The Hidden Queen
Many, many years ago, in the land of Persia, there was a king by the name of Ahaseureus. One day the king decided to hold a great feast and invited all the nobles of the land. For seven days and seven nights this splendid feast went on. Everyone slept in beds of gold and drank from handcrafted golden goblets, each of a different design. His queen, Vashti, was holding a similar feast for all the noble women.
One evening, as the king was drinking wine with all his noble friends, he commanded his chamberlains to bring the queen so that these princes should admire her beauty, for she was fair indeed.
Queen Vashti refused to appear in his presence as she was entertaining the ladies. The king became very angry at her for embarrassing him in front of all his guests.
One of the princes, Memucan, said, “Vashti, the queen, has done wrong not only to the king, but to all the princes, and to all the men in the land. For when the women of the land hear of her misdeed, they too will disobey their husbands.”
“May it please the king,” he continued, “to issue a royal command that Vashti may no longer be queen and that all her royal estate be given to another. That way all the wives of the empire will honour and obey their husbands.”
The king was very pleased with this idea and soon a decree was issued throughout the land. The queen was immediately banished.
After a certain period, King Ahasuerus decided that all fair young virgins be brought to Shushan, to his palace, so that he may choose a wife from among them. When they arrived, they were placed in the custody of Hege, the chamberlain who was the keeper of the women in the palace. That way the king would be able to choose a wife from among them.
In the town of Shushan, there happened to be a Jewish man by the name of Mordecai. He was raising his orphaned cousin, Esther, as his own daughter. She was a very beautiful girl with long black hair, liquid brown eyes, an alabaster complexion, and rosy cheeks.
When the decree was passed that all the virgins were to be gathered, Esther, too had to go to the palace. She was such a kind and pleasant person. Because of that, Hege gave her all kinds of luxuries to make her comfortable. She was served by seven handmaidens and had the best room in the women’s quarters.
Esther had a deep secret. The secret was that she was a Jewess. Mordecai had advised her to remain silent about her religion. Each day Mordecai would pass by the women’s quarters to see how Esther was. For one long year, Esther waited to be seen by the king. Finally, the day arrived! She dressed in garments that Hege gave her and asked for nothing else. When the king set eyes on her, he immediately knew she was the one he desired. He set the crown upon her head and made her his queen. Still, Esther did not tell the king that she was a Jewess.
In the meantime, as Mordecai sat at the king’s palace gates, he overheard two of the royal chamberlains plan on killing the king. He quickly informed Queen Esther, and she told the king, in the name of Mordecai. When it was found that these men were truly planning on doing this evil deed, they were hanged upon a tree, and it was all recorded in the king’s Book of Chronicles.
King Ahasuerus had appointed Haman as his chief minister. He put out an order that when Haman passed by, everyone should bow down to him. Everyone did except for Mordecai, for he would bow down only to God. Haman became angry and decided he is going to punish all the Jews because of this.
He went to the king and said, “Oh, king, there are a certain people dispersed in your provinces who do not obey all your laws. Let it be written that all these people be destroyed. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to those who will destroy this race.”
The king took off his signet ring and gave it to Haman, telling him to do as he saw fit.
Very soon there was a decree throughout the land to kill every man, woman, and child of the Jewish race.
Throughout the land, Jews fasted and prayed, crying and wailing. At the palace gate, Mordecai sat in sackcloth, doing the same. Queen Esther’s handmaidens saw that and quickly told her what they saw. She sent a chamberlain to ask the reason for all the crying. Mordecai told him all that passed.
Now there was an edict that anyone who was unbidden in front of the king was in danger of death, unless the king held out his golden sceptre. She knew this. She had not been bidden in front of the king in a month. She sent word to Mordecai to gather all the Jews of Shushan to fast for three days. She and her handmaidens fasted as well.
On the third day, she put on one of her most beautiful robes and took pains to make herself very beautiful. Slowly, she walked to the inner court and stood there, waiting patiently. When the king saw her, he held up his sceptre.
“What is it that you want, my queen? I will give it to you, even if it is half my kingdom.”
“I have come to invite you and Haman to a banquet tomorrow night.”
Haman was extremely proud to be invited to this banquet. However, when he went to the gate, his eyes fell upon Mordecai; he once more seethed with anger. That did not stop him from going home and bragging about being the only man, save for the king, to be invited to the queen’s banquet.
Happy as he was to be so honoured, Haman still ordered the gallows to be built to hang Mordecai the next day.
As it happened, that night, the king could not sleep. He asked that his Book of Chronicles be read to him. By a strange coincidence, the reader read to him the passage about how Mordecai had saved the king’s life.
“What honour and dignity did Mordecai receive for that?” The king asked.
“None, Sire,” came the reply.
“Who is in the court now?” asked the king.
Haman had just come in to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai. As he entered the room, the king asked, “What shall be done to a man the king wishes to honour?”
Thinking the king wished to honour him, Haman replied, “Let the man you wish to honour wear your royal robes and ride your royal robes. Upon his head, set the royal crown. Let one of the king’s most royal princes lead the horse this man rides throughout the streets and proclaim that this is the king’s favourite.”
“Hurry and do all that you have said to Mordecai the Jew who sits upon my gates,” the king said.
With a heavy heart, Haman did all that was ordered of him and hurried home and told his wife all that had transpired. He realized that he was in deep trouble.
That evening he attended the banquet that Queen Esther held. After the banquet, the king asked her, “What is it that I could do for you, my queen?”
“If I find favour in your eyes, my king, save me and my people from death,” said the queen, with her head bowed low.
“Who is it that wishes to destroy you and your people?” thundered the king.
Slowly, the queen raised her head and looked at Haman. “He!”
The king grew very angry. He went into the garden to calm himself.
Haman was in great fear. He realized his end was drawing near. He rose and gripped onto the queen’s skirt as he begged for mercy. Just then the king returned. Thinking that Haman wished to harm the queen, he quickly had him arrested and ordered him hanged on the gallows that he had made for Mordecai. He ordered horsemen to rush throughout the land to stop the edict of killing the Jews.
The king then gave everything that belonged to Haman to the house of Esther and Mordecai. Furthermore, he made Mordecai his chief minister.
That is why we celebrate Purim. And if you go to Persia, the modern-day Iran, to the city of Hamadan, you can still see the shrines of Esther and Mordecai, all these many, many centuries later…