![]() ![]() This requires sophistical judgments with each new circumstance. Early chapters show Esther and Mordecai at times hiding and other times revealing their Jewishness in varying contexts. Throughout it all, as orphan, foster child, and consort, Esther must decide whether and how to reveal her Jewishness within the dominant Persian culture. She is a resident alien, a foreigner, and a member of this peculiar tribe that Persians tolerate unevenly. But even this respite is short-lived when she is tapped for the king’s harem, and taken from the safety of his home in Susa, and thrust into the intrigue - both political and sexual - of the Persian royal court.Īdd to this list that she is a Jew, another drop in status as an outsider in Persian culture - especially in the royal city of Susa. She appears to be rescued when she is taken in by her cousin, Mordecai, who becomes her foster parent. As a mirror image of the Hebrew people in exile, Esther is herself an orphan, without the security, identity, and rootedness of family. This will help listeners track the action.Įsther is an unlikely heroine. As an orphan and a female, Esther is a nobody among nobodies in this minority community.īecause this text is not well known and contains so much dialogue, use different readers for the voices of Mordecai, Esther, and narrator. Although Persians now rule, and have allowed some Jews to return to Jerusalem, there are still diaspora Jews who have married, settled and made their homes in Susa, living as a recognized religious minority in the heart of the powerful Persian empire. Jerusalem was conquered, its people taken in chains into Babylonian captivity. It’s unlikely that your audience knows the whole story of Esther, so give them a condensed story arc highlighting the main characters: Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and King Ahasuerus.Īlso important for listeners to grasp is that the Jews, God’s chosen people, are now in exile. ![]()
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