Elie Wiesel wrote of the uniqueness of those who are now called the ...

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REFLECTIONS
Biblical Inspiration for Women of Today
When I ask my students to
name a brave, courageous
hero from our tradition,
they usually choose characters like
Judah Maccabbee in the Chanukah
story or David battling Goliath.
Indeed, these are examples of
courage as we typically imagine it: a
strong warrior who takes on his enemies
with fierce determination. But
courage comes in many forms, and
often a courageous hero is not spoiling
for a fight but is confronted with
a situation that requires strength and
then rises to the occasion.
We have just celebrated the
holiday of Purim. Queen Esther, a
central figure in the Purim story, is
not a typical hero. King Ahashverous
selects Esther as his wife primarily
for her beauty, and she does not
seem particularly comfortable sharing
her Jewish lineage with her
new husband. However, once
Haman threatens the lives of all the
Jews in the land, Mordechai comes
before Esther and says, “Who
knows if you have come to this
royal position for such a time as
this?” [Esther 4:14]. Esther’s assuming
the throne and concealing her
heritage were not acts of courage.
But, once the situation presented
itself, she understood her special
role in the destiny of her people
and found the courage to stand up
to the King and the evil Haman.
She felt a sense of mission,
of doing something for
a larger cause than merely
defending her own name.
Some of the most courageous
women I have encountered
in my lifetime follow in the footsteps
of this early female hero
Esther. I had the privilege of getting
to know Dr. Deborah Lipstadt,
a professor of Holocaust Studies at
Emory University, during a confer-
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ence several years ago. She had
just won a landmark legal ruling in
the British courts against David
Irving, a notorious Holocaust
denier. Irving had sued Lipstadt
for libel, after she called him a liar
based on his “research,” arguing
that the Holocaust had never happened.
Under British law, Lipstadt
had the burden of proof to show
that Irving was indeed lying—to
prevail, she had to prove that the
Holocaust indeed had happened.
Deborah Lipstadt told me
that she felt a strong affinity with
the character of Queen Esther during
this trial. As an academic, she
had never asked for the spotlight
nor sought out such a public test of
courage. Yet she understood that
perhaps it was just for this very
moment that God had prompted
her to become a scholar of the
Holocaust. She felt a sense of mission,
of doing something for a larger
cause than merely defending her
Ladies Auxiliary, North Russel Street Shul, Purim Party 1931. With permission of The Boston Synagogue, successor to The Russel Street Shul.