reflections on Purim

Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash

trigger warning: themes of sexual violence

I love the celebration of Purim -- a time for feasting, dressing up, and being inspired by the brave heroes in the story of Esther. We shout as loud as we can to drown out the voice of the enemy's name. We cheer when we hear the names of the ones who were courageous enough to risk everything for their people. As a child, the story of Esther was one of my favorites. However, it's come to my attention that much of what I was taught in Sunday school about this tale (especially pertaining to the women) has lacked relevant context. It's not the story I thought it was. For instance, I have only ever seen portrayals of Hadassah as a grown woman. Upon further examination of the text, it's far more likely that she was a child.

"Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm
to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem..." Est. 2:3

The English word young in the text is actually the Hebrew noun na'arah. According to traditional Jewish sources, this means the girls they brought to the harem were between 12 - 12 1/2 years old.* I did an image search for the purpose of this post, and was unable to find a single picture of Esther portrayed as a child online. All of the films and coloring book pages portray her as a beautiful, 20-something woman who was (albeit unwillingly) whisked off to a beautiful palace, dressed up, and won the heart of Ahasuerus through her virtuous, submissive posturing. However, the reality of Esther's age and circumstances completely change the dynamic of the history lesson. She was not a grown woman "in love," or even capable of consent; she was a child bride in exile, taken from the only family she knew, and one of many girls her age who were raped by a sex-crazed king.

There's no doubt in my mind that this story of a child trafficking victim has been heavily modified. The question is why? If it's because the truth is uncomfortable, I think we would be wise to remember that our discomfort doesn't make the truth less true, nor are our personal feelings an excuse to whitewash history. Omitting crucial context in order to make Esther's exploitation seem more palatable or "kid-friendly" does a disservice to the redemptive power of YHVH. (Is He not big enough to handle it?) It also robs us of an opportunity to affirm survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

To be clear: there's nothing wrong with teaching girls to emulate the positive characteristics of Esther -- bravery, endurance, discretion, discernment, and a willingness to save innocent lives at great personal risk. But I believe that when we teach girls to "be an Esther," while omitting the sordid context of her story, we are subtly teaching them that the exploitation of their bodies is a positive inevitability.

Then, there's Vashti. In evangelical circles, she's typically portrayed as the "wicked" queen, and a symbol of "rebellion." More than once, I've attended a sermon where it was preached that Vashti's "sin (of rebellion) cost her everything." I've heard preachers lament that she didn't "submit to and obey the authority God had put over her." But her actions aren't condemned by Scripture; the word "rebellion" isn't used in the text. Her disobedience is only condemned from a purely authoritarian standpoint, which insists that a woman disobeying her husband is always a bad thing. (Rest assured, 1 Samuel 25 will be the subject of a future article...)

If the president of the United States gathered all of his male cabinet members together for drinks, then brought his wife into the middle of the room and gave her an executive order to strip naked, who in their right mind would expect her to obey? Not to mention that (while it may not be evident in the translated texts) we would be incredibly naive to believe that all they wanted to do was look at her. Do we really want to teach our daughters that refusing to be disrobed before a crowd of drunken men and engage in an orgy, is in any way shameful or sinful? On the contrary -- I would argue that rebellion against tyrants who ask us to harm ourselves and disobey YHVH is not rebellion against YHVH. We should disobey harmful, immoral commands, no matter who issues them.**

Photo by Sharon Christina Rørvik on Unsplash

Esther and Vashti were both victims of a sex-obsessed king's entitlement. Sadly, their situation was no more uncommon for girls in their society than it is for ours today. Experts estimate no less than 1 in 5 girls worldwide will be wed (and/or sold into marriages by their parents) before their 18th birthday. As a result of being married as children, they are often isolated, denied basic human rights, and domestically abused. Child marriage is most utilized in cultures where girls are at a higher risk of being sexually harassed or assaulted unless they are another man's "property." Instead of addressing the root cause of the problem (patriarchal power structures), these cultures choose to sacrifice their daughters for the sake of maintaining the status quo.

As the hands and feet of Christ -- and those freed from the curse of Adam -- part of our kingdom work must involve setting these captives free through following the dual commands to pursue justice, and speak truth on behalf of those with no voice. Being able to tell the truth about their lived experiences is the first step to healing for many victims of sexual exploitation, but it is not easy. If the church wants to facilitate that healing process, I believe a good place to start is by being honest about the representation of victims/survivors in scripture.


* In ancient Jewish culture, a girl became a na'arah in her twelfth year of age. 6 months later, she was considered a beherot -- an unmarried, adult woman with full legal authority over herself.
** This is not intended to shame any victim who, under coercion or threat of force, obeys such an order. I only aim to vilify Vashti's actions.