8 | MAY 26 • 2022
PURELY COMMENTARY
student’s corner
The Bible’s Portrayal of
Jewish Trauma
U
pon reading the
books of Ruth and
Esther, it may appear
as though the only similarity
between them is their
resilient titular characters.
However, when put parallel to
one another, their boundless
contrasts —
from tone to
demographic
— serve to the
Torah’s intent
of revealing
the difference
outlooks on life
bring to trauma.
With its caricatured
characters, satire and
retribution, Esther could
easily be adapted for movie
screens. A precedence
of satirical tone is
implemented with Memucan’s
theatricalized monologue to
the King Ahasuerus: “Not
only on the king alone did
Vashti go astray, but against
all the princes, and against
all the nations that are in all
of the provinces of the King
Ahasuerus. Because this
matter of the queen [will]
go out for all the women to
despise their husbands in
their eyes, saying, ‘The King
Ahasuerus said that Queen
Vashti be brought before
him, and she did not come’”
(Esther 1:16-17, author’s
translation).
The overdramatization
provided by generalizations
and ridiculous assumptions
provides the basis for the
pronounced liberties that will
be taken throughout Esther,
as well as establishing a motif
of concealment; one thing
is being said, and the reader
is supposed to be aware that
another thing is implied.
Perhaps the best example
of this idea is the character of
Esther. To the reader, as well
as other characters, Esther is
reserved, concealing all parts
of her identity. As readers of
Esther know, this is a pivotal
part of the story — it exhibits
the most expanded upon
hardship the Jewish people
face in Esther: assimilation.
This is illustrated, as well,
in the overpowering ratio
of named gentile characters
to named Jewish characters,
the spotlight on the gentile
characters rather than the
bucolic Jews.
So, the story of Esther
becomes about finding pride
in one’s identity. Mordecai
clarifies this best in his
rebuke to Esther: “For surely
if you are silent [about your
Jewish identity] at this time,
relief and deliverance will
stand for the Jews from
another place, but you, and
the house of your father, will
crumble. And who knows if,
at a time like this coming,
[when the massacre will be
brought about] you will be
touched [with this favor] in
your queenhood” (Esther
4:14, author’s translation).
In a contemporary context:
those who yearn to conform,
to obscure, to efface their
Jewish identity in the face
of oppression have the full
ability to, but it is to their
own detriment.
To both the story’s own
injury and benefit, it utilizes
the tools provided by outside
cultures to appeal to the
assimilated Jew. And while
this narrative is necessary, it
begs the question: To what
extent must Jewish people
make fools of themselves to
allow for a genuine narrative
about their trauma?
Thus enters Ruth. A tale
simultaneously solemn and
lively, it does not allow for the
irreverence in its portrayed
trauma of Orpah, Ruth and
Naomi’s loss and economic
wording as Esther does.
The two characters act very
much as a foil to the other;
Esther’s arc of independence
contrasting Ruth’s arc
of learning dependence;
Ruth’s open embrace of
Judaism juxtaposing Esther’s
concealment; the opposing
journeys from aristocracy to
a rural society against a rural
society to nobility.
The story of Ruth becomes
very much an example of
brazen healing, using Jewish
folk storytelling methods
and embracing the idea
that the Jewish people were
once a nation of transients
and converts and many of
them remain so today, as a
pivotal role in the culture.
May the implication that this
book is read on Shavuot, the
holiday in which we celebrate
becoming a nation, not pass
as sand through your hands
over the upcoming holiday.
Esti Klein is a sophomore at Frankel
Jewish Academy.
Esti Klein
An Open Letter
to the Detroit
Community:
As leaders in the Muslim
and Jewish communities
of Metro Detroit, we
unambiguously condemn
the tragic killing of Shireen
Abu Akleh, an innocent and
well-respected reporter for
Al-Jazeerah. We call for a
thorough and transparent
investigation to determine
who is responsible for her
death and call for those
responsible to bear the full
weight of justice.
While we disagree
on many aspects of the
situation in the Middle
East, we are united in the
imperative that all reporters
should be off-limits and
should be afforded full
protection so that they may
provide the world with
honest and truthful stories.
— Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi,
President, Michigan Muslim
Community Council
Seth Gould, President, Jewish
Community Relations Council/AJC
Phil Neuman, President Elect,
Jewish Community Relations
Council/AJC
Patrick Cates, Member, Interfaith
Committee of the Muslim Unity
Center of Bloomfield Hills
Bryant Frank, Co-Chair, JCRC/AJC
Muslim-Jewish Subcommittee
Ariana Mentzel, Co-Chair, JCRC/
AJC Muslim-Jewish Subcommittee
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Executive
Director, JCRC/AJC
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