by Rabbinic Intern, Shira Stutman
Mysticism and Megillat Esther
This past Shabbat was filled with colors, intellectual discourse, and
just a little bit of sex. Sound interesting? It was—it was the weekend
at Kol Ami at which we discussed Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. We spent our
time deciphering this ancient Jewish tradition, starting with Ezekiel’s
Babylonian chariot, moving through France and Spain in the Middle Ages,
and ending up in 16th century Israel—a far distance
geographically, but somewhat closer philosophically.
I still have Kabbalah on my mind, and so, as I begin to write this
article, timed to arrive close to the holiday of Purim (which runs
Thursday evening, March 24, through Friday, March 25), I think about the
connection between Kabbalah and Purim. Kabbalists have a very strong tie
to the book of Esther, read on Purim, as they argue that no other
canonical Jewish text contains such a condensed collection of Kabbalistic
terms and expressions. They certainly feel that God is very present, if
not omnipresent, in the text, even though God is not mentioned by name.
For instance, they take as significant that the very root of
the word Kabbalah (k-b-l) itself is repeated numerous times in the
text, as is the root s-f-r, connected to the Hebrew work sefirah,
or divine emanation. Additionally, of the ten names for the sefirot all
but one explicitly appear in the book of Esther, most of them numerous
times.
Another Kabbalistic connection—and this one I find especially
interesting—is between the story of creation humankind’s first few
hours in
Eden
, and the story of Esther. This
past weekend in Boca Raton, we did not discuss the Kabbalistic belief in
reincarnation, but it’s true, here represented by the key players in
Megillat Esther being seen as the regenerated souls (gilgulim) of
Adam, Eve and the serpent in Eden, come to rectify their prior
“fall.” Esther, by vanquishing the serpent Haman, provides necessary
restitution for the tragic flaw in Creation engendered by her primordial
ancestor, Eve.
Just as the
Megillah, the scroll on which the book of Esther is written, unrolls as
it is read, revealing (in Hebrew, gilah, a word with the same root
letters as the word Megillah) the secrets of the text, so to can
Kabbalistic thought “unroll” in our own lives, revealing itself as we
go deeper and deeper into its texts and meditations. So too, just as the
Kabbalists found their own story within the confines of the text, so too
can we, in contemporary times, re-value and re-approach the text as one
that has meaning for us, in our daily lives. We need not only rely on
ancient or medieval commentators, who read the text as it related to
their lives at that time. We can also embrace the text for ourselves,
today.
What does
Esther have to say to you this year? Who are your heroes, your villains?
What can you learn from the main characters’ actions, reactions,
thoughts, recorded (or unrecorded) feelings? How can you make the
text—how can you make Jewish tradition—interesting, challenging, and
worthwhile for you, today, in your life?
P.S. A small bibliography. For those of you
interested in learning more about Kabbalah, I recommend you to anything
by Daniel Matt or Arthur Green. Specifically, I used Matt’s Zohar:
Annotated and Explained and The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of
Jewish Mysticism and Green’s Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow
and A Guide to the Zohar. Happy learning!
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
