Secular Nature Of Esther

Just how large is the secular nature of Esther and how much does it reflect our lives today?
The Jews in Megillat Esther are non-religious yet manage to prevail, which makes the book both distinctly unique for the bible and allows it to become one of the most applicable to life as a Conservative Jew in America today. One of the most interesting aspects of Megillat Esther is the completely secular nature of its characters. This can be seen immediately as the entire first chapter of the book is about foreigners and does not mention the presence of Jews once. The book is even introduced using the line ”וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ הוּא אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹש“ (1.1) providing context for readers who are not familiar the Jewish goingons of the
time. Another key aspect of the secular characters is that there is a distinct lack of religious leaders in the book. Both Mordecai (who makes his own decisions) and Achashverosh (who makes his decisions with advisors) do not pay heed to religion when making their minds up about various issues. Additionally, it is well-known that G-d’s name does not appear in Megillat Esther. However, sometimes overlooked is that the Megillah not only leaves out the unerasable and official name for G-d, but even goes out of its way to avoid mentioning Hashem’s name. For example, in 4.14 Mordechai tells Ester that if she will not help the Jews, “הַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר.” As opposed to Mordechai saying that if Esther won’t help, then G-d will find another way in which he could save the Jewish People, the Megillah strikingly omits any mention of G-d. The lack of prayer in Megillat Esther also enhances its lack of G-d’s name. It adds a level of oddity to a story that is a key story in the Tanakh. This is prominently displayed in 4.3 after the Jews learned about their fate which states “דָתוֹ מַגִּיעַ אֵבֶל גָּדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים וְצוֹם וּבְכִי וּמִסְפֵּד שַׂק וָאֵפֶר יֻצַּע לָרַבִּים” . This shows that the Jews exhibited all the classic signs of mourning but did not pray to G-d for salvation. An additional aspect to the non religious nature of the characters was the timeline in which the story takes place.
There was no mention of Israel/Canaan or the Beit Hamikdash in Megillat Esther, even though the events of Megillat Esther happened in 482 B.C.E., 478 B.C.E., and 473 B.C.E., far after Cyrus allowed Jews to go back to Israel (539 B.C.E.) and the Second Beit Hamikdash was finished (515 B.C.E.). Jerusalem is mentioned only as a city that existed in the past such as in verse 2.6 (אֲשֶׁר הָגְלָה מִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִם הַגֹּלָה אֲשֶׁר הָגְלְתָה עִם יְכָנְיָה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל). No mention is made of the city of Jerusalem functioning in the time of the Megillah even though it was. Another key aspect of the secular nature of the Jews was that Esther is referred to by her secular name. Rather than refer to her as her hebrew name (Hadassah) the Megillah uses her Persian name Esther to portray her as the primary character in the Megillah (2.7). In fact Esther is generally thought of as the only name of the protagonist of the Megillah and has become a name associated with Judaism as a result despite its secular origins. In addition to Esther’s use of her Secular name she also intermarries which is a practice which is strongly frowned upon in Jewish
belief.
Furthermore, a paramount principle in the Tanakh is that of divine justice, that G-d treats us according to our behavior. Thus, if we suffer in any of the stories recorded in the Tanakh, the text often presents an explicit explanation for the suffering, typically stating that it is a result of our having sinned. For example, the Torah clearly states that Dor Sedom was punished because of its people’s sins. Also, (as I learned last semester) Sefer Shmuel discusses openly the reasons why King David had such intense difficulties with his children. However, there is no explanation presented explicitly in the Megillah for why we deserved to have Haman’s decree issued or why it was later reversed. Indeed, it seems from a quick reading of Megillat Ester that “lots” determined the course of events, rather than divine justice. This is personified greatly in 9.26 in which the name of purim is explained stating, ‘עַל כֵּן קָרְאוּ לַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה פוּרִים עַל שֵׁם הַפּוּר”.
The Jewish people’s violating of tradition is also prominent in Megillat Esther. A prime example of this was that