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The
Mystery of Hester Panim
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An
Old Joke
It was a deluge, the likes of which had not been seen for
years. A man who lived by the river saw that he was in danger
of being flooded. He prayed to G-d, "Please save me."
A few minutes later a fire truck came by and told him to get
on. He said, "No, G-d will save me." The water continued
to rise until he had to flee to the second floor. Again he
pleaded with G-d. A few minutes later, a boat drifted by but
again he refused human help. Finally, stuck on the roof with
the water swirling around him, a police helicopter threw him
a rope, but the man insisted that G-d would save him. As you
may imagine, he also wasn't the best swimmer. So up in the
Heavenly Court he says to G-d. "I trusted in you, why
didn't you save me?" And G-d replies," I tried,
I sent you a fire truck, I sent you a boat, I sent you a helicopter……"
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Of
all the books of the Bible, the Book of Esther is unique in that
it does not once mention G-d directly. One might ask, "Why,
then, is it considered a holy book and included in the Tanach (the
complete Biblical canon)?"
To
understand the importance of the Book of Esther as more than just
a history of the Jewish victory over a vicious enemy, one must look
at the phenomenon of Hester Panim. Literally, Hester Panim means
"the hiding of the face" and refers to G-d's presence
being hidden from direct human perception. Like the sun on a very
cloudy day, however, just because you don't see it, doesn't mean
it isn't there. The story of Purim teaches us that G-d is ALWAYS
involved, even when we don't see His hand.
After
a casual reading of the Book of Esther, one might think it is
a heroic tale about Mordechai and Esther saving the Jewish people
from Haman through diplomatic skill. After all, Esther does deftly
manipulate the emotions of King Achashverosh and Haman at her
private wine-parties with them. Looking deeper, however, one is
struck by the overwhelming "coincidences" of the right
people being at the right places at the right times to save the
Jews. To follow one line of such "coincidences":
*Esther
was the beautiful niece of one of the leaders of the Jewish people.
*While women throughout the kingdom flocked to the beauty pageant,
hoping to be chosen as queen, the Megillah tells us that Esther
"was taken to the king's palace" (2:8). Her beauty was
noticed and she was brought, apparently by force, to the palace,
for she would never have gone there of her own volition. Ultimately,
she chosen to be queen.
*Because Esther is in the palace, Mordechai is able to get word
to the king about the plot on his life, which was not remembered
by the king until Haman's plot was unraveling.
*If Esther had not been "taken to the king's palace,"
there would have been no "insider" to have Haman's evil
plan revoked. Even Mordechai points this out when he tells her:
"Do not imagine that [you can] save yourself in the king's
palace from the fate of all the Jews. For if you indeed keep silent
at this time, relief and salvation will come to the Jews from
another source, and you and your father's household will perish.
And who knows that but for a time like this you are in a royal
position?!"(Esther 4:13-14)
Coincidence?
Divine Providence? To the scoffer, it's the former. To the believer,
it's the Hand of G-d--Divine Providence moving behind the scenes
to make certain the Jews are saved. This is Hester Panim. Therefore,
the Book of Esther is not simply the story of how the Jews were
saved from Haman's evil plot--it is a guidebook for future generations
on how to view the world.
What
role does Hester Panim play in the Divine plan? Why would G-d choose
to hide Himself from humanity? Hester Panim is actually a Divine
gift that allows humanity freedom of choice. If a child is told
not to eat a cookie by its mother, but the mother remains in the
kitchen to watch, then the child isn't going to take the cookie.
Once mother leaves the room, though, it is the child's free choice
that determines what happens to the mother's ruling. At the same
time, when mother leaves the room, she is aware of her child's behavior,
listens for danger and is ready to jump to the rescue. So too, G-d
leaves us to give us space and allows us to make our own free choices,
but He is always waiting on the periphery to protect us from ultimate
harm.
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