“As I get older, Esther, for me, continuously changes… In many ways, she is a fascinating example of making lemonades out of lemons, with a lot of different layers to that.”— Nechama Goldman Barash

Purim may be a joyful time of feasting, imbibing, and gift-giving, but the history behind the holiday as told in the Book of Esther deserves closer examination.

Known as the Festival of Lots, Purim commemorates the foiling of a genocidal plot against the Jewish people, orchestrated by Haman, the royal vizier to King Achashverosh. It celebrates the story of Esther, a strong and determined woman who unsummoned, though forbidden and punishable by death, appears before the King, her husband, in order to save her people. When she reveals her Jewishness to her husband just before the date set for the annihilation of the her people, he has the vizier executed as punishment. Unable to reverse his own decree authorizing the slaughter, he grants the Jewish people permission to defend themselves and they ably defeat their would-be killers.

Each year, we celebrate this victory and the bold initiative of Esther herself; yet many unsavory aspects of this tale are glossed over or softened in Jewish education- this is an inarguably dark text for women, despite its celebrated ending.

This episode of Living Jewishly is an instalment of What Would You Do?, a podcast about ethics in the modern world. In this episode, Dr. Elliot Malamet speaks with Nechama Goldman Barash, who teaches contemporary halakha and Talmud at Matan and the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and is a qualified sex educator, about consent, agency, sexualization, and coercion in the story of Esther and beyond.

“How should we think about Megillat Esther in the age of #MeToo?”— Dr. Elliot Malamet

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• Questions regarding Esther’s level of agency in her marriage to Achashverosh
• Consent, yes culture, and the environment of the college campus
• How religious and secular communities navigate sexuality, age, and expectations

‌

Highlights:‌ ‌

00:50 Intro

02:43 Nechama Goldman Barash & agency

04:47 Growth & maturing

06:10 Consent & education

15:35 Jewish sexual ethic

23:47 Age & sexuality

30:05 Sexualization & beauty

36:59 Vashti

Links:‌ ‌

Nechama Goldman Barash

https://www.pardes.org.il/faculty/nechama-goldman-barash

Sexual Citizens

https://www.sexualcitizens.com

Boys & Sex, Girls & Sex

https://www.peggyorenstein.com

To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:

Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org

Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw

or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.

Shalom!