Queen Esther A Sex Slave?
I was thinking of the Purim story, and how Queen Esther was abducted, raped and forced to marry her rapist.
So often in our communities survivors of sexual violence are looked upon as being "lepers" of sorts. They are told they are lying, get excommunicated, and shamed into believing the assault was their own fault.
When talking about this to rabbis they will explain that Queen Esther had to go through the trauma so that she would become the woman she became. Why is it that survivors of today are NOT honored like Queen Esther? Why is it that when a survivor walks in a room, everyone whispers -- instead of standing up and applauding them for coming forward, and for surviving horrendous experiences?
I wonder if the Purim story would happen today, what the headline news would say about it?
I figured this was something we could talk about?
So often in our communities survivors of sexual violence are looked upon as being "lepers" of sorts. They are told they are lying, get excommunicated, and shamed into believing the assault was their own fault.
When talking about this to rabbis they will explain that Queen Esther had to go through the trauma so that she would become the woman she became. Why is it that survivors of today are NOT honored like Queen Esther? Why is it that when a survivor walks in a room, everyone whispers -- instead of standing up and applauding them for coming forward, and for surviving horrendous experiences?
I wonder if the Purim story would happen today, what the headline news would say about it?
I figured this was something we could talk about?
posted by Jewish Survivors at Monday, March 07, 2005
4 Comments:
Hi Naomi,
I didn't understand what you were saying. What's the "E" of the story? I also not sure what "to be "d" by the king" means?
Just spell out the words. I don't think we have to be ashamed to say what the words are.
The whole story of Purim is pretty difficult and troubling. So are many
biblical stories. These aren't fairy tales. These are real life stories where horrible things happen to good people and yet more often than not good triumphs over evil at the end.
Rabbi Ari Kahn has an article on Purim see:
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/moray/The_Heroism_of_Esther.asp
>that survivors of today are NOT honored like Queen Esther?
Frankly, a figure like Moshe Rabeinu would not be honored today either. He would have problems even getting a shidduch because of his stutter. He would never achieve a leadership position today. Why? It reflects the quality of society which unfortunately today is superficial and ignorant. We live in a time where there is reverence for the qualities of an Esav and distain for
the qualities of a Yaakov. It's a sad time.
That's why people need to be educated, through knowledge and awareness.
This posting takes the entire story of Esther out of context and perverts it.
There is a historical, cultural and sociological perspective that is ignored if in fact you can make a claim that Esther was abducted and raped.
There is a relatively recent book entitled The Dawn that addresses some of these issues in a more accurate fashion.
The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther by Yoram Hazony.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9657052068/ref%3Dnosim/theworldofroyalt/102-7449688-8425729
An interesting thought. The Talmud suggests that Queen Esther remained entirely passive when Ahasuerus was intimate with her, as if to indicate here objection to the relationship.
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