One of the clearest proofs of the infinitude of the Torah is the ability of each successive generation to mine the text for startling new discoveries even after millennia of exegesis by some of the greatest minds in history. Rabbi David Fohrman’s new work on Megillas Esther The Queen You Thought You Knew is a wonderful example of how it is possible to be both rigorously faithful to the ancient texts and highly original at the same time. And he does so in a style that is accessible to both those with little familiarity with the texts and those steeped in the relevant midrashim and classical commentaries.
For most of us one of the barriers to approaching Megillas Esther with fresh eyes is the very familiarity of the Purim story which we have read annually since we were little children. Because we know the story so well we tend to assume that the heroes – Mordechai and Esther – acted exactly as one would have expected. Fohrman invites us to forget for a moment that everything turns out for the best and to reconsider the behavior of the characters at crucial junctures.
For instance why does Mordechai insist the Esther approach Achashverosh immediately at the risk of her life when almost a year remains to the denouement and she will have much time to seek his favor? That question becomes more pointed in light of Mordechai’s confident assertion that even if Esther does not act salvation will come from somewhere else.
Why after being received by Achashverosh does Esther twice push off making her request and instead invite Achashverosh and Haman to first one private banquet and then another? Why does Esther fall weeping at Achashverosh’s feet for the first time only after Haman has been hung and Mordechai elevated in his place?
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