Megillas Esther -How This Book Got Its Name

Much can be gleaned from the titles of our sifrei kodesh, and this is certainly true of megillas esther.

 However, when investigating the names of our sifrei kodesh, our first obligation is to be sure that we know if the title used is the correct one.

When I was in 7^th grade I first visited eretz yisroel. I remember very little of the trip –or of the many tours our family took. I do, however, remember a joke one of the tour-guides made. As we were driving up a hill he said, “If you look out your window to your right will see the kever of Shmuel aleph, and to your left that of Shmuel beis.”

As a 7^th grader I though this was the funniest thing I have ever heard. However, as I got older I realized how deep this silly joke is. This is due to the fact that there is really no such thing as two books of Shmuel!

Rather the Christians invented the separation of this single sefer into two, as we discussed in great length in a Shavous feature several years ago.

The strangest example of this phenomenon is the ‘books’ of Ezra and Nechemia. Not only is sefer Nechemia not mentioned in the listing of all the sifrei tanach found in chazal (bava basra 14-15), in another gemara (Sukka 37a) a pasuk in Nechemia is mentioned as being from sefer Ezra (Nechamia 8:15).

This is because both Ezra and Nechemia are really contained in one sefer called, simply, ‘Ezra’!

In fact, the gemara (Sanhedrin 93b) outright asks why Nechemia was not zoche to have the book named after him. The gemara explains that this is a punishment for the fact that Nechemia took too much credit for all that he accomplished.

As to why we allowed another group’s title to eclipse our mesorah, Rav Reuvien Margilios (Margolios Hayam) quotes the Chida as explaining that chazal did not mean that Nechemia’s punishment was indefinite, and certainly at a certain point in history he would become absolved. This is why Hashem, at a certain point in our history, allowed the division of ‘Ezra’ into two books and for the latter to be called ‘Nechemia’.

In addition to reminding us to make sure we are aware of the true names of our sifrei tanach, what we see from the above is that the titles of our sifrei kodesh are of great importance and come from much thought and kedusha.

With this is mind, let us investigate the name ‘megillas esther’.

If we stop to think about it for a minute, megillas esther is a strange name. None of the other four megillos were named after their author, and even koheles was a nom de plume, a nickname for its author, Shlomo hamalech. In fact, while taken from his words, Shlomo did not even write this sefer, rather it was written by Chizkiya and his assistants (bava basra 15a).

Megilas rus is another sefer about which we often use ‘megilla’ in the title and that is named after its main protagonist. However, as many sefarim point out, Rus indeed was indeed the main person in the events told, indeed the events would seem monotonous if not also being the story of the great grandmother of Dovid Hamelech. It is the story, or megilla, of Rus. Megillas esther on the hand is not the story of Esther per se, rather the story of an existential crises to the Jewish people. Why not call it megillas yeshua?

The Shevet Mussar (in B’einei HaEidah) even wonders why not call it Megillas Haman.

As to the last question, he explains that because we are charged with destroying and erasing Amalek, naming a sefer after one if its members would defeat that purpose.

Rather, he explains, it is called megillas esther because of the events recorded in the gemara (Megilla 7a). It was initially Esther’s idea to include this megilla in the canon of tanach. While the chachamim initially rejected her idea, they sent a letter back to her that they had soon in fact found a proof from the Torah to include it.

In other words, it is only because of Esther’s initial request that we even have this sefer. So the name ‘megillas esther’ is a description of whom is responsible for its inclusion in tanach.

(This being the case, some wonder if it is not inappropriate to so publicly take credit as to name the book after one self. See shu’t Divrei Malkeil, hakdama where he explains why so many gedolim including their own names in the titles of their sefarim, and how how this is a lofty and important thing to do)

Many more ask questions on the title of this sefer, including why, if for whatever reason it is named after Esther, did she or we not use her real, Hebrew name, Hadassa (see Megilla 13a)?

Rav Yonsan Eibishitz (Yaaros Devash 2:17) explains that one of the mains themes of the megilla is the hester panim (‘hiding’ the face) of Hashem. For this reason, explain many, is Hashem’s name not mentioned in the megilla. 

Indeed, chazal famously teach (Chullin 139a), “Where do we find an allusion to Esther in the Torah? From (Devarim 31:18) ‘hester aster panai’ (I shall surely hide My face)”.

Being that this is the main feature of the events of Purim, the megilla is titled ‘Esther’ to allude to this, and, for this reason we use the name Esther and not Hadassa.

Many other explanations are offered as to why this megilla is given this particular name.

However, the one that struck me the most is brought in the sefer Tenufah Chaim and others. They explain, as did Rav Eibishitz, that ‘Esther’ alludes to the hidden nature of the Riboneh Shel Olam.

But this only explains the second word in its title. Megillas esther would then simply mean, “The Story (megilla) of (Hashem’s) Hiddenness”.

However, the word megilla itself holds dual meanings.

The root of this word is ‘giluy’, to reveal.

In other words, megillas esther means “The revelation of the hidden”! This is both a perfect description of the events of Purim, and also a teffila to have once again such a giluy, as the navi teaches, a day when ‘umuchah Hashem Elokim es dimah ma’al kol panim’ (yeshayahu 25:8).

This may also serve to explain why the yom tov of Purim will be the one yom tov still to be observed in the days of moshiach. For like our days in Persia, we will once again have a ‘megillas esther’, a revelation of the hidden.

May it come soon!