As I contemplated which Bible character would make the world a better place today, I went through the names of all the individuals who made a major impact on history in their time with a long-lasting effect. I started with Abraham and Moses and ended with Jesus. I considered King David and King Solomon, as well as Daniel and the Prophets, too. They all had exceptional character and great achievements, as well as some human weaknesses.
Ultimately, I picked Esther, maybe because at the time, it was just a few days away from the Jewish holiday of Purim, or maybe because she was a female, and it’s time to give women some credit. Purim commemorates the story of a young Jewish woman who saves her people from looming annihilation. Her story is told in the Megillah (Book) of Esther, in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles.
The story is about how Haman, a prominent member of the cabinet of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes), convinced the king that the Jews living in exile in Persia were a threat to the kingdom and should be killed. However, Queen Esther, with the strong encouragement of her uncle, Mordechai, saved the Jews of Persia. Purim is also known as the Feast of Esther. As I recalled the story, I was reminded how much my mother’s life, her character, and her actions resemble that of her biblical namesake. Her Hebrew name was Esther.
According to one Google definition, “A person’s character is made up of their beliefs and moral principles, which guide their behavior. Character is shaped by life experiences and expresses a person’s intrinsic qualities and morals.”
I hope I am neither sacrilegious nor sound like someone who is bragging as I compare some of the character traits of the biblical Esther with those of my mother. May you be the judge.
They were both brave. They both lived in a dangerous place at a dangerous time. They both were part of a community that was doomed to perish; nevertheless, they risked their lives in order to save the lives of others. During Esther’s time, the law of the royal court forbade anyone from approaching the king without being summoned. The punishment for breaking the law was death. Esther defied the law and approached the king without being summoned. This gave her an opportunity to reveal Haman’s plot.
I am here today because during the Holocaust, my mother was brave enough to defy a government order by not showing up at the Óbuda brick factory from where the Jews of Budapest were being deported to Auschwitz. We know all too well what happened to the many millions who did obey government decrees.
They both had to use their knowledge and resourcefulness to survive in a hostile environment. Esther knew all the intricacies of the royal court, and she used them to her benefit to entrap Haman. She invited the king to two dinners and used the king’s weakness for her to reveal Haman’s murderous plan against her people. This led to Haman’s humiliation and death and a chance for Jews to survive in exile.
My mother was arrested after we did not go to the brickyard, but she was let go after three weeks, because she deceived the warden into believing she was a war widow. We got another chance to survive; the other 80-plus women in detention were not so lucky.
They were both loyal to their people/heritage to the point that they risked their lives. Esther was reminded by her uncle that she was “born for such a time as this,” implying that her ancestry compels her to take the risk for her people.
My mother at one point considered converting to Catholicism. She only went to the first class because she could not bring herself to betray the religion of her ancestors and family.
They were both selfless. Esther was the queen, and the king loved her. She could have rejected Mordechai’s plea and could have just saved herself and let her people die. But she did what she had to do for her people.
My mother—in order to get us through the lack of food and groceries during the last months of the war and even after—went to the countryside to barter her jewelry for basic necessities, like bread, flour, milk, etc.
They were both determined to survive in spite of the circumstances. Esther came from very hard circumstances. She was an orphan, taken care of by her uncle. She lived in exile away from her homeland, among strangers. She was forced to live in the king’s harem. Despite all these hardships, she didn’t let her circumstances determine her fate. She not only tackled everything that life threw at her, but she also became the hero and the savior of her people. Her story is recalled every year, giving encouragement and hope to Jewish people who had to overcome unspeakable horrors in the years after her story ended.
My mother had to live through discrimination, hatred, the loss of my father, who was the love of her life, and the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. She raised me as a single mother. She worked hard her whole life to make sure that I would have a better life. She was determined, and she succeeded. Here I am at age 83 as living proof.
Today, a war is raging in Europe again. Jews are under attack in their homeland, and antisemitism is on the rise worldwide and at home, too. How many Esthers do we need to make the world a better place for everyone?
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