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How did Esther keep the Sabbath without rousing suspicion?

by Rabbi Yossi Marcus

  

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Esther had seven maids (Esther 2:9). She had them on rotation so that each maid served on a different day of the week (Talmud, Tractate Megillah 13a). This way the maid that served her on Shabbat only saw her on that day and thought that Esther never did work. On the other days Esther did work because she knew that sitting around idly would not be very healthy for her mental state (Yaaros Dvash).
TAGS: esther

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Re:How did Esther keep the Sabbath without rousing suspicion?

Posted by: Virg on Jan 05, 2007

Surely living in the palace, Esther could not conceal such practices like sabbath. She must have also eaten the food, clean and unclean, that was put before her. If she was a concubine at some stage, she must have also had sexual relations with the king before marrying him. It would seem that Esther was a backslidder or am I missing something here?

Editor's Comment

1) From the verses it is apparent that Esther lived in a secluded part of the palace that enabled her to keep Jewish law. 2) She was probably in control of all decisions regarding the food she ate enabling her to keep Kosher. 3) The Talmud (Sanhedrin 74:2) states that Esther was forced into and was not an active participant in any relations she had with the king.
Shabbat
(pl: Shabbatot). Hebrew word meaning "rest." It is a Biblical commandment to sanctify and rest on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. This commemorates the fact that after creating the world in six days, G-d rested on the seventh.
Talmud
Usually referring to the Babylonian edition, it is a compilation of Rabbinic law, commentary and analysis compiled over a 600 year period (200 BCE - 427 CE). Talmudic verse serves as the bedrock of all classic and modern-day Torah-Jewish literature.
Megillah
A scroll. Usually a reference to the Book of Esther, one of the books of the "Written Torah", which is read--from a scroll--on the holiday of Purim.
Esther
1. Jewish wife of Persian King Ahasuerus in the 4th century BCE. Foiled the plot of Haman, the prime minister, to exterminate all the Jews. The holiday of Purim commemorates this miraculous salvation. 2. One of the 24 Books of the Bible, which chronicles the abovementioned story.