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Esther Strips Off Her Crown and Begins Her Prayer With Abraham

Three days without food. The decree was already on the road. On the palace floor Esther named herself an orphan and began with Abraham.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Crown Comes Off
  2. From One Window to the Other
  3. She Begins With Abraham
  4. Stand at the Right Hand of This Orphan
  5. She Crosses Uninvited
Esther Strips Off Her Crown and Begins Her Prayer With Abraham Click for full size

The Crown Comes Off

Esther strips the crown from her hair and sets it down. Then the bracelets. Then the rings, one finger at a time. The royal garments slide from her shoulders and pool on the floor. Three days she has not eaten. Beyond the windows the city of Shushan goes on. She has not been summoned in thirty days. Cross the inner threshold uninvited and the king can have her killed where she stands.

She reached for sackcloth. She pulled it tight. She loosed her hair until it hung tangled. She bent to the cold floor, gathered dust and the ashes of the hearth, and poured them over her head. Then she fell forward onto her face.

The decree had a name. Haman had stood at the king's ear and won a signature. Every Jew in the empire was to be destroyed. The order was already riding out on fast horses.

From One Window to the Other

"How quickly have the days of our joy flown by," she said into the floor. Haman had surrendered her people to their enemies for slaughter, and she named it.

She did not call herself queen. She called herself an orphan. No mother, no father, alone in a foreign house. "Like an afflicted orphan begging charity from house to house, so do I beg for Thy mercy, from one window to the other in the palace of King Ahasuerus, and have done so from the time I was brought here until this present day."

She crawled. She dragged herself along the stone. She lifted her ashen face to one shuttered window and then the next, as if God might be looking in through any of them.

She Begins With Abraham

Then she stopped weeping and started to argue. She begins her prayer with Abraham, not with herself.

"I will recount before Thee the deeds of Thy friends, and with Abraham will I begin." She laid his trials on the floor between her and heaven. "Thou didst try him with all temptations, yet didst Thou find him faithful." She asked God to bear Abraham's children as an unbreakable seal on His right hand. She asked Him to call Haman to account, the son of Hammedatha, and not the people Haman had tried to hem in on all sides.

She reached for Isaac, bound. "With an eternal bond Thou didst bind us unto Thee. O that Thou wouldst uphold us for the sake of Isaac, who was bound." She reached for the three days Abraham had walked to that mountain, and she matched her fast to them. She reached for Jacob's charm to be put in her mouth, and for the grace of Joseph upon her tongue.

Her father had taught her the old deliverances when she was small. She counted them into the dust. God had redeemed the ancestors out of Egypt. He had struck the firstborn in a single night. He had split the sea so they walked through on dry ground (Exodus 14:21). He had fed them with food from heaven and drawn water from the rock (Exodus 17:6). He had said through Moses, even in the land of their enemies, I will never forsake them (Leviticus 26:44).

One signature was on the road. One oath was older. She meant to make God choose.

Stand at the Right Hand of This Orphan

"O Lord, Father of the fatherless, stand at the right hand of this orphan, who trusts in Thee, and grant me mercy when I am in the presence of King Ahasuerus, for I fear him as a kid fears the lion." She did not pretend. "Make lowly all his counsellors. Cause his heart to hate our enemies and to love Thy servants, for the heart of kings is in Thy hand."

She asked for an angel of compassion to go with her. She asked that the righteousness of Abraham go before her, the binding of Isaac raise her, the charm of Jacob be put into her mouth. "Deliver me from the fear and trembling which have taken hold of me, that I may go into his presence in Thy name, and come out in peace."

Then she rose. She washed the ashes from her face. She shook the dust from her hair. She dressed again in the royal garments. The crown went back on. The rings went back on.

She Crosses Uninvited

On the third day she walked toward the inner court of the house of Ahasuerus, her right hand on one maiden, the other maiden holding the train so the gold would not scrape the floor. The potentates of the kingdom sat before the throne. One said she was sure to be killed, since she had entered without an appointed time. One said he would take her royal garments. Another claimed the ornaments on her feet. Another the ornaments on her hands.

Esther kept her face still. She hid the grief. The king raised his eyes and was enraged that she had come uncalled. She trembled. She felt faint. She put her head on the maid at her right.

Then the king rose in haste, ran toward her, embraced her, kissed her, and put the golden sceptre into her hand. "What is this fear, O Queen Esther? This decree of ours does not apply to thee."

She had come from the floor with Abraham's name still in her mouth. She crossed the threshold anyway, an orphan under the gold, and the lion's hand opened.

