was a three day fast but it was not continuous. The fast was on Monday, Thursday and Monday, and the custom in Israel was to have the three day fast after Purim. (To the best of my knowledge no one fasts these three days.)

This custom of fasting on three separate days might have developed since it was considered too much to ask people to fast for three consecutive days, even though people could eat at night, or maybe the idea of fasting three separate days was because it was thought that Esther’s fast was also on three separate days.  For more on the development of this fast, see the end of the discussion, "A brief history of Ta'anit Esther."

Megillat Esther: Sleepless in Shushan

The Mishnah (Megillah 2:3) records an interesting argument as to how much is one obligated to read of the Megillah on Purim. R. Meir says that one must read the entire Megillah, R. Yehuda says that one must read from 2:5 onwards and R. Yossi states that one must read from 3:1 onwards. The Talmud (Megillah 19a) quotes a fourth opinion, R. Shimon bar Yochai that really one must only read from 6:1, “on that night the king could not sleep,” onwards. (The Talmud states that the halakhah is like R. Meir.)

The Talmud quotes two explanations, from R. Yochanon and Rav Huna, for the four different opinions. While R. Yochanon and Rav Huna differ as to the sources for the different opinions, they both agree that R. Shimon bar Yochai’s position is based on the idea that there occurred some miracle relating to 6:1. Yet, the Talmud does not specify what was the miracle.

One possibility is that the miracle was that Achashverosh was unable to sleep. Esther Rabbah (10:1) writes that G-d disturbed Achashverosh’s sleep as G-d caused him to dream of Haman seizing a sword to kill him. Siftei Chachamim (on 6:1) provides a reason why this inability to sleep was considered a miracle. He suggests that people naturally fall asleep after a big banquet, so we would have expected Achashverosh to have slept well after Esther’s first banquet. However, not everybody agree that Achashverosh’s sleeplessness was a miracle. The Talmud (Megillah 15b, quoted by Rashi on 6:1) quotes Rava that Achashverosh was unable to sleep the night between the two banquets since he was worried that Esther and Haman were planning together to overthrow him.

The Malbim (on 6:2) suggests a different possible miracle. He writes that the divine providence was the timing of the events that on that particular night between the two banquets Achashverosh happened to learn of Mordechai’s loyalty and this occurred just when Haman came to ask him for permission to hang Mordechai. (Note, the Alshich writes that Haman came at night, but it seems that Haman came to Achashverosh first thing in the morning, and that Achashverosh had learned about Mordechai at the very end of the night.)

One could also combine these two possibilities, and claim that the miracle was both Achashverosh’s sleeplessness and the ensuing events of the night. Yet, what was the importance of Achashverosh’s sleeplessness and the ensuing events of the night?

Rav Soloveitchik (1973) explains that 6:1 is the turning point of the Megillah since it led Achashverosh to suspect Haman due to Haman’s mention of wearing the royal garb, horse, and crown, (6:8) and/ or his failure to reward Mordechai. Thus, “on the next day when Esther charged Haman with treason, the king willingly accepted the accusation,” and Haman’s fate was sealed when Achashverosh’s suspicion was raised even further when he saw Haman on Esther’s couch.

Yet, it is not clear if Haman’s fate was really sealed when Achashverosh saw Haman with Esther. Maybe he still could have bribed or talked his way out of the accusation. Instead, his fate was definitely sealed when Charbona reminded Achashverosh that Haman wanted to hang Mordechai, 7:9, and this is one explanation why we say Charbona of blessed memory on Purim (see Zlotowitz, 1976, on 7:9). Due to this possibility, Sasson (1987, pp. 340,341) adds another element to the importance of Achashverosh’s inability to sleep. He writes, “By itself, Esther’s accusation might have led the king to investigate the matter as he did earlier in similar circumstances (2:23). The king himself might not have decided to hang Haman if he had not recently remembered Mordechai’s loyalty. With Charbona’s revelation, right after Haman’s clumsy lurch at the queen, that Haman had prepared a hanging for Mordechai, the evidence for a conspiracy fully crystallized in the king’s mind.” Sasson also suggests that because Haman had to honor Mordechai he was so shaken that he was not able to “react coolly to Esther’s accusation.”

Accordingly, Achashverosh’s inability to sleep was crucial to the narrative since his lack of sleep caused Achashverosh to accept Esther’s accusation of Haman.