Jewish Michigan attorney general drew ‘wrong lesson’ from biblical Esther story when she told Jews to put politics over safety, rabbis say
Dana Nessel, the Michigan attorney general, misunderstood the biblical story of Queen Esther when she told fellow Jewish Democrats in the state on Sunday that the lesson of the Purim holiday text was that they have a “moral imperative” to prioritize the “needs of the world” over “even our own survival.”Jewish Democrats have to follow the lead of the biblical queen, who endangered herself to save Persia’s Jews, and “sacrifice the comfort, safety and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity,” Nessel said at the event.Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO of Aish and an Orthodox rabbi, told JNS that the Michigan attorney general’s comments were likely well-intentioned but “were not accurate to the story.”“The story was one of saving the Jewish people and standing up to one of the world’s largest antisemites, who was trying to use…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently told Jewish Democrats that the biblical story of Queen Esther teaches a "moral imperative" to prioritize the "needs of the world" over "even our own survival." However, several rabbis, including Rabbi Steven Burg of Aish and Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin of Yeshiva University, strongly disagreed with her interpretation. They argue that the story of Esther is fundamentally about saving the Jewish people from an antisemitic plot, not about sacrificing Jewish safety for broader humanitarian concerns.
"The story was one of saving the Jewish people and standing up to one of the world’s largest antisemites, who was trying to use political machinations to destroy us," Rabbi Steven Burg told JNS.
The rabbis emphasized that Jewish survival and security are prerequisites for Jews to fulfill their role as a "light unto the nations." Bashevkin added that the story highlights the eternal nature of the Jewish people and the question of whether individuals will align themselves with that enduring narrative. The discussion comes amidst heightened concerns for Jewish safety globally since October 7th.
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