Rabbi's Corner

Most of us are familiar with the Book of Esther--so familiar that, even as we read it every year, we don't always read it closely. But when we look closely, we can find the deeper, hidden messages in our text. 

The first verse of Chapter 5 reads as follows:

אסתר ה׳:א׳

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י וַתִּלְבַּ֤שׁ אֶסְתֵּר֙ מַלְכ֔וּת וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֞ד בַּחֲצַ֤ר בֵּית־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַפְּנִימִ֔ית נֹ֖כַח בֵּ֣ית הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְ֠הַמֶּ֠לֶךְ יוֹשֵׁ֞ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֤א מַלְכוּתוֹ֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמַּלְכ֔וּת נֹ֖כַח פֶּ֥תַח הַבָּֽיִת׃

Esther 5:1

"On the third day, Esther put on royal [apparel] and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, facing the king’s palace, while the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room facing the entrance of the palace."

You may notice that I have placed the word "apparel" in brackets. That is because the word isn't actually there in the original Hebrew--it just says that Esther donned malkhut, royalty. 

For many of our commentators, the word is just meant to be both. Royalty, in this context, is royal clothing. She is going before the king; obviously she's donning her royal garments. For some, we're only getting the detail to remind us that she has been fasting, so she's wearing the royal garments and not the sackcloth of prayer and mourning that Mordechai is wearing. 

But our Talmu offers a different idea: This verse is not about her literal clothing. The malkhut, the royalty she is "wearing" is the Ruach HaKodesh, the Divine Spirit. She prepares to face the King and Haman by bringing Divinity onto herself, and into herself. She gathers courage by knowing that God is with her. Knowing that, she is able to carry herself with strength and with royalty. 

May we all--as we face the challenges that demand courage from us--find the means and the strength to call upon the Divine to carry us forward. 

Purim Sameach