The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther
The Dawn removes the book of Esther from the realm of fairy tale, translating the biblical narrative's political thought into teachings of the utmost relevance today. It reveals Esther's ideas of the good state, how effective leadership makes decisions for the welfare of its people, and what modern-day Jews can learn about how to stand up to their enemies and maintain Jewish faith and nationhood even as God's face remains hidden from His people.
Search in google:
"...then I will go to the king, though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." With these words, Esther, queen of Persia, determines she must risk her life to save her people. Her decision is bold, disobedient and daring--but it is just the tip of an iceberg of intrigue, heroism and power politics described in the biblical book of Esther, the story of the salvation of the Jews from annihilation at the hands of the Persian court. But when the dust has settled and the Jews emerge victorious, many readers of Esther are still left wondering: What, after all, is such a book doing in the Bible? There is no mention of God, nor is any moral message easy to discern amid the hairpin turns of the tale. In The Dawn, Israeli political theorist Yoram Hazony introduces us to a different book of Esther, removed from the fairy-tale feel that is normally associated with the account. The book of Esther, in truth, is about politics--the politics of a Jewish nation newly in exile. It is about a disempowered Jewish people, struggling against idolatry, against assimilation and against the most ancient of enemies, Amalek. And it is also about the Jewish idea of the good state, depicting how good leadership, Jewish or gentile, makes decisions for the welfare of its people. In The Dawn, Hazony addresses the questions that many are afraid to ask: Once the Jewish people are cast into exile, deprived of their land, their kings, their armies, their prophets and the Temple in Jerusalem, how are they to face the challenges that continue to confront them? How can they prevent themselves from assimilating into oblivion? In short, how can the Jews survive now that God has "hidden his face" from his people? The Dawn is about politics and faith. It is about religion in an era in which the prophets have been silenced and miracles have ceased, and in which Jewish politics has come to depend not on commands from on high, but on the boldness and belief of the individual Jew. As such, it translates the political thought of the biblical narrative into teachings of utmost relevance to our own day. Jeff Jacoby The Dawn is extraordinary. Yoram Hazony reads the Book of Esther as it has never been read before.... Beautifully written, brilliantly reasoned, The Dawn is a mind-opener.(Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe)
AcknowledgmentsxiiiIntroduction1Esther 161.Submission and Rule10Esther 2212.Political Favor26Esther 3413.The Enemy444.The True State485.Idolatry606.Disobedience697.Joseph838.Amalek939.Anti-Semitism104Esther 411410.Pressure11711.Court Jew12312.The Decision135Esther 514413.The Plan14714.The Reaction152Esther 615515.Power Shift16016.Downfall16517.Allies168Esther 717418.The Last Appeal17719.Political Power187Esther 820120.The Jews' War20421.The Morality of the War211Esther 923122.The Festival23523.Politics and Faith242Notes264Scriptural and Rabbinic References298Index307The Hebrew Esther Text313
\ Calev Ben DavidA thoughtful, provocative, gracefully written, assiduously researched and elegantly argued piece of work...worthwhile and stimulating.(Calev Ben David, Jerusalem Post)\ \ \ \ \ Norman LammHazony makes Megillat Esther come alive in a manner that is realistic and fascinating. Details which I had read again and again for the past sixty years, and which made no particular impression upon me, suddenly came alive with a significance that never occurred to me.Norman Lamm, President, Yeshiva University\ \ \ Jeff JacobyThe Dawn is extraordinary. Yoram Hazony reads the Book of Esther as it has never been read before.... Beautifully written, brilliantly reasoned, The Dawn is a mind-opener.(Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe)\ \
