Adar II 10

King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the mainland and the islands. All his mighty and powerful acts, and a full account of the greatness to which the king advanced Mordecai, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Media and Persia. For Mordecai the Jew ranked next to King Ahasuerus and was highly regarded by the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brethren; he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all his kindred. Esther 10:1-3. The Writings--Kethubim: A new translation of The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic text, Third Section, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1982. Crayon on textured card stock.
"Imposed tribute"? What does that mean? Tribute to Mordecai? The Jews? The king? Whatever the meaning, this is how the Megillah, the Book of Esther, ends -- with mention of the the king's "mighty and powerful acts," Mordecai's advancement -- and no mention of Esther. It started with the king's display of wealth. Let's hope somewhere in the middle, he got a little smarter. Certainly, he has better people around him.
In one of his many writings, Albert I Baumgarten explains why Talmudic rabbis did not want to include the Book of Esther in the Jewish canon. The big issue is this: you can search throughout the Book of Esther and you will find not one mention of either G*d or prayer. For example, Esther and her maidens do observe a fast; it's described in detail, no food or drink for three days and night, but nothing is said of prayer. I say that done the right way, fasting can be a prayer of the body. But still, where is G*d in this story?
It's the name of the scroll, Esther, that provides a hint. Esther means hidden. Many suggest that what is hidden in the Megillah is G*d. This is one of many ways that the Megillah differs from the Haggadah, the text read at the Passover sedar (due in just about one month). In the Haggadah, G*d is all over the the place with in-your-face physical acts -- ten plagues, a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire, and a parting sea. The common teaching is that while G*d is not mentioned and no physical acts occur in the Megillah, G*d is present throughout the unfolding of the story. If we can be present to what is unfolding before us in the Megillah (and our lives), we will see that G*d is right there in the miracles of the story -- and the stories of our lives.
Today's excuse for posting a noisemaker even though whatshisname was not mentioned, is that I cannot stop playing with IrfanView and altering photos until they are barely recognizeable! I think I'll be posting many more on Flickr this week. In case you cannot tell, this is the squeaky thing that was first posted on Feb 25. I love the hint of color. Squeaky noisemaker (first posted Feb 25); edited on IrfanView.