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amother


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Sun, Feb 21 2021, 4:01 pm
So, bear with me...
The more and more years go by, the more and more I've learned of what Esther had to sacrifice, the more and more I feel like Purim was a huge tragedy.
An orphan, who had to permanently sever ties with the only family (uncle/cousin/husband according to various commentaries) she had, bear a child who would not be among the Jewish people, all to save the rest of the Jews who (according to some commentaries) deserved kareis due to participation in a feast desecrating the items of the beis hamikdash and mocking Hashem, etc...
I guess "all's well that ends well", but it didn't end well for Esther. I mean, yes, she's lauded now as a savior of the Jewish people, etc., but she gave up everything and more. It's heart breaking. It's tragic. It's really really horrible.
I guess we all benefited a lot, BH, but, at her expense. That's so so so sad for me.
Every year when we reach the part in megillah where she says "If I perish, I perish", tears come to my eyes. It's so so so sad.
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cbsp


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Sun, Feb 21 2021, 4:09 pm
Keep in mind that Esther was instrumental in creating the day as a day of joy for all yidden (not just keeping it a local "purim") - she and Mordechai had to present and defend their case.
I don't know if she'd agree with your assessment of it as selfish...
(not taking away from the tragedy of Esther's personal life.)
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Thisisnotmyreal


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Sun, Feb 21 2021, 4:11 pm
amother [ Slateblue ] wrote: | people view esther as evil? how come? |
Only completely twisted people adapt this view. Just so you know Esther had a malach spend time with the king in her place side for the time she went on her own volition.
And to the poster that mentioned this:
Vashti gets no sympathy. She would normally happily go and not think twice. She literally made her servants work naked for her all the time.
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paperflowers


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Sun, Feb 21 2021, 4:16 pm
In “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, discusses how to find meaning in life. One of the pathways to meaning is through suffering. It’s not just that once you get to the other side, you can look back and realize that the suffering was meaningful, but while you’re in it too. (He’s very clear that suffering isn’t meaningful if it’s self-inflicted.) I think we can say that the Jews, including Esther, found renewed meaning from the suffering they experienced in the Purim story, even though it never really ended. The Jews were still in galus, Esther was still stuck with Achashverosh, but there was a renewed connection to HaShem and recognition of His presence even in suffering.
ETA: I typed this pretty quickly. It might not be a fully developed thought.
Last edited by paperflowers on Sun, Feb 21 2021, 4:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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bigsis144


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Sun, Feb 21 2021, 4:29 pm
How dare we celebrate Pesach?
When I think about how many thousands of Jewish people died, including innocent infants, during 210 years in Mitzrayim... and then how many people died in the Midbar before they reached Eretz Yisrael, so not even that generation ever had a true happy ending...
Oy...
(I’m not trying to be rude and sarcastic, but to put it in perspective - nothing ever is a truly “happy ending” or “final victory”.)
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