(ז) וַיְהִ֨י אֹמֵ֜ן אֶת־הֲדַסָּ֗ה הִ֤יא אֶסְתֵּר֙ בַּת־דֹּד֔וֹ כִּ֛י אֵ֥ין לָ֖הּ אָ֣ב וָאֵ֑ם וְהַנַּעֲרָ֤ה יְפַת־תֹּ֙אַר֙ וְטוֹבַ֣ת מַרְאֶ֔ה וּבְמ֤וֹת אָבִ֙יהָ֙ וְאִמָּ֔הּ לְקָחָ֧הּ מָרְדֳּכַ֛י ל֖וֹ לְבַֽת׃
אסתר מן התורה מנין (דברים לא, יח) ואנכי הסתר אסתיר
Where is Esther indicated in the Torah?
In the verse,"And I will surely hide [astir] my face." (Devarim 31:18)
“And she stood in the inner court of the king’s house” (Esther 5:1): R. Levi said: When she reached the chamber of the idols, the Divine Presence left her. he said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” (Psalms 22:2)? Maybe you punish the inadvertent sin like the intentional one, or one done under compulsion like one done willingly? Or is it because I called him “dog” as it says. “Deliver my soul from the sword, mine only one from the power of the dog?” (Psalms 22:21). She straight way retracted and called him lion, as it says, “Save me from the lion’s mouth” (Ps.22:22).
(טז) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הִנְּךָ֥ שֹׁכֵ֖ב עִם־אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ וְקָם֩ הָעָ֨ם הַזֶּ֜ה וְזָנָ֣ה ׀ אַחֲרֵ֣י ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י נֵֽכַר־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה֤וּא בָא־שָׁ֙מָּה֙ בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ וַעֲזָבַ֕נִי וְהֵפֵר֙ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּרַ֖תִּי אִתּֽוֹ׃ (יז) וְחָרָ֣ה אַפִּ֣י ב֣וֹ בַיּוֹם־הַ֠הוּא וַעֲזַבְתִּ֞ים וְהִסְתַּרְתִּ֨י פָנַ֤י מֵהֶם֙ וְהָיָ֣ה לֶֽאֱכֹ֔ל וּמְצָאֻ֛הוּ רָע֥וֹת רַבּ֖וֹת וְצָר֑וֹת וְאָמַר֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא הֲלֹ֗א עַ֣ל כִּֽי־אֵ֤ין אֱלֹהַי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י מְצָא֖וּנִי הָרָע֥וֹת הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ (יח) וְאָנֹכִ֗י הַסְתֵּ֨ר אַסְתִּ֤יר פָּנַי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא עַ֥ל כָּל־הָרָעָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה כִּ֣י פָנָ֔ה אֶל־אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֲחֵרִֽים׃
(16) The LORD said to Moses: You are soon to lie with your fathers. This people will thereupon go astray after the alien gods in their midst, in the land that they are about to enter; they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them. (17) Then My anger will flare up against them, and I will abandon them and hide My countenance from them. They shall be ready prey; and many evils and troubles shall befall them. And they shall say on that day, “Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us.” (18) Yet I will keep My countenance hidden on that day, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods.
Rabbi Turetsky:
One perspective is to view hester panim as necessary in order to allow the punishment to occur. Rashi writes that God will make it “as if” He does not see their pain. According to Rashi, God is less distant than “oblivious”, pretending as if he does not see what is happening. Possibly working with this general orientation, Ohr HaChaim explains that if God were to make Himself aware of the pains of the Jewish people, His mercy would prevail and He would not allow these events to occur. Apparently, hester panim allows tragedies, for God would stop them if He were “aware” of them. Chizkuni notes the relationship between God’s hester panim and the atrocities that follow but views hester panim as a function of God’s love for the Jewish people, not as a facilitator for the punishment to occur. Though the Jewish people need to be punished, God does not wish to witness it. Instead, He instructs others to carry it out away from His presence. A third view may emerge from Rashba (Responsa 1:19). He argues that it is through the act of hester panim that God removes His special providence over the Jewish people, thereby leaving them susceptible to the hands of other forces. For Rashba, it appears that hester panim is what allows this unique form of punishment, for so long as God’s providence is present and protecting the Jewish people, such an intense form of punishment is not possible.
