I Believe in Miracles

But even without these Apocryphal additions, the story of Esther is a courageous drama of intense faith. When Mordechai appeals to Esther he makes it perfectly clear:

Don't imagine that you alone of all the Jews will escape because you are in the king's palace. On the contrary, if you really do remain silent in such a time as this, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows? Perhaps it is just for such an occasion as this that you have attained to royal estate! (Esther 4:13-14)

Esther selflessly replies: 'Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law and if I am to perish, I shall perish!'

The Book of Esther may not contain overt references to the God of Israel, but its religious value cannot be understated. The story is a tribute to the power of faith and courage. In the words of biblical scholar Michael V. Fox:

The willingness to face history with an openness to the possibility of providence - even when history seems to weigh against its likelihood, as it did in the dark days after the issuance of Haman's decree - this is a stance of profound faith.