“If I perish, I perish!”
Famous words. Without looking, do you know who uttered these words? …
Good. Queen Hadassah, you’re right “… for such a time as this”
Once upon a time, there was a young, very beautiful woman born in the faraway land of Persia where her family had been exiled. Here, she was forced to play the board, to hide her real identity and heritage. Her name was Hadassah. In Hebrew; it means Myrtle tree which is a symbol of peace, righteousness and blessings. Commonly though, she was Esther; whose associated Hebrew meaning was -hiding and concealing. Even so, the name Esther meant a ‘star’ in Persian. Spoiler alert! She embodies both of her names perfectly.
Think about it: what is your real name? You see, Esther was similar in appearance to the people in the kingdom of Persia, but her name, Hebrew name, had she used it, would have immediately distinguished her identity. So ironically, the name Esther allowed her to hide in plain sight.
What name have you chosen to hide your real identity?
Esther was orphaned and was raised by her cousin, as her adopted father who made sure she knew her heritage and history. One day, she was about her business, and I can only imagine her reaction when he came and told her about the King’s edict. All we know is that she was obedient. But how do you imagine she reacted?
Hold up! Before we continue with her story, let’s turn the pages back a bit as I want to introduce to you another admirable woman:
So, we are in the Persian empire: the most powerful kingdom in the world. It only follows that its king is the most powerful man in the world, right? What about its queen? Vashti: I would assume, most powerful woman.
At some point, the king decided to hold a 6-month party after party for the nobles and after that, another 7-day party after party after party for all the pawns, ahem, people. Anyway, on the Queenside, Vashti held her own parallel feast for the women in court. Now, it was on the seventh day, the last day of feasting, when the king, drunk with drink and pride, ordered that the queen be brought to him, and I quote the Bible, “with her royal crown, in order to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at.” 🧐
Sounds like a complement, right? But ♛ Vashti saw it as what it was and refused to be objectified and paraded like that. This was a blow to the king’s pride, and it infuriated him. To put this in context with no exaggeration, she was hanging herself. Given a draw, she was dethroned and banished in an effort to discourage other women from following her example to disobey their husbands and ‘kings’. I don’t know about the women in court or Persia then, but I know her boldness impressed me and further impressed the importance of maintaining my dignity no matter what. Nonetheless, she tipped her king and walked.
What do you think about Vashti’s response?
This is when a pawn, Esther is called upon to be promoted:
After his anger settled, the king started to miss his queen. Shocker! So, his advisors advised him to get a new, young, virgin for a queen. But just like on a chessboard, the pawn doesn’t just become queen; it’s a long journey. For you to be the queen of Persia, you had to undergo a year of preparation that included 6 months with oil, and another 6 months with spices and ointment. I have to admit that it sounds lovely. 😭 Right? I wish I could afford a whole year of pampering but- I’ll settle for a spa day or a weekend? How about you ladies?
After the preparation, Esther is ready to meet her king and the book records that she immediately found grace and favor in his eyes. 🤔 Because of her beauty? Maybe, but later as I came to understand, she was humble and gracious. Not only did she obtain favor from the king but also with everyone she met. In life, most women put in this position would be ruthless and cunning, exactly like the pawns, and to win on the board, they have to be. Esther, however, turns the game on its head; maybe even, is playing a different game.
She wins the crown. Esther is now the queen: The most important piece on the board. As she was going about her queenly duties one day, including staying pretty, her young women and eunuchs brought the news that her father is at the king’s gate wearing sack clothes and in ashes; crying and bitterly weeping. She was very distressed and since she didn’t understand why, she sent him clothes to wear to which he obviously refused. She then sent someone to him to find out why he was in that state and long story short; she learnt of the decree to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. You thought this thing started with the Austrian painter? 🤭
Anyway, her father requested her to plead the king on their behalf. Mind you, no one was to go to the king without being called and she hadn’t been called upon. By law, this was punishable by death. So; this was not a simple request. He was asking her to risk her life to save her people and naturally, she was afraid. Nonetheless, Esther requested a 3 day and night fasting to be done by all the Jews in the capital; no food or drink. (I only recently learnt there’s something called an Esther fast! The more you know?) She resolved that after the fast, she would go to the king, and uttered the famous words, “…if I perish, I perish!”
The third day came; she put on her royal robes and went in to the king who was sitting on his royal throne. I think she was still afraid. When the king saw her, she found favor in his sight and extended his golden scepter so she could touch it and not be put to death. This was the only way out for her. Do you guys see the parallel here, with Vashti’s story?
“What is it, Queen Esther?” The king asked. “…it shall be given to half my kingdom.” That’s right! What favor from a king and husband. No prenups needed 🙃. Her request was simple, for “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfil my request, let the king and his second* (name is mentioned) come to the feast that I will prepare for them…” Here, I must say, Esther’s wisdom was undeniable. Remember, the king doesn’t know she’s a Hebrew yet. She plans to reveal this in a manner that she and her people will remain alive.
On the board, a queen plays two crucial contradicting roles: Self-preservation and the queen sacrifice. It’s the proximity without recklessness rule. She has to avoid being a target, all the while protecting her king to the point of self-sacrifice. Esther is a master queen. Throughout the feast, she was observing the king while looking for a good opportunity for her reveal her secret but couldn’t find one. Thus, she made a second request that the king and his second come again the next day to another feast and she’ll reveal her actual request. This aroused the king and his second’s intrigue even further and something cool happened that night, but you can read that from the book itself 🤪.
In the feast the second day, she finally revealed that she was a Jew, and of how the second had planned to kill her people. She exposed the trickery to get the king to agree to the decree, now sealed using the king’s signet ring. The second was hanged and problem was solved. You think? Nope. The thing is, once a decree was made and sent out, there was no way of ‘undecreeing’, so the D-day was still looming. Meaning her work wasn’t done yet. What was she to do? Esther wept and begged the king to avert it but there was no way of undoing what was already done.
Good news is by now, she had introduced her adopted father, the forgotten knight, to the king, and the king had honored him with his signet ring. With this and the king’s assent, letters were sent out explaining first, why the second was hanged and second, that the Jews had the right to defend themselves if anyone attacked. A different decree, sealed. Fear of death and mourning was replaced with hope.
When the D-day came, the Jews defended themselves throughout the kingdom, that day and the next and won. These 2 days are celebrated till today as the feast of Purim and Esther is at the center: From fear to obedience. In the end, our queen preserved herself, protected her king and her pawns successfully.
Note: I’m looking at this story from a different angle; it’s not contextually the main point of the story in the Bible. You should read it and fill in the blanks. It’s very interesting. I think it has so many hidden gems, pun intended.
As a woman, I’m certainly taking some tips from Esther. Are you; which ones?
PS:
As I was chatting to someone about this story, they mentioned another woman that I overlooked: Haman’s wife, the wife of a very proud husband who plotted to kill a whole tribe of people because one of them refused to bow to him. She ended up losing a husband and 10 sons. What a tragedy! Think about that.
(I intentionally left out the names of men in the post in case you didn’t notice. Guess why? 😏)
Look out for the next one: Delilah!