Day 40
Esther – A Study in Bravery
Dedicated by the Spanish and Portuguese Community, London
God is surprisingly not mentioned in the Book of Esther. Instead of imposing Himself through prophet or miracle in the story, He runs the world under cover, and guides it towards completion through natural events. This lack of overt intervention by God creates the space that allows human input to take centre stage. In the Book of Esther, God’s interaction with the people reaches a state of maturity and is an example of how the relationship between God and Israel should be. Maimonides writes that there will come a day when all the books of the Bible will become obsolete, except for the Book of Esther, which will remain eternally relevant to the Jewish people.1
From our perspective, this mode of divine interaction can seem to run without rhyme or reason. The world looks as if it has no direction and meaning. Uncertainty develops, and it disturbs us. However, uncertainty also brings us precious gifts: freedom and opportunity for self-achievement come about when life lies before us, undetermined.
