Esther
and Judith are both prominent religious figures. They both carry leadership in
a different manner. Esther is not nearly the self-assertive soul compared to
her counterpart. When Haman demands the
death of all the Jewish people, Mordecai makes an impoverished plea to Queen
Esther, “Remember,’ he said, ‘the days when you were an ordinary person being
brought up under my care-for Haman, who stands next to the king, has spoken
against us and demands our death. Call upon the Lord then speak to the king in
our behalf, and save us from death” (Esther 13.7-13.8). Not only is Mordecai
intending to connect Esther to her humble beginnings, but he’s saying you are
our only hope to stop an attempted genocide of our people. Perhaps this is
where George Lucas came up for the inspiration when Princess Leia told Obi-Wan
she was the Rebels only hope via R2-D2.
Yet
Esther does not want to offend her king. Sure, she would be risking her life by
not being summoned by the king. But what’s one life in an attempt to save
thousands (Esther 13.7-13.8). This is in stark contrast to Judith’s
self-assertion. Judith is a woman of action. She maintains great faith in her
Lord, demonstrated in Judith’s prayer where she conveys the venomous words about
the Assyrians, “Make my deceitful words bring wound and bruise on those who
have planned cruel things against your covenant, and against your sacred house,
and against Mount Zion, and against the house your children possess” (Judith
9:10-9:11). It would be hard to imagine Esther having such an impassioned
outcry. But Judith’s most famous action truly shows that she stands far above
Esther in the self-assertion scale. She not only has no fear negotiating her
way to be near the enemy of her people but she actually beheads Holofernes
(Judith 12:14-13:14). Her lord has turned her into a weapon of action and thus
the harm that came to her people pales in comparison to the harm that Esther’s
people endured under her inaction.
I agree that Esther and Judith are both prominent religious figures that carry their leadership in a different manner. I feel that Esther was convinced to do something to stop Haman because of what Mordecai says to her. Like you said he connects her back to her beginnings and ties her to the Jewish people. Without Mordecai convincing her to do something Esther might have not said anything to the King. It took someone else convincing her that it was her duty to do something about it where as Judith takes matters into her own hands, makes her own plan, follows through with it and saves her people all on her own. I agree that Judith is way above Esther on a self- assertion scale. She is very confident in herself and her believes and she doesn’t need anyone to convince her to let her go through with her plan. They both saved the lives of their people and risked their own life but I think Judith’s leadership role outweighs Esther’s.
ReplyDeleteThe points you make are really interesting to read and think about, especially bringing in history like the sentence regarding the connection to George Lucas. When reading the story of Esther, I did not realize the influence that Mordecai had over Esther. Although I agree that Judith is bolder than Esther, I believe that Esther showed more faith and obedience than Judith. Judith seems to be independent and not wait and listen for the Lord's answer. While Esther risked her life for thousands of others by approaching the King, Judith seems to be acting out of pride, self-motivation, and willingness to see her own plan played out.
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