Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father ’ s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? —Esther 4:14 (NKJV) Among the 66 books of the Bible, Esther stands alone. Apart from the Song of Solomon, there is no obvious direct mention of God.   Aside from the Book of Ruth, it is the only Bible book that has a woman as the main character and namesake. No reference is made of religious observance, prayer, the temple, sacrifices, Biblical holidays, priesthoods or prophets. Even the Feast of Purim, which is introduced in ‘Esther,’ is a decidedly secular affair. It begins and ends with a feast and there are 10 feasts mentioned (1 for each chapter) as well as a total fast of 3 days duration. Despite these seeming deficiencies, Esther has an appropriate place in the Canon of Scripture. Esther is a superbly told story of the Jewish peo...