Rabbi Yoel Ben Nun, Israel in Hartmann Insitute's 2008 article "Two modern thinkers on why God is hidden in Megillah" by Steve Israel and Noam Zion
If we had in our possession the Tanakh without the Megillah, we would know God only in every place and situation where God can be directly named. The Megillah comes to complement this deficit and to teach us that God is found secretly also in those places where God cannot be named. Here we encounter a deep issue connected with the culture of Persia. The Persian belief system divides the world up into two realms, of good and of evil that eternally battle between them. The Megillah comes to teach us …that God directs the world even when God hides…[God does not only direct the world of good, but also those parts of the world where evil seems to rule and where at face value, there is no sign of God’s presence]. Esther teaches us that God supervises the world, even in a time when His face appears to be hidden [Esther from “Hester Panim”] from us, when we cannot discern God on the surface of things. In this way, Megillat Esther completes the Tanach. It was deliberately written in such a radically secular style to teach us that divine providence exists in places and situations far from the realm of holiness, and that God’s hand directs the world even in places where God appears to be hidden.
Professor Michael Fox in Hartmann Insitute's 2008 article "Two modern thinkers on why God is hidden in Megillah" by Steve Israel and Noam Zion
God in Esther is indeed veiled, as the popular metaphor puts it…a veil suggests that there is something behind it and invites us to look through. But when we look through this one, we do not see the sturdy old faith that so many readers assume must be back there somewhere. We see a light but it shimmers...
This carefully crafted [ambivalence] is best explained as an attempt to convey uncertainty about God’s role in history. [There is a reason that the author of Esther has not made God a more prominent actor in the story and has drawn God, if at all, below the surface of the story, with just a hint of presence]. The author is not quite certain about God’s role in these events (are you?) and does not conceal that uncertainty. By refusing to exclude that possibility, [i.e. that God is indeed in control behind the scenes and is directing the action], the author conveys his belief that there can be no definitive knowledge of the workings of God’s hand in history. Not even a wonderful deliverance can prove that God was directing events: nor could threat and disaster prove His absence.
The story’s [ambivalence] conveys the message that the Jews should not lose faith if they too are uncertain about where God is in a crisis. [Since it is impossible to know for sure whether God is present, you should never discount the possibility even when things look very bleak, as they did for the Jews of Persia in the story]. Israel will survive - that is the author’s faith – but how this will happen he does not know. Events are ambiguous and God’s activity cannot be directly read out of them: yet they are not random...[The author might not be sure what to believe but he is sure that there is some kind of pattern in the world and that things such as the events of the Megillah have not happened for no reason at all]. When we [search carefully] the text of Esther for traces of God’s activity, we are doing what the author made us do. The author would have us probe the events that we witness in our lives in the same way. He is teaching a theology of possibility.
זוהי גם הסיבה לכך שלא מוזכר בכל המגילה אף שם משמות הש“י, כיון שאם היה כתוב בגלוי שמו של הקב“ה היתה זו יציאה מגדר הטבע למעל הטבע, וזה כבר נוגע לפסח. אך פורים מגלה לנו שכל דבר בתוך הטבע החשוך זוהי פיסגת האהבה... היכן רואים יותר אהבה בפורים או בפסח? בחג הפסח הרים אותנו הקב“ה מעל העולם, אבל בפורים אנו מגלים את הקב“ה בכל נקודה ונקודה של טבע.
Rabbi Shimshon Pinkus, Purim, Ch. 2 –
none of the names of God are mentioned in Megillat Esther. Since if His name would be written explicitly, this would constitute a departure from the natural into the supernatural – which is applicable to Passover. Purim, however, reveals that each aspect within nature is imbued with the love of God …
Where does one find more intense love: in Passover or in Purim? On Passover God raised us over the entire world, but on Purim we discover God in every nook and cranny of the natural world.
“Where is God? Wherever you let Him in” - R. Menachem Mendel of Kotzk
Parable shared, in memory of Rabbi Harold Schulweis, by Rabbi Naomi Levy in her book Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul
“When God was creating the world God shared a secret with the angels. Human beings will be created in the image of God. The angels were jealous and outraged. Why should humans be entrusted with such a precious gift when they were flawed mortals. Surely if humans found out their true power, they will abuse it. If humans discover they are created in God’s very image, they will learn to surpass us! So the angels decided to steal God’s image.
Now that the divine image was in the angels’ hands, they needed to pick a place to hide it so that man would never find it. They held a meeting and brainstormed. The angel Gabriel suggested that they hide God’s image at the top of the highest mountain peak. The other angels objected, saying, “One day humans will learn to climb and they will find it there.”
The angel Michael said “Let’s hide it at the bottom of the sea.” “No,” the other angels chimed in “humans will find a way to dive to the bottom o the sea and they’ll find it there.” One by one the angels suggested hiding places, but they were all rejected.
And then Uriel, the wisest angel of all, stepped forward and said “I know a place where man will never look for it.” So the angels hid the precious holy image of God deep within the human soul.