EstherAbrahamPrayerCovenantFaithMercyPatriarchsCouragePurimExileMonarchy
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From the tradition

Sources

3 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Legends of the Jews 12:177Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

Like one minute you're celebrating, and the next... well, the next you're facing something truly terrifying?

That's the feeling you get reading the words of Esther, as she pleads for her people. "How quickly have the days of our joy flown by!" she laments. Her world, and the world of all the Jews in Persia, had been turned upside down by the evil Haman. He had, as she says, "surrendered us to our enemies for slaughter."

The desperation, the fear, the sheer weight of responsibility on her shoulders.

In this moment of utter crisis, where does Esther turn? She turns to prayer. But not just any prayer. It's a prayer steeped in the history and the covenant of her people. It's a plea built on the foundation of generations.

"I will recount before Thee the deeds of Thy friends," she says, "and with Abraham will I begin." When facing unimaginable danger, Esther doesn't just ask for a miracle. She reminds God of the unwavering faith of their ancestor, Abraham. She recalls the trials he endured, the tests he passed, and how he remained faithful throughout. "Thou didst try him with all temptations, yet didst Thou find him faithful."

It’s almost as if she’s saying, "Remember Abraham? Remember how he trusted You? We are his descendants. Remember the promise You made to him!" This is a recurring theme in Jewish prayer – invoking the merits of the ancestors, the zechut avot.

Esther's prayer continues with a desperate plea: "O that Thou wouldst support his beloved children for his sake, and aid them, so that Thou wouldst bear them as an unbreakable seal upon Thy right hand."

She's asking God to remember the covenant, to remember His promise to protect Abraham's descendants. To keep them safe, as close as a seal upon His hand, a constant reminder of His commitment.

And then, the focus shifts directly to the villain of the story: Haman.

"Call Haman to account for the wrong he would do us, and be revenged upon the son of Hammedatha." She calls for justice, but not just any justice. It’s a specific justice, aimed at the one who seeks to destroy her people.

Esther’s words become even more pointed: "Demand requital of Haman and not of Thy people, for he sought to annihilate us all at one stroke, he, the enemy and afflicter of Thy people, whom he endeavors to hem in on all sides."

She’s emphasizing that the blame lies squarely with Haman, not with the Jewish people. He is the aggressor, the one who seeks their complete annihilation. She paints him as the enemy of God, as much as the enemy of the Jewish people.

This short passage is packed with emotion, faith, and a fierce determination to protect her people. Esther doesn't just ask for help; she reminds God of the history, the covenant, and the righteousness that underpins their relationship.

When you face your own challenges, where do you turn? Perhaps, like Esther, we too can find strength in remembering the deeds of our ancestors and in reminding ourselves of the enduring power of hope and faith.

Full source
Chronicles of Jerahmeel LXXXChronicles of Jerahmeel (Gaster, 1899)

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Chronicles of Jerahmeel, trans. Moses Gaster (1899) · Public Domain

Esther stripped off her royal garments and the ornaments of her majesty. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, she clothed herself in sackcloth, disheveled her hair, covered her head with dust and ashes, and fell on her face in prayer. She called herself an orphan in a foreign palace, begging God's mercy "from one window to the other" in the house of Ahasuerus.

Her prayer recalled the entire history of Israel's deliverance. Her father had taught her how God redeemed the ancestors from Egypt, slew the firstborn, parted the sea, provided food from heaven and water from the rock. She invoked Moses's promise that even in the land of their enemies, God would never forsake His people. Then she made her request: "Stand at the right hand of this orphan. Grant me mercy in the presence of the king, for I fear him as a kid fears the lion. Cause his heart to hate our enemies and to love Thy servants, for the heart of kings is in Thy hand."

On the third day, Esther dressed in royal garments and walked into the throne room, leaning on one handmaiden while another carried her train so the gold and precious stones would not touch the ground. The courtiers whispered among themselves, already dividing her belongings. "This woman is sure to be killed," they said. "I will take her garments." "I shall take the ornaments on her feet."

Ahasuerus looked up, enraged that she had come without being summoned. Esther trembled and began to faint. But God intervened, adding beauty to her beauty and majesty to her majesty. The king leapt from his throne, ran to her, embraced her, and placed the golden scepter in her hand. Through Esther and Mordecai, God brought about the salvation of Israel. Haman and his sons were hanged on the gallows, and every person who had plotted against the Jews was put to the sword.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 12:178Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

The Jewish tradition offers some pretty powerful ways to navigate those moments, drawing strength from the stories of our ancestors.

