The Megilla is filled with signs and portents. In this essay, I would like to examine some of these and see how we can apply them today in our daily lives. When the Jewish people were in danger of annihilation by Haman, Esther instructed the Jews to fast for three days in her merit. Afterwards, she walked into the inner chamber of the king, hoping that she wouldn’t be sentenced to death for coming into the chamber unannounced. The king saw Esther walking into his chamber, and flattered by her, he stretched out his golden scepter so that she could receive it and thereby be saved from death by the king’s courtiers. The mesmerized king then told Esther he would grant her every wish, up to half of the kingdom. Note how the king began his conversation with her, “mah lakh Esther – what is it Esther?” The king was shocked - both the king and queen knew the rules about coming to the king unannounced. Apparently, since Esther risked her life to come to the king, the king reasoned that she must have something important to tell him. Maybe she was coming to him like she came some time earlier to tell him that his life was in danger. Now was Esther’s perfect chance. Now she could have told the king about Haman’s plot. But no, she invited the king and Haman to a party and then at the first party she invited them to a second party and only at the second party she disclosed Haman’s plot to the king.

When I think of this series of events, I have two fundamental questions regarding the story: (1) Why the rush and (2) why the delay? Why the rush to speak with the king and why the delay once his interest is piqued?

First, why the rush? Esther was willing to put her life on the line to meet with Achashverosh. Why didn’t she wait until he summoned her. After all, the killings of the Jews weren’t scheduled to take place for another year. We can be reasonably sure that Esther would be summoned at some point. By coming to the king unannounced, she might have put her life in jeopardy and then certainly there would be no Jew in the palace to save the Jews. What’s the rush? The truth is that perhaps this is Esther’s claim to Mordechai when he asked her to go to the king. She responded by telling him, “I haven’t been called in 30 days.” The Megillas SeSarim explains that she asked Mordechai, “Isn’t it better to wait until I am summoned to the king?” The answer, said Mordechai, was an emphatic no. Mordechai told her to risk her life now. But why? Why the rush? It seems that Esther had a legitimate claim. We’ll shortly return to this question.

Second, why the delay? Why did Esther not confront Achashverosh right away? Why did she invite the king to one party, then to a second party and only then tell him of how Haman’s plans to destroy her people? Rashi’s understanding of Esther’s plan is that Esther wanted to make the king suspicious as to why she invited Haman to this party. Haman was very powerful and we know that there was already an attempt on the king’s life which likely prompted the law that any unauthorized entry into his inner chamber would result in death. According to Rashi, Esther was playing on the king’s sense of insecurity and wanted to create some distance between the king and Haman before she disclosed her identity. If Esther would immediately tell the king that Haman plotted against her, then it is likely that the king would have chosen Haman over Esther. After all, the king had killed his queen beforehand and Haman was his most powerful minister. Therefore, it was imperative that before Esther disclosed her identity, she should create some mistrust between the king and Haman.

In fact, Rashi’s position seems to go hand in hand with the position of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah in Maseches Megillah. He maintains that Esther thought that the king would believe that Esther and Haman were conspiring against the king and so the king would kill both of them, in which case she believed that Haman’s evil decree would be canceled. Additionally, with Haman present, she could catch him off guard so he would not have time to think of a plan to counteract Esther’s plea.

Perhaps, though, the answer as to why the rush and why the delay is the same. Perhaps, based on Ibn Ezra’s commentary, this story is all about two heroes who search for a sign, find a sign and are strengthened by a sign.

Why the rush? After the decree to kill the Jews is put into place, Mordechai tried to convince Esther to come to the king immediately. When Esther hesitated, according to the Megillas Sesarim, she said, “Isn’t it better that I wait until he calls me? It’s been thirty days; he’s bound to call me soon.” Mordechai responded by saying “mi yodai’a im l’ait kazot higa’at lamaluchut.” Ibn Ezra explains that Mordechai told her “Maybe you only became queen for this particular purpose, so that you should save Yisrael.”

Ever since Esther became queen, Mordechai was asking himself – why, why – Mordechai was searching for a sign. There must be a reason, there must be a reason why of all the women chosen, Esther was chosen. Finally, five years later, Mordechai saw the sign.This is the reason why Esther was selected to become queen – to save the Jews. Once he found this sign, he truly believed that everything would turn out well and he forced the issue with Esther to go to the king immediately, perhaps so that the decree could be overturned before copies of the decree were sent out throughout all the lands. Once Mordechai saw the sign, he had faith. That faith strengthened him to act swiftly and decisively.

Why the delay? Why didn’t Esther tell the king about Haman’s plot initially? The Ibn Ezra believes that she was planning to tell the king at the first party, but she was waiting for a sign from G-d that G-d had heard her prayers and that G-d had seen the fasts of the people of Shushan. It is true that the king did not kill her when she approached him unannounced, but she needed a stronger sign that G-d was on her side. What happened between the first and second parties? Haman was forced to lead Mordechai through the streets. After this event, Esther believed that Haman ultimately was going to fail and now she was ready to tell the king who she was at the second party, after she saw this sign of G-d. As such, according to the Ibn Ezra, Esther, like Mordechai, searched for a sign, found her sign and was strengthened by that sign. She had the courage and faith to plead with the king at the second party that resulted in the downfall of Haman and the salvation of the Jews.

What is the story of Megillas Esther? It’s a story of a world seemingly without any signs, where G-d seems to be absent. We don’t find the name of G-d anywhere in the Megillah but, in fact, it tells a story of a hero and a heroine, each of whom, at different times, search for a sign, find their sign and is strengthened by that sign. On this holiday of Purim, let us look for signs. Perhaps G-d is telling those of us who struggle now in terms of health, financially or otherwise, to look for signs. Perhaps our signs are the members of our family who give us comfort, perhaps our signs are our good friends who are always there for us, perhaps our signs are the roofs over our heads that provide shelter for us. Let us look for our own signs of G-d’s presence in our lives, let us be comforted by the signs, let us celebrate those signs on this holiday of Purim and let us utilize these signs to strengthen our relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

Our Sages tell us Mi’she’nikhnas Adar Marbim b’simcha, that when the month of Adar begins, we should increase our happiness. Sometimes it’s not so easy to fulfill this mitzvah. Sometimes it’s not so easy to be happy when we look around at what’s going in our lives and what’s going on in the world. Yet, our Sages command us to be happy. We must find ways to be happy at this time. Mordechai and Esther teach us the method – find the signs in our own lives and use them to appreciate goodness and be hopeful.

Chag Purim samei’ach!

Rabbi Jonathan Muskat