Gender Roles Reversed: Esther's Trump Card

One of the things that is most unique about the story of Megillat Esther is the fact that it presents, to the best of my knowledge, an unparalleled depiction of gender relations in the Tanach where man and woman are on equal footing. The Torah, for one, depicted a very patriarchal society, but in the story of how things unfold between Mordechai and Esther, the two of them climb to the same stature, each commanding the other, each directing the actions of the other, each acquiring a posture on parity with the other.

The Megillah explicitly states that Mordechai had adopted Esther. It is unclear though whether they were husband and wife, or simply, Esther was an orphan in his home. It would seem the former is the more accurate reading because the Megillah states how beautiful Esther was in the context of her having been adopted by Mordechai, seeming to connote that there is some logical connection between her adoption and her looks.

Thereafter, after Vashti is demoted – the Megillah does not explicitly state that she was killed, but rather, that Achashveirosh recalled "what had been decreed upon her" – and on Memuchan's advice, a replacement who is both a virgin, and who is beautiful is sought. In the dragnet that has been set, Esther is also taken, Mordechai instructing her not to reveal her national identity. She is given preferential treatment, having found favor in the eyes of Hegai, "guardian of the women," and is given cosmetics and perfumes more expeditiously than  the other candidates in the harem, along with the mandated delicacies, whilst also receiving the best quarters to prepare for her reception by the king.

After she is chosen, like most women of the time, she was no more than a figurehead. She had no unique authority of her own, and as was the case with Vashti, who was born into royalty, unlike Achashveirosh, Esther knew early on that she was expendable.

And, so it was out of great trepidation and fear for her very life that when Mordechai commands her to go to Achashveirosh and plead on her people's behalf, she outright refuses given the fear for her life, and impracticality of the plan, predicated on her instant acceptance after having been spurned by the king for a full month's time.

At this point, we have the chief dénouement, or turning point in the narrative: Mordechai tells Esther point-blank: If you don't go, you might save yourself, but your people will disinherit you for ever more, you will have no place among your brothers and sisters, for perhaps, it is for this very reason that you've ascended to royalty.

With this twist in the narrative, Mordechai's message is crystal clear, and Esther agrees to perform Mordechai's will – but with one caveat, that she tells Mordechai what he and their people have to do for her plan to succeed.

The tides turn, and now, it's Esther in the driver's seat. She commands Mordechai to gather the people and fast on her behalf so that she can approach the king, albeit with great temerity, knowing that her people's fate is only in her hands and her hands alone.

At the end of the Megillah after the incredible success of Esther's plot (something she conceived of her own accord, brilliant, meticulous and perfectly orchestrated with the greatest attention to detail), it is she – who comes before Mordechai in the verse, who has nerves of steel, who refuses to allow Purim to be a holiday celebrated strictly outside of Shushan, the royal domain. In the first year in which Purim was celebrated, it was NOT celebrated in Shushan; perhaps, because it was a walled city and its inhabitants would be more likely to be vulnerable, but more probably, because of the fear of celebrating the death of the king's subjects in his very courtyard. Esther, though, with great resolve, decrees that Purim – to show the greatness of the day, and the righteousness of her cause (she was also the one who asked for a second day to fight Israel's enemies in Shushan) – should be celebrated in the capital as well. She does not ask Achashveirosh for permission. Nor, even Mordechai. She shows the valor of our people, and the belief in our cause, the national purpose, and pride.

Essentially, what we see here is a more egalitarian and symbiotic relationship between any male and female figure, I would argue, than anywhere else in the Tanach. And, it is founded on Esther's empowerment, belief in a cause that she saw as sacrosanct, and rightful ownership over the destiny and future of our people.