Esther, poised to enter the court of King Ahasuerus. She's about to risk everything to save her people from Haman's wicked plot. What went through her mind? The Legends of the Jews gives us a glimpse into her prayers, a raw and heartfelt plea for divine assistance.

"With an eternal bond Thou didst bind us unto Thee," she begins. It's a powerful reminder of the unbreakable covenant between God and the Jewish people. But she doesn't stop there. She evokes the memory of Isaac, who was bound – the Akedah, a story that echoes through Jewish history. "O that Thou wouldst uphold us for the sake of Isaac, who was bound."

Why Isaac? Why this particular story? It's a story of ultimate faith, of willingness to sacrifice everything for God. It’s also a story of divine intervention, of being saved at the very last moment. Remember, according to the biblical account, Haman had already offered the king ten thousand talents of silver to destroy the Jewish people. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Esther continues, "Raise Thou our voice, and answer us, and bring us forth out of the narrow place into enlargement." This "narrow place," this mitzrayim, isn't just physical; it's a state of being, a feeling of being trapped and helpless. And her prayer is a cry for liberation, for spaciousness, for hope.

She then turns her attention to the enemy: "Thou who breakest the mightiest, crush Haman, so that he may never again rise from his fall." This isn't just a personal plea; it's a prayer for justice, for the triumph of good over evil.

Then comes a moment of pure vulnerability: "I am ready to appear before the king, to entreat grace for my inheritance." Esther is about to walk into the lion's den, and she knows it. She needs all the help she can get. "Send Thou an angel of compassion with me on mine errand, and let grace and favor be my companions."

And here’s where the power of ancestral merit comes in. "May the righteousness of Abraham go before me, the binding of Isaac raise me, the charm of Jacob be put into my mouth, and the grace of Joseph upon my tongue." She's calling upon the spiritual resources of her ancestors, asking for their virtues to guide her. It’s a recognition that we are all part of a chain, linked to those who came before us.

"Happy the man who putteth his trust in God; he is not confounded," she declares, a statement of profound faith. "He will lend me His right hand and His left hand, with which He created the whole world."

And then, a beautiful moment of communal solidarity: "Ye, all ye of Israel, pray for me as I pray in your behalf." This isn't a solo act. Esther understands the power of collective prayer, the strength that comes from shared intention. "For whatsoever a man may ask of God in the time of his distress, is granted unto him."

Esther urges them, "Let us look upon the deeds of our fathers and do like unto them, and He will answer our supplications." It's a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles. Others have faced adversity before us, and their stories can inspire us.

The prayer returns to the image of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac. "The left hand of Abraham held Isaac by the throat, and his right hand grasped the knife. He willingly did Thy bidding, nor did he delay to execute Thy command." The scene is almost unbearable in its intensity. "Heaven opened its windows to give space to the angels, who cried bitterly, and said: 'Woe to the world, if this thing should come to pass!'" According to Midrash Rabbah, the angels are deeply concerned that this sacrifice would actually occur.

Esther concludes, "I also call upon Thee! O answer me, for Thou givest ear unto all who are afflicted and oppressed." She reminds God of His own attributes, His own promises: "Thou art called the Merciful and the Gracious; Thou art slow to anger and great in lovingkindness and truth. Hear our voice and answer us, and lead us out of distress into enlargement."

Finally, she reveals a powerful act of self-discipline: "For three days have I fasted in accordance with the number of days Abraham journeyed to bind his son upon the altar before Thee." This fast is a symbolic reenactment of Abraham's journey, a way of connecting to his faith and his willingness to sacrifice. "Thou didst make a covenant with him, and didst promise him: 'Whenever thy children shall be in distress, I will remember the binding of Isaac favorably unto them, and deliver them out of their troubles.'"

And one last echo: "Again, I fasted three days corresponding to the three classes Israel, priests, Levites, and Israelites, who stood at the foot of Sinai, and said: 'All the Lord hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.'" She links her own actions to the moment of national covenant at Sinai, where the Jewish people committed themselves to following God's law.

Esther's prayer is a masterclass in faith, courage, and the power of ancestral memory. We have the stories of our ancestors to guide us, the strength of community to support us, and the promise of divine compassion to sustain us. So, the next time you find yourself in a "narrow place," remember Esther's words, remember the binding of Isaac, and remember that you, too, have the power to call upon the resources of your tradition